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RED BULL TOP-10s, FOUR TUNDRA TOP-FIVES FOR TOYOTA IN ATLANTA - Vickers Leads Camry Contingent, While Busch Best in Tundra

HAMPTON, Ga. (March 7, 2010) -- After a pair of west coast races following the season-opening Daytona 500, the Camrys of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) headed back east for a 500-mile event at Atlanta Motor Speedway this past weekend, joined by the Toyota Tundras of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS), which made its second start of the young 2010 schedule.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)
In Sunday’s NSCS race, Brian Vickers recorded a seventh-place finish in the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, best among the 13 Camry drivers in the field for the 341-lap, 524-mile event that was extended for two ‘green-white-checkered’ flag attempts to finish.

Vickers started 26th but quickly moved forward and ran in the top-15 throughout much of the race around the 1.5-mile Georgia oval. It is Vickers’ 25th career top-10 finish driving a Toyota Camry, and his best finish of 2010.

“That was pretty wild. We were okay today, we weren’t great,” said Vickers, following the race. “We started out really good and then as everybody else got better we just couldn’t seem to make any gains. We just don’t have the grip and the speed that we really need to run with some of these guys right now, and we’ll find it. We found some gains this week that made us a lot better than last week, but we still need a little bit more.”

Two other Toyota drivers finished among the top-15 in Sunday’s race, including Scott Speed -- Vickers’ teammate on the Red Bull Racing Team -- who finished 10th in the No. 82 Camry for his second career top-10 result in NSCS competition, and Marcos Ambrose (11th) for JTG-Daugherty Racing.

The finishes by Vickers and Speed marked the second time since the team’s inception in 2007 that both Red Bull Toyotas finished among the top-10, and first since Talladega in April 2009.

Camry drivers Denny Hamlin (21st), Kyle Busch (25th), Martin Truex Jr. (27th), Max Papis (34th), Joey Logano (35th), Joe Nemechek (38th), David Reutimann (40th), Dave Blaney (41st), Michael McDowell (42nd) and Robby Gordon (43rd) were also in the field.

Both Hamlin and Busch led multiple laps for Toyota on Sunday -- Hamlin five times for 32 laps and Busch three times for 22 laps.

With the finish, Speed is 12th in the unofficial NSCS point standings, 162 points behind points leader Kevin Harvick. Logano (14th), Busch (15th), Vickers (16th) and Reutimann (18th) are also in the top-20 in points after four of 36 races.

The NSCS returns to action at Bristol Motor Speedway, March 21.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS)
In Saturday’s NCWTS race, Busch recorded a runner-up result, the highest-finishing Toyota driver in the 130-lap event that saw four Tundras in the top-five.

Busch started second in the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 18 Tundra and led three times for 15 laps, but ultimately fell short to race-winner Harvick. The 24-year-old Las Vegas native had won the past two spring NCWTS races at Atlanta.

“That was about all that we had,” said Busch, following the race. “We gave it everything there. That’s a good run for us. A solid run for Kyle Busch Motorsports and these guys -- they deserve it. They’ve worked so hard over the winter time and have done a great job.”

Three other Tundra drivers tallied top-five finishes at Atlanta, with Aric Almirola (third), Steve Wallace (fourth) and Todd Bodine (fifth) following Busch to the finish line. In 19 NCWTS starts for Billy Ballew Motorsports since 2009, Almirola has 11 top-10 finishes, while Wallace’s run came in his first career NCWTS start.

Timothy Peters -- who won the season-opening race at Daytona -- finished seventh in the Red Horse Racing No. 17 K&N Tundra. Tundra drivers Brad Sweet (12th), Tayler Malsam (13th), Mike Skinner (14th), David Starr (15th), Stacy Compton (19th) and Justin Lofton (20th) were also in the field.

Coupled with his second place finish at Daytona, Bodine currently leads the unofficial NCWTS point standings following Atlanta, holding a four-point advantage (340-336) over Peters. Almirola (fourth), Busch (fifth), Compton (sixth) and Malsam (ninth) are also in the top-10 in points after two of 25 races.

The NCWTS returns to action at Martinsville Speedway, March 27.

Toyota NSCS Driver Finishing Positions at Atlanta Motor Speedway
7th, BRIAN VICKERS
10th, SCOTT SPEED
11th, MARCOS AMBROSE
21st, DENNY HAMLIN
25th, KYLE BUSCH
27th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
34th, MAX PAPIS
35th, JOEY LOGANO
38th, JOE NEMECHEK
40th, DAVID REUTIMANN
41st, DAVE BLANEY
42nd, MICHAEL McDOWELL
43rd, ROBBY GORDON

Toyota Drivers in NSCS Point Standings -- following Atlanta Motor Speedway**
12th, SCOTT SPEED 482 points
14th, JOEY LOGANO 471 points
15th, KYLE BUSCH 468 points
16th, BRIAN VICKERS 466 points
18th, DAVID REUTIMANN 440 points
22nd, DENNY HAMLIN 409 points
24th, MARTIN TRUEX JR. 386 points
28th, MARCOS AMBROSE 349 points
** unofficial point standings

Toyota NCWTS Driver Finishing Positions at Atlanta Motor Speedway
2nd, KYLE BUSCH
3rd, ARIC ALMIROLA
4th, STEVE WALLACE
5th, TODD BODINE
7th, TIMOTHY PETERS
12th, BRAD SWEET
13th, TAYLER MALSAM
14th, MIKE SKINNER
15th, DAVID STARR
19th, STACY COMPTON
20th, JUSTIN LOFTON

Toyota Drivers in NCWTS Point Standings -- following Atlanta Motor Speedway**
1st, TODD BODINE 340 points
2nd, TIMOTHY PETERS 336 points
4th, ARIC ALMIROLA 292 points
5th, KYLE BUSCH 272 points
6th, STACY COMPTON 257 points
9th, TAYLER MALSAM 236 points
13, DAVID STARR 224 points
17th, MIKE SKINNER 217 points
18th, JUSTIN LOFTON 212 points

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