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Kroger 200 - Toyota Post-Race Quotes

  • Jason Leffler finished first to claim Toyota's first Camry win in NASCAR competition. He started the race fifth. Leffler's No. 38 Great Clips Camry led the final three laps of the 200 lap event.
  • David Reutimann finished third. His No. 99 Aaron's Dream Machine Camry was qualified in the sixth position by Mark Green, but a driver change placed Reutimann at the rear of the field to start the race.
  • Mike Bliss finished ninth after starting 22nd in the No. 10 Fan1st.com Camry. This was his first race in a Camry for Braun Racing.
  • Camrys have led a total of 154 laps in NBS competition. This is the ninth race a Camry has led in NASCAR Busch Series (NBS) competition. Leffler has led a total of 60 laps, Reutimann has a led a total of 60 laps, Blaney has led a total of 19 laps and Todd Bodine has led 15 laps.
  • The Camry now has 10 top-five and 23 top-10 finishes in NBS competition.
  • Toyota has scored two poles in Busch Series competition including Leffler at Daytona (July) and Blaney at California (February).

    JASON LEFFLER, No. 38 Great Clips Toyota Camry, Braun Racing
    Finished: 1st
    What does it mean to win at this track?
    "It's pretty cool to come here and win a Busch race because I've won quite a few midget and Silver Crown races here at ORP (O'Reilly Raceway Park). I've always considered Indianapolis to be like my second home -- I've spent a lot of time here and I have a lot of friends here. I just can't say enough about our whole team at Braun Racing and what it means to us to get Toyota their first win in the Busch series. It's pretty awesome to be the first one to bring a Camry to victory lane. I'm excited, but I'm pretty tired now."

    Talk about the battle in the closing laps with David Reutimann.
    "He was kind of pinching me off and we had got together a little earlier in the race and didn't really give me all of the line on the race track. But it was no big deal. He just made it pretty hard for me to pass. But there comes a time where you can either run third or you can try to win the race. He kind of roughed me up and then I kind of roughed him up, but I eventually got by him. I'm sure he could have crashed me there, but he didn't and I appreciate it. I really like David and I'm sorry I had to do that. But he had a good run tonight too and finished third. I had to make a choice and I wanted to get by him."

    Can you talk about the decision to take tires there toward the end of the race?
    "The car really fell off there at the end -- even more than it did early in the race. I ran a Silver Crown race here on Thursday night and that car did the same thing. That race gave me a lot of good information about what the car was going to do tonight. We just made the decision that we were coming to pit road no matter what. It worked out good because we only lost seven spots and it made my car that much better than everyone else's. I was down on the bottom running a line by myself and that made it easier to work my way back to the front. It just got tough there with the top-two guys and I didn't know what was going to happen, but I thought we had a real good shot at the win."

    Why were you running the bottom line more than the top like a lot of the other guys?
    "A lot of that had to do with things we learned last Thursday in the Silver Crown race and learning about the track and then remembering back to last year when Kevin Harvick won this race by doing basically the same thing. I didn't really work on it much in practice because I didn't want to show my hand. I went down there a couple times and it felt like I had it worked out -- it really helped my car a lot and I'm sure next year everybody will be running around the bottom."

    What it is about this track that you like so much?
    "This was the track that if you were running in 'Thursday Night Thunder', you had to run good because you would make it onto ESPN and ESPN2. This is a tricky track and for a short track, it is really one of the most difficult tracks to get around. You either hit the set-up or you don't -- there's progressive banking and transitions all the way around, which makes your car do different things. But we had the right set-up tonight and we had the best crew to get the win. I just needed to reach back into my memory bank and remember what this track does during the course of a race. It's been a while, but it feels great to get back to victory lane."

    How has the progression of your team gone through this season to get this win?
    "We just had a lot of bad luck early in the season, but we had the speed. Knowing that we had the speed is really what kept everybody going. Lately we've had some good cars and some good race tracks that we've run across. We've been moving up in points and we've just stayed focused on getting better every week. This is one of our best short track cars and we've taken it to a bunch of them because it just performs so well for us. I'm so proud for everybody and our team worked so hard to get this win. We're a small Busch team so with Toyota's help and Great Clip's support we've been able to compete with the big boys and its real special to get the win here tonight."

