NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)
In Sunday afternoon’s 220.5-mile NSCS race at Watkins Glen International, Ambrose earned the highest-finishing position for Toyota with a third-place result at the upstate New York road course.

Ambrose started 11th in the JTG-Daugherty Racing No. 47 Little Debbie Camry and led three times for eight (of 90) laps. Ambrose battled back and forth with race-winner Juan Pablo Montoya and ran in the top-three all afternoon.

“We lost the handle on it after the last stop.  Maybe just a bad set of tires or something,” said Ambrose, following the race. “Just after the last pit stop, we really had nothing for them.  Just lost the balance of the race car and struggled.  Congratulations to Juan (Pablo Montoya) -- he had a great race.  It was a lot of fun racing there in the middle part of the race.  It was neck and neck.  We’re both not running for a championship so there wasn’t much left out there.  It was a real thrill to compete against a guy like that.”

Busch also earned a top-10 finish in the No. 18 M&M’s Camry with an eighth-place result in the 90-lap race. Busch, who was starting in the 10th position, had a loose weight prior to the start of the race and was forced to come down pit road for his team to fix the issue. Busch worked his way back through the field to earn his 11th top-10 finish this season.

“The guys gave me a deep starting spot on the preparation, but the M&M’s Camry was fast all day,” said Busch. “Lead was loose.  We didn’t have all the spacing right inside the frame rails.  Sometimes it can happen by getting a piece of -- we have little flat three-inch piece that can fall down and then all of a sudden they can stand back up.  So, that could’ve happened. Wish our brake package was just a fuzz better.  I felt like I was losing a little bit there from where I was in 2008.  But overall, I passed a lot of cars.”

Camry drivers Martin Truex Jr. (15th), Max Papis (22nd), David Reutimann (23rd), Joey Logano (33rd), Robby Gordon (36th), Denny Hamlin (37th), Boris Said (38th), Joe Nemechek (39th), P.J. Jones (41st), Michael McDowell (42nd) and Scott Speed (43rd) were also in the field.

Hamlin fell to sixth in the unofficial NSCS point standings following Watkins Glen. Busch (seventh), Reutimann (18th) and Truex (20th) are also in the top-20 in points after 22 of 36 races this season.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to action at Michigan International Speedway, August 15.

NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS)
In Saturday afternoon’s NNS race at Watkins Glen, Ambrose earned his third consecutive win at the 2.45-mile upstate New York road course.

Ambrose started from the pole in the JTG-Daugherty No. 47 Camry and led twice for 60 (of 82) laps in the 200.9-mile race. He led the final 42 laps en route to victory lane.

“It’s just a huge win for us,” said Ambrose, following the race. “Frank Kerr (crew chief) has been so good to my career and I have to thank him so much for every opportunity he gets me to victory lane.  What a great day for our guys.  I’m saying goodbye to JTG Daugherty Racing at the end of the year and it’s just nice to get some wins for them.  I’m hoping I can do it in the Cup Series tomorrow but this feels really sweet.”

The Australian made the final pass on lap 40 when he surged past Busch as both drivers were maneuvering through lapped traffic.

“He’s (Kyle Busch) hard to pass and whenever you’re going to do it you’ve got to do it in style,” added Ambrose. “I couldn’t pass him on straight-line speed. He just had too much top end on us so I just waited for some lapped traffic to try to get around him and get some momentum on him and just out-foxed him there coming across the top of the hill. If I had to try to do that 100 times again I probably wouldn’t do it because it was just one of those moments that just came together. He got boxed on the outside. The lapped car didn’t quite know where to go and baulked his run and I just took advantage. It was pretty awesome.”

The win is the third series victory for Ambrose who also won races at Watkins Glen in 2008 and 2009. With his third straight victory he became only the second driver in history to win three consecutive races at Watkins Glen -- Terry Labonte accomplished the feat in 1994-96.

Camry drivers have registered 12 wins in 22 NNS races this season. It also marks the 49th Nationwide Series win for a Camry driver since Toyota began competing in the series at the start of the 2007 season.

Logano (second) and Busch (fifth) also recorded top-five finishes for Toyota. Toyota drivers led all 82 laps in the race with Busch also leading 14 laps and Logano pacing the field eight laps.

Other Toyota drivers in the field at Watkins Glen included Jacques Villeneuve (eighth), Steve Wallace (ninth), Tayler Malsam (12th), Brian Scott (13th), Michael Annett (19th), Trevor Bayne (29th), Brendan Gaughan (30th) and Jason Leffler (35th).

Busch -- who has only run 18 of 22 events in 2010 -- remains third in the unofficial NNS point standings following Watkins Glen. Wallace (seventh), Bayne (eighth), Gaughan (ninth), Leffler (10th), Annett (11th), Scott (12th), Logano (13th) and Reed Sorenson (15th) are also in the top-15 in points with 13 races left on the schedule.

The Nationwide Series returns to action at Michigan International Speedway, Saturday, August 14.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS)
In Saturday night’s NCWTS race at Nashville Superspeedway, series points leader Bodine was victorious for the second time this season.

Bodine started from the pole in his No. 30 Germain.com Tundra and led twice for 91 laps, only giving up the lead to fellow Toyota drivers Aric Almirola (third) and Timothy Peters (fourth) who led two and 57 laps, respectively. Tundra drivers combined to lead all 150 laps at the 1.33-mile concrete Tennessee oval.

