NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)
In Sunday afternoon’s 200-lap, 500-mile NSCS race at Pocono Raceway, Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) driver Denny Hamlin (fifth) and Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) driver Martin Truex Jr. (ninth) registered top-10 finishes at the 2.5-mile track. Camry drivers endured two red flag periods in Sunday’s race -- one for an accident and one for rain -- along with a delayed green flag due to weather at the ‘tricky triangle.’

Hamlin led once for 19 laps during the race where Greg Biffle drove to his first victory of the season. The No. 11 FedEx Office Camry came to pit road for four tires with just over 20 laps remaining in the race and restarted from the 16th position, but was able to work his way to his seventh top-five finish at Pocono in 10 starts.

“We just didn’t have enough laps there (at the end),” said Hamlin, after the race. “In the previous races where we came from mid-pack there at the end, we had a few cautions to help. We just didn’t have those cautions today and truthfully, we didn’t really have the race-winning car like we had here in the past. We fought this car all weekend, but it’s a new car and sometimes it takes a while to get the bugs out. We came through there as good as anyone with those tires.

“It was just hard to get any track position,” added Hamlin. “Track position, like Indy, anyone that could get out front would really take off. Greg (Biffle) and those guys chose to take two (tires) and with no cautions, that’s the right call. If there’s cautions at the end that bottle the field back up, it might not be the best call. Things worked out kind of against our strategy there towards the end, but that’s what happens.”

Truex started in the 28th position after battling his No. 56 NAPA Camry throughout Friday’s practice and qualifying at Pocono. But late-race pit strategy allowed Truex to gain track position and earn his fifth top-10 of 2010.

“I guess ninth is a pretty decent result for our NAPA Toyota looking back on Friday and how bad we were when we got here,” said Truex, after the race.  “The guys worked hard all weekend.  We struggled on Friday, struggled during qualifying and worked real hard on Saturday throughout practice.  We made a lot of head way.  At the start of the race we weren’t very good, but a little bit of strategy played into it.  We were sitting about 12th before we took the two tires, so we gained a few spots.  We were about a 12th or 15th-place car and we finished ninth.  That’s the kind of days we like to have and the kind of days we’ve needed to have for the last two months, we’ve just been caught in wrecks.  I’m just glad we got a decent finish out of the NAPA Toyota and I’m proud of all the guys on the team.”

Following Hamlin and Truex to the finish line were Camry drivers David Reutimann (17th), Busch (23rd), Joey Logano (25th), Scott Speed (26th), Reed Sorenson (32nd), P.J. Jones (35th), Todd Bodine (37th), Marcos Ambrose (39th), Joe Nemechek (40th), Dave Blaney (42nd) and Michael McDowell (43rd).
Hamlin remains third in the unofficial NSCS point standings following Pocono. Busch (sixth), Reutimann (18th), Logano (19th) and Truex (20th) are also in the top-20 in points after 21 of 36 races this season.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to action at the New York road course of Watkins Glen International, August 8.

NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS)
In Saturday night’s NNS race at Iowa Speedway, Busch recorded his ninth win in 17 series starts this season and his second consecutive victory after winning last weekend at O’Reilly Raceway Park. 
 
Busch, who started second in the JGR No. 18 Z-Line Designs Camry, led the field four times for a total of 209 (of 250) laps.  Busch led much of the race until his team opted to take four tires during the final caution and he restarted sixth.  The 25-year-old Las Vegas native moved back through the field quickly and was able to pass second-place finisher Kevin Harvick with 24 laps to go en route to victory lane. 

“It’s pretty phenomenal the race cars these guys put out,” said Busch, following the race.  “This is my 54th win in a Toyota -- can you believe that?  There’s been an awful lot of them.  I’m real proud of those guys and I can’t thank them enough.  Z-Line Designs -- Jim and Monica (Sexton, owners), of course NOS Energy Drink, Combos, Marquis Jets, Gillette, the fans, man -- what an awesome turnout this week.  It was phenomenal.  It was really, really cool.”

It was the 11th victory for a Toyota driver in 21 Nationwide Series races this season, and the 48th series win for a Camry racer since the start of the 2007 season.  In addition, Busch picked up his 39th career Nationwide Series victory -- including 28 wins behind the wheel of a Camry. 

“Starting out it was just a little edgy with the sun still on the track and the track real hot it was a little slick,” added Busch.  “Trevor (Bayne) was really good there in the beginning.  Our car was just a little bit too tight.  Late center and exit of the turns I couldn’t get it to where I could get the power down the way I wanted.  The sun started going down, the track started cooling off and we started freeing up the car and the car was really good.  I can’t say enough about Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) and these guys just giving me an awesome race car.  Jason and Brad Coleman did a good job working on the thing for me, getting it to where it was a race-winning car tonight.  We were fast last year but came up a little bit short, but this year was really good being able to lead that many laps and run upfront like that.” 
 
The win also marked Busch’s 75th victory across all three of NASCAR’s top series -- 18 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS), 39 NNS wins and 18 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS). 
 
Jason Leffler (third) and Trevor Bayne (fifth) also finished in the top-five for Toyota.  Bayne captured his third straight pole in the series in the No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine Camry and led twice for 21 laps.  He became the first driver in 18 years to score three consecutive Nationwide Series poles since Jeff Gordon last accomplished the feat in 1992.  The 19-year-old also became the youngest driver to do it.  Bayne also started from the front of the field at Gateway International Raceway (July 17) and O’Reilly Raceway Park (July 24).   

Other Toyota drivers in the field at the 0.875-mile Iowa oval included Tayler Malsam (27th), Brian Scott (30th), Brendan Gaughan (31st), Sorenson (36th) and Kevin Lepage (37th). 
 