    How would you compare this win to your first Busch win in 2004?
    "This was just real exciting to win like that at the end -- beating and banging all the way through the final laps. I just had a lot of fun tonight. I think if we weren't all getting on an airplane back to Charlotte we'd go celebrate at Kelly's Pub until tomorrow morning."

    Did you think it would be your team to be the first to get the Busch Series win for Toyota?
    "All three of the Camrys have been running strong lately in the Busch cars so I knew it was going to be close and I knew it was going to come soon. I really wanted to be the one to do it and I'm really happy for Todd (Braun) and our whole team for being the ones to pick up the win. I'm pretty excited to have my name going into the history books as Toyota's first Busch Series winner."

    JIM AUST, Vice President of Toyota Motor Sales and President / CEO of Toyota Racing Development (TRD) U.S.A.
    What do you think of tonight's win?
    "This is obviously one of the biggest days of our Busch/Cup program so far. It's something we've been waiting for since we started the season -- we knew we had a great Busch program. Thanks to the whole organization at TRD as well as the Braun group to put together the effort they have over the course of the year. We knew it was going to happen, it was just a matter of when and we hope it is the first of many to come. This feels great to be in winner's circle. Especially with the car side of it, and not just the trucks. Maybe this is the moment of things to come."

    What's next for the Camry in the Busch Series?
    "We hope for a number of wins. It's always great to get the first one and now we'd like to spread them around. We have a number of other great racers in the program and they have the same opportunities to win some races."

    RICK LANTZ, NBS Program Manager for Toyota Racing Development
    What does this mean for the Toyota Busch Series program?
    "This is an awesome -- awesome day for Braun Racing, Toyota and the Triad group who built these engines. We've seen it the last few races with the Busch Series Camrys running up front -- it was just a matter of time before we got this first victory. It was an awesome race watching Reutimann and Leffler go back and forth and Jason was just a little bit better today. We are really looking forward to the rest of the schedule. I know now that we got this first win, we are going to get more."

    How has Toyota's NBS program been this year?
    "It's been a little frustrating because I know this is where we need to be. Our teams are excellent and I know we do a good job. We are finally gelling and getting the program together. We can look forward to more victories in the future. Our teams work together to share information and the crew chiefs work together. We see how it works in the Truck Series and how successful the teams have been there and we knew it was going to be successful in the Busch Series. You can't take winning for granted because you never know when your next win will come. Hopefully the next one will be real soon."

    DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 99 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
    Finished: 3rd
    How was your race tonight?
    "I've never been able to pass cars here at ORP; we've always been out to lunch. This week everyone did a great job. Mark Green did a fabulous job getting the car set-up. Everyone at Michael Waltrip Racing did great. We came out of here with a pretty decent finish. I'm real happy for everyone at TRD and Toyota -- they work real hard and they deserve it! They work hard to make these cars run good."

    What happened at the end of the race?
    "He (Leffler) drove underneath and knocked in our right front fender in and it made our car tight after that. It's hard to pass here and you have to do stuff like that towards the end, but it was the third time he did it. I'm just disappointed in that, but I'm real happy with my guys -- they did a great job."

    MIKE BLISS, No. 10 Fan1st.com Toyota Camry, Braun Racing
    Finished: 9th
    How was your race tonight?
    "We were hauling at the start and it was fun. We had one set of tires that were real loose and we just adjusted from there. We were just tight the last two runs, we started out with the right first two real loose. I don't know if we over adjusted or what. All in all it is fun. I thought we were going to have a chance to be where Jason (Leffler) was but we weren't as good. Jason was on fire tonight and I'm real proud for these guys."

    How did the opportunity to race in the No. 10 come?
    "I found out Tuesday that I wasn't going to be running the No. 22 car tonight. Braun called and asked if I'd come over and practice and maybe qualify today. When the weather ended up being shady, I ended up being getting to race. I'm proud, I hate it for Dave (Blaney), but it was a great experience."

    What do you think of your first race in a Camry?
    "It hauls! The motor is awesome. The Camry accelerates better than anything I'm used to. They just run good and it was an eye opening knowing what you run against out here."


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