“We won in the style of Germain Racing -- going out and stomping on them,” said Bodine, after the race. “That’s a testament to the guys in the shop that work so hard to make great race trucks. Everybody back at the motor shop built a great motor. (Mike Hillman) Junior (crew chief) has done a great job in making these things so I can drive them. In the beginning of the year we struggled a little bit with the drivability of it and went to work and figured it out and it showed. Every race we’ve been incredibly competitive. We’ve had a few mistakes and we’ve had a little bit of bad luck, but we’ve had top-five trucks every single week. That’s pretty incredible to do.”

The 2006 NCWTS champion had a flat tire in the first half of the race and used pit strategy to cycle back to the lead on lap 62 and held the front position for the remainder of the race. In victory lane Bodine was awarded the race trophy, a Sam Bass-designed Les Paul Gibson guitar to commemorate the win.

“I’ve been so close so many times,” added Bodine. “Even at the (Nashville) fairgrounds I was close. We were close with this truck before. The Germain team is awesome -- these guys are the ones that do this every week. I have to thank all the guys in the motor shop, this was an awesome motor again. I’d like to thank all the fans, all those sitting in the grandstands and watching it on T.V., we appreciate it. It’s about time I got this. That trophy is awesome.”

Brian Ickler (eighth) and Justin Lofton (ninth) also posted top-10 finishes at Nashville for Toyota. Tundra drivers Mike Skinner (11th), David Starr (14th) and Johanna Long (34th) were also in the field.

This was Bodine’s second NCWTS victory of the season and the seventh win for Toyota in 2010. He earned his first Truck Series win of the year at Texas Motor Speedway in June. It was also the 72nd victory by a Tundra driver since Toyota entered the series in 2004.

With Bodine taking the pole for Saturday night’s race, Tundra drivers have now held the pole position in the six most recent NCWTS races at Nashville. Bodine had previously started from the pole in 2008, while Skinner (2005 and 2007), Peters and Busch (April 2010) have also started from the front of the field at Nashville. Since entering the series in 2004, Toyota drivers have earned 73 pole positions.

Bodine extended his lead over second-place Almirola in the unofficial NCWTS point standings following Nashville, now holding a 174-point lead. Tundra drivers Peters (third), Skinner (eighth) and Starr (ninth) are also in the top-10 in points after 14 of 25 races.

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will race next at Darlington Raceway, August 14.

NASCAR K&N Pro Series West (NKNPSW)
In Saturday’s NASCAR K&N Pro Series West (NKNPSW) race at Montana Raceway Park, Holmes won his third race of the season at Montana Raceway Park. Holmes started seventh in the No. 20 NAPA Camry and led the final 38 (of 150) laps en route to victory lane. Moses Smith also recorded a top-five result for Toyota with a third-place finish.

Holmes currently leads the NKNPSW point standings. The series returns to action at Colorado National Speedway, August 14.

Toyota NSCS Driver Finishing Positions at Watkins Glen International
3rd, MARCOS AMBROSE
8th, KYLE BUSCH
15th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
22nd, MAX PAPIS
23rd, DAVID REUTIMANN
33rd, JOEY LOGANO
36th, ROBBY GORDON
37th, DENNY HAMLIN
38th, BORIS SAID
39th, JOE NEMECHEK
41st, P.J. JONES
42nd, MICHAEL MCDOWELL
43rd, SCOTT SPEED

Toyota Drivers in NSCS Point Standings -- following Watkins Glen International**
6th, DENNY HAMLIN 2,872 points
7th, KYLE BUSCH 2,866 points
18th, DAVID REUTIMANN 2,475 points
20th, MARTIN TRUEX JR. 2,401 points
21th, JOEY LOGANO 2,393 points
26th, MARCOS AMBROSE 2,055 points
27th, SCOTT SPEED 2,045 points

Toyota NNS Driver Finishing Positions at Watkins Glen International
1st, MARCOS AMBROSE
2nd, JOEY LOGANO
5th, KYLE BUSCH
8th, JACQUES VILLENEUVE
9th, STEVE WALLACE
12th, TAYLER MALSAM
13th, BRIAN SCOTT
19th, MICHAEL ANNETT
29th, TREVOR BAYNE
30th, BRENDAN GAUGHAN
35th, JASON LEFFLER

Toyota Drivers in NNS Point Standings – following Watkins Glen International**
3rd, KYLE BUSCH 3,036 points
7th, STEVE WALLACE 2,626 points
8th, TREVOR BAYNE 2,441 points
9th, BRENDAN GAUGHAN 2,420 points
10th, JASON LEFFLER 2,384 points
11th, MICHAEL ANNETT 2,331 points
12th, BRIAN SCOTT 2,300 points
13th, JOEY LOGANO 2,283 points
15th, REED SORENSON 2,167 points
** unofficial point standings

 Toyota NCWTS Driver Finishing Positions at Nashville Superspeedway
1st, TODD BODINE
3rd, ARIC ALMIROLA
4th, TIMOTHY PETERS
8th, BRIAN ICKLER
9th, JUSTIN LOFTON
11th, MIKE SKINNER
14th, DAVID STARR
34th, JOHANNA LONG

Toyota Drivers in NCWTS Point Standings -- following Nashville Superspeedway**
1st, TODD BODINE 2,188 points
2nd, ARIC ALMIROLA 2,014 points
3rd, TIMOTHY PETERS 1,956 points
8th, MIKE SKINNER 1,854 points
9th, DAVID STARR 1,773 points
12th, JUSTIN LOFTON 1,564 points
19th, KYLE BUSCH 1,127 points
** unofficial point standings

Toyota NKNPSW Driver Finishing Positions at Montana Raceway Park
1st, ERIC HOLMES
3rd, MOSES SMITH
11th, PAULIE HARRAKA
20th, CARL HARR