Toyota Notes & Quotes for Las Vegas

Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin lead team Toyota into Las Vegas.

HE’S COMING HOME: Camry driverKyle Busch heads to his hometown of Las Vegas as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) points leader after earning third-place results in the season’s first two events. The defending series champion also earned his first NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) victory of the season last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Busch became the only NSCS driver from Nevada to win at the 1.5-mile track when he drove his Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) No. 18 M&M’s Camry to victory lane in March 2009 after starting from the pole. He last visited Las Vegas in December, when the series celebrated his first, Toyota’s first and sponsor M&M’s first NSCS championship.

CLOSE TO COLORADO: New Camry team Furniture Row Racing (FRR) is based in Denver, Colorado, just 750 miles northeast of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and one of the closest events to the team’s headquarters. TRD (Toyota Racing Development), U.S.A., builds the team’s engines in Costa Mesa, California and FRR has a technical alliance with fellow Toyota team JGR, based in Huntersville, N.C. Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. sits second in NSCS driver points after finishing runner-up at Daytona and seventh at Atlanta. Last year, Truex earned a career-best result at the 1.5-mile Las Vegas track with a second-place finish and only has one finish outside the top-20 in 10 starts at the race track.

NASCAR GOES WEST: The NSCS and NXS teams head west for the first of three-straight races on the West Coast. With the long distance between the Charlotte-area race shops and Las Vegas Motor Speedway (2,200 miles), Phoenix International Raceway (2,060 miles) and California’s Auto Club Speedway (2,370 miles), some teams, like Joe Gibbs Racing, will elect to keep their primary team transporters for Busch, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlinand Matt Kenseth on the West Coast. A secondary transporter with just Camry race cars travels back and forth between the races to swap out cars. The three tracks are each unique from one another – Las Vegas is 1.5-miles with progressive 20-degree banking, Phoenix is a one-mile flat track with 9 to 11-degree banking and California is a two-mile, D-shaped oval with 14-degree banking.

NOTES, QUOTES & NUMBERS

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS): Camry drivers Kyle Busch (first), Martin Truex Jr. (second), Carl Edwards (fourth) and Denny Hamlin (fifth) currently rank in the top-10 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) point standings … In addition to Busch’s hometown victory in 2009, Kenseth earned the Camry’s 50th series win with his 2013 triumph at Las Vegas … Kenseth has the most top-five results (six), top-10 finishes (nine) and laps led (516) of active drivers at Las Vegas.

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

With two third-place finishes to start the season, what are your thoughts heading back to Las Vegas this weekend?
“It’s much different than Atlanta last weekend, even though both tracks are the same size. Vegas is really grippy with the tire being a little harder compound and you’ve got really good speed, but then in the race it gets sunny and can get loose and slick. Once you get your car handling good, you still have a lot of speed and don’t fall off at places like Atlanta and Texas. I was fortunate enough to win there in 2009, but we haven’t run to my liking there overall, so I’m hoping we can have a strong run there this weekend with our M&M’S Camry and keep the M&M’S 75th anniversary year rolling. I’m hoping we can give everyone something to cheer for this weekend, especially since I wasn’t able to race there last year because of my injury.”

Is there more pressure racing at your hometown track?
“Yeah, Vegas always means a little bit more pressure – more pressure on myself – just because it’s the hometown and you want to win there. Thankfully, I have won there and I’ve knocked that one off the list, but certainly you want to win there every year. It seems like either Carl (Edwards) or Jimmie (Johnson) are better than most there, but I love Vegas, the atmosphere and everything going on around that place. It’s always been a big race for us and the M&M’S team.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What are the team’s goals and objectives heading into Las Vegas this weekend?
“The win in Daytona certainly affords us the opportunity to work and try some things on the intermediate and short tracks, and after Atlanta, it’s nice to know that we have time to work on things and try to dial in this new package a little bit more. NASCAR is giving teams the chance to test on Thursday at Las Vegas and that’s a good chance for us to put down some laps on a track that has a lot of the same characteristics as other mile and a half racetracks on the circuit. It will be good to get back into the normal race week routine and go for another win on Sunday.”

CARL EDWARDS, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What would a win this early in the season mean to you?
“We have had two solid runs to start the season and we head to Vegas with the new downforce package which was a lot of fun in Atlanta. We get to work on a bunch of things in the test sessions. It is always fun to go to Vegas. A lot of fans travel out there from all over, it’s a fun venue and it’s a great race track. We have ARRIS on board – we’ve had a lot of fun with them so far this year and want to get a win and lock ourselves into the Chase. I think this will be the real test to this new package with the newer pavement and higher speeds and hopefully it’s a success.”