Busch -- who has only run 17 of 21 events in 2010 -- moved into third in the unofficial NNS point standings following Iowa.  Wallace (seventh), Bayne (eighth), Gaughan (ninth), Leffler (10th), Annett (11th), Scott (12th), Sorenson (13th) and Logano (15th) are also in the top-15 in points with 14 races left on the schedule.
 
The NASCAR Nationwide Series returns to action at Watkins Glen, August 7. 

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS)
In Saturday’s inaugural NCWTS race at Pocono Raceway, Kasey Kahne (second) was the highest-finishing Tundra driver at the 2.5-mile Pennsylvania oval.
 
Kahne started second in the Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) No. 18 Toyota of Scranton Tundra and ran among the top-five throughout the race, including 17 laps in front of the field, before finishing runner-up to race winner Elliott Sadler.

“I thought it was a really awesome race,” said Kahne, following the race.  “The way the trucks sucked up here, especially when there was five or six close together and two or three wide, it was probably as exciting of a front straightaway or all three straightaways that I have been on.  It was really cool and I really enjoyed it.  Hopefully the trucks come back next year and race more laps.  I think this race should be a little bit longer and that would even make it better.  It was good.  I want to thank Kyle Busch and his whole team -- he has a really good team -- strong team, strong trucks and a lot of fun to drive.  I just didn’t get it done today.  I felt like we had the truck to beat.  Elliott (Sadler) was really quick, he did a good job and won the race, but I felt like we should have been there and just didn’t get it done.”
 
Tundra drivers Aric Almirola (fourth), Justin Lofton (fifth), Mike Skinner (sixth), Timothy Peters (eighth) and Hamlin (ninth) also joined Kahne in the top-10.  It was Lofton’s second top-five result of the season after he finished third at Dover earlier in June.
 
“I just had a blast,” said Lofton, who won last year’s ARCA race at Pocono.  “I’ve been here four times in the ARCA car and honestly racing the truck here is a whole lot more fun.  On the last green-white-checkered I was running second on the outside of Elliott (Sadler) when I shuffled back somewhere outside the top eight and ended up finishing fifth.  It was a lot of fun.  I really hope we come back.  I wish we would have done about 50 more laps and had another pit stop in there and played some strategy out.  I had an absolute great time out there and it was three or four wide down the straightaways going in the corners not knowing what anyone is going to do.”
 
Tundra drivers Bodine (12th) and David Starr (13th) were also in the field, placing all eight Tundra race trucks in the field within the top-15 positions.
 
Toyota drivers led 24 of 55 laps at Pocono with Kahne (17 laps), Hamlin (five laps) and Bodine (two laps) each taking turns in front of the field.
 
Bodine continues to lead the unofficial NCWTS point standings following Pocono, holding a 177-point lead over second-place Almirola.  Tundra drivers Peters (fourth), Skinner (eighth) and Starr (ninth) are also in the top-10 in points after 13 of 25 races.
 
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to action at Nashville Superspeedway, August 7. 

Toyota NSCS Driver Finishing Positions at Pocono Raceway
5th, DENNY HAMLIN
9th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
17th, DAVID REUTIMANN
23rd, KYLE BUSCH
25th, JOEY LOGANO
26th, SCOTT SPEED
32nd, REED SORENSON
35th, P.J. JONES
37th, TODD BODINE
39th, MARCOS AMBROSE
40th, JOE NEMECHEK
42nd, DAVE BLANEY
43rd, MICHAEL MCDOWELL

Toyota Drivers in NSCS Point Standings -- following Pocono Raceway**
3rd, DENNY HAMLIN 2,820 points
6th, KYLE BUSCH 2,724 points
18th, DAVID REUTIMANN 2,381 points
19th, JOEY LOGANO 2,329 points
20th, MARTIN TRUEX JR. 2,283 points
26th, SCOTT SPEED 2,011 points
28th, MARCOS AMBROSE 1,885 points

Toyota NNS Driver Finishing Positions at Iowa Speedway
1st, KYLE BUSCH
3rd, JASON LEFFLER
5th, TREVOR BAYNE
6th, STEVE WALLACE
7th, MICHAEL ANNETT
9th, MATT DIBENEDETTO
27th, TAYLER MALSAM
30th, BRIAN SCOTT
31st, BRENDAN GAUGHAN
36th, REED SORENSON
37th, KEVIN LEPAGE
 
Toyota Drivers in NNS Point Standings -- following Iowa Speedway**
3rd, KYLE BUSCH                          2,876 points
7th, STEVE WALLACE                   2,488 points
8th, TREVOR BAYNE                    2,365 points
9th, BRENDAN GAUGHAN           2,347 points
10th, JASON LEFFLER                   2,326 points
11th, MICHAEL ANNETT              2,225 points
12th, BRIAN SCOTT                       2,176 points
13th, REED SORENSON                 2,167 points
15th, JOEY LOGANO                      2,108 points
 
Toyota NCWTS Driver Finishing Positions at Pocono Raceway
2nd, KASEY KAHNE
4th, ARIC ALMIROLA
5th, JUSTIN LOFTON
6th, MIKE SKINNER
8th, TIMOTHY PETERS
9th, DENNY HAMLIN
12th, TODD BODINE
13th, DAVID STARR

Toyota Drivers in NCWTS Point Standings -- following Pocono Raceway **
1st, TODD BODINE 1,993 points
2nd, ARIC ALMIROLA 1,844 points
4th, TIMOTHY PETERS 1,791 points
8th, MIKE SKINNER 1,724 points
9th, DAVID STARR 1,652 points
12th, JUSTIN LOFTON 1,426 points
19th, KYLE BUSCH 1,127 points
** unofficial point standings