MARTIN TRUEX, No. 78 Furniture Row Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing

Do you have a new strategy for 2016?
“I don’t think we’ll really do anything differently. I think there was a few areas we felt like we needed to be better in – a few areas where we felt like we could be stronger and a lot of that stuff is on the technical side and the car side and certainly being a Toyota team and our relationship with JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing), we feel like – Cole (Pearn, crew chief) feels like we’re stronger in every area than we were last year and that’s something in the off-season that we were looking forward to. He feels really good about where we are on that side of things and he feels good and I do as well.”

Are you looking forward to some of these West Coast races?
“Las Vegas will be as wild and slippery ride as it was in Atlanta. It’s a fast track where you have to hold down the throttle for a long time. The track is getting back to where it was before it was repaved. The groove is getting wide and the guys are moving around quite a bit, but it’s still really bumpy in turns 1 and 2. The West Coast swing is usually good and it’s about the only time of the year our guys are on the plus side for sleep. They really enjoy racing somewhat close to home.”

NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS): Camry drivers Daniel Suarez (second), Erik Jones (11th) and Dakoda Armstrong (13th) currently rank in the top-15 in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) point standings … Jones won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Las Vegas in 2014 … Toyota drivers have four NXS runner-up results at Vegas – Kyle Busch in 2013 and 2014, Denny Hamlin in 2010 and Mark Martin in 2012.

ERIK JONES, No. 20 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Is it win or bust every week now with the Chase format?
“You have the driver’s championship that’s decided by the Chase, but the owner’s championship is decided by points format, so I think that the true judge of teams honestly is going to be somewhat the owner’s points. Hopefully we can get the win knocked out of the way and get in the Chase and then we’ll be racing for wins every week and watching to see where the owner’s points are stacking up. You need something to keep you motivated and I think that’s what’s going to keep us motivated.”

DANIEL SUAREZ, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Are you looking forward to racing at Las Vegas this weekend?
“I’m really looking forward to getting to Las Vegas and continuing the momentum we have built to start the season. I was pleased with the way we performed at our first mile-and-a-half track last weekend and hopefully that will carry over toSaturday. Our communication as a team has gotten better each week, and I can’t wait to see how we do on this first leg of the West Coast swing.”

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS): Tundra drivers Timothy Peters (fourth), Ryan Truex (sixth) and Ben Rhodes (eighth) currently rank in the top-10 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) point standings … The NCWTS takes the next several weeks off, returning to action at Martinsville Speedway on April 2.

- GOLIN for Toyota Racing

Toyota Notes & Quotes: 2015 Pure Michigan 400

Bigger spoiler being used at Michigan just like at Indy to create more drag.

RACING FOR THE CHASE: Four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) races remain before the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup begins and five Camry drivers currently stand to secure one of 16 entries into the championship hunt. Matt Kenseth (wins at Bristol and Pocono), Carl Edwards (Charlotte) and Denny Hamlin(Martinsville) have each clinched a spot by virtue of regular season race wins. Kyle Busch, despite missing the first 11 races of the season, has won four races (Sonoma, Kentucky, New Hampshire and Indianapolis) and climbed his way into the top-30 – a position he will need to maintain to assure his Chase berth. Clint Bowyer has three consecutive top-10 finishes and must maintain or improve his current 14th position in driver standings – of which 10 points separate 11th to 14th place – or win to remain in the Chase field.

MAGIC MICHIGAN MOMENT: Soon after Toyota entered NASCAR competition in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) in 2004, the manufacturer captured its first victory only 13 races into the inaugural season when Travis Kvapil’s Tundra took the checkered flag at Michigan International Speedway. Since then, Toyota drivers have captured five driver’s championships – Todd Bodine in 2006 and 2010, Johnny Benson in 2008 and defending back-to-back series champion Matt Crafton (2013 and 2014). Tundra drivers have also won 137 races and six manufacturer’s championships (2006-2010, 2014) since 2004.

JONES JOURNEY: There’s no doubt it has been a magical journey for Michigan-native Erik Jones as he’s ascended the NASCAR ranks in a short time. In less than three years, the now 19-year old has gone from winning his first Snowball Derby to collecting seven NASCAR victories. With five NCWTS wins to his racing resume, including a win at Iowa this season, Jones is currently third in the series point standings and just 16 points out of first. He has also found himself behind the wheel of a Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) Camry in 17 of 19 races this season in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) where he has also captured two first-place trophies (Texas and Chicagoland). If that weren’t enough, Jones made his official NSCS debut at Kansas this year subbing for then injured Busch after also pinch hitting for Hamlin after a significant rain delay at Bristol.

GIBBS SEEKING FIRST OHIO WIN: With the NXS making its third appearance at Mid-Ohio, JGR is seeking its first win at the 2.258-mile circuit. In the first two NXS races in Ohio, JGR Camrys tallied four top-10 results, including a best finish of second by Michael McDowell in 2013. The Gibbs organization has six NXS wins in 2015 and the three-Camry team has combine for 11 top-10 results in the last five races. JGR will field Camrys for Daniel Suarez (No. 18), Kenny Habul(No. 20) and Boris Said (No. 54) at Mid-Ohio.

NOTES, QUOTES & NUMBERS

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS): Camry drivers Matt Kenseth (seventh), Denny Hamlin (10th), Clint Bowyer (14th) and Carl Edwards (15th) currently rank in the top-15 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) point standings … Camry drivers have four NSCS wins at Michigan … Brian Vickers won at the track in August 2009 … Camry driver Hamlinclaimed two Sprint Cup Series wins (June 2010 and 2011) in Michigan, whileBusch has one victory (August 2011) at the two-mile speedway … The Toyota Technical Center (TTC) is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich. … For more than 35 years, TTC has been the driving force behind Toyota’s North American Engineering and Research and Development activities … TTC oversees the design and development of vehicles, including the design of both the 2015 production Camry and Camry race car.

MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What should we expect at Michigan with the new rules package?
“I think it depends a lot on the cautions and if the track widens out much or not. It started to widen out last time we had all of that rain. I thought it was going to be a good race this time around but with this new package it’s hard to tell. They’re very treacherous in traffic at Indy, so this track is much bigger, much wider and it might be better.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What type of racing will be seen at Michigan with the new aero package?
“You will see single car, but if you’re going to be drafting and utilizing the draft and being able to roll out of the throttle and stuff, it’s going to change a lot during the race. It’s going to be quite drastic. From being by yourself in practice to then being in the race, it’s going to be way different. But we saw some of that at Indy – we ran up front. We ran by ourselves in practice and then we kind of ran up front and we ran within some other guys and drafted a little bit and whatnot, so we were able to learn probably what fuel‑mileage numbers look like a little bit there to somewhat prepare ourselves for Michigan.”

NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS): Camry drivers Daniel Suarez (seventh) and JJ Yeley (13th) currently rank in the top-15 in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) point standings … Over the last 10 years, Boris Said has one victory (2010 in Montreal) and five top-10 results in 21 starts in the NXS, including a fourth-place result at Watkins Glen last weekend.

BORIS SAID, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

How does it feel to take the No. 54 Monster Energy Camry to a track like Mid-Ohio that you’re familiar with?
“Watkins Glen was a blast. Man, these Toyota cars are fast and I have to repeat myself – this Joe Gibbs Racing organization is top notch. The way they prepare and approach the whole weekend is really impressive. I’m privileged to have another weekend with the (No.) 54 team and Chris (Gayle, crew chief). Fortunately, Mid-Ohio is a racetrack I have some time on and I’m really excited to get there and go again with hopefully an even better result this week.”

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS): Tundra drivers Matt Crafton (second), Erik Jones (third), Johnny Sauter (fourth), Cameron Hayley (fifth), Timothy Peters (eighth) and Ben Kennedy (10th) currently rank in the top-10 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) point standings … Tundra drivers have four Michigan victories – Travis Kvapil (2004), Johnny Benson (2006), Aric Almirola (2010) and Johnny Sauter (2014) … Last year, Sauter won after Toyota drivers led 90 laps (of 100) at Michigan … ThorSport Racing is the only NASCAR team based in Ohio and is headquartered in Sandusky … ThorSport has run the full NCWTS schedule since 1998 and currently fields three Tundras – Crafton, Sauter and Hayley.

CAMERON HAYLEY, No. 13 Cabinets by Hayley Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing

How do you approach a track like Michigan that you haven’t raced at before?
“Michigan will be another first for me, but I do know it’s a real fast race track. These trucks are so big and they punch such a big hole in the air that we don’t have the ability to run by ourselves, so drafting will be a huge thing for us. I think it will be a cross-breed between a normal mile-and-a-half and Daytona. Obviously, being a two-mile track, it’s a little bigger than a mile-and-a-half, so it will be wide open and the best truck will be the one that’s aero tight – they will win the race.”

- Toyota Racing