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Stater Bros. 300 - Toyota Post-Race Quotes

  • Tony Stewart gave Toyota its fourth NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) victory Monday at Auto Club Speedway of Southern California in the No. 20 Z-Line Designs Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing.
  • Stewart won the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway last weekend and becomes the first multiple NASCAR race winner from behind the wheel a Camry.
  • Stewart remains the point leader in NNS following today’s race with a 30-point advantage over second place. Toyota drivers hold the point lead in all three NASCAR series following this weekend’s races at Auto Club Speedway. Busch leads in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
  • Kyle Busch (second) and David Reutimann (fourth) also scored top-10 finishes in Camrys.
  • Other Toyota drivers in the field included Jason Leffler (11th) and Mike Wallace (16th).
  • Toyota earned two NNS wins in its first season in 2007 (Leffler at O'Reilly Raceway Park and Reutimann at Memphis).

    TONY STEWART, No. 20 Z-Line Designs Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
    Finished: 1st
    How did your car handle throughout the race?
    "The worst the car was, was there at the end. That was the tightest that the car had been all day. I think the caution hurt us because the car didn't like the cycle. It made the balance tight, but this car was awesome today. It was just so fast and all I had to do was run hard. I knew that if I could stay ahead of the 99 for about 15 laps, I would be able to run my pace and those guys would wear their tires down or wear themselves down trying to stay with us. We could just drive on and stay on our own pace after that."

    Were you surprised at how strong your car was with the limited practice time?
    "This car was really good in the little bit of practice that we got Saturday morning. The guys had great pit stops all day and kept us with great track position. We were never any further back that second other than when the guys cycled around there in the pits. I'm really happy to lead 136 laps of 150 lap race -- that's pretty impressive."

    Have you ever had a car this dominant?
    "No, not at all. We got lucky and won Daytona by being in the right place at the right time, but this was just one of those days that you can count between both hands and both feet the times you have cars this good. You expect it with Joe Gibbs Racing, that's the way their cars always drive. Every time I've been in one of their (Nationwide) cars, they've been unbelievably fast. This one is for all the fans that stuck around for three days of getting soaking wet and cold and freezing their butts off -- this is for all those guys."

    Was it a challenge for you to run both the NSCS and NNS races today?
    "It wasn't a big deal -- that was easy. These cars drove so much better than the ones we drove this morning -- it was a lot more fun to drive these obviously because they handle so good compared to the Sprint Cup cars. But you can't take it away from Dave Rogers (crew chief) and these guys on this Z-Line team today. They made it handle really, really good -- there were a lot of cars that weren't driving real good out there and this thing drove good all day. They just did an awesome job."

    Do you feel like you've had two flawless race weekends in a row?
    "I think today was error-less for sure and Daytona wasn't. The reason we even got in a position to go around our teammate wasn't really by choice. We had worked hard all week at Daytona to stay with teammates and I just couldn't stay on the bottom in one and two when we lost second place at Daytona. That's the only reason -- we dropped back and got a good run to get back to the front of the field. But that's the only reason that Kyle (Busch) and I got separated at Daytona in the first place. I don't think Daytona was flawless by any means, but I think today was. Anytime you can lead 137 of 150 laps, you've pretty much had a flawless day. The pit stops were unreal and that's as critical as the way the cars drive. They did everything right in the pits today and it was just flawless all the way around. Dave (Rogers, crew chief) made perfect changes and the car drove great all day. It just made for a flawless day because of that."

    Can you talk about the fans that came back for today's races?
    "The crowd was awesome. We had hospitality yesterday so we were on the grandstand side and we were watching everybody walking around in the mist. They were soaking wet already and it was 10 o'clock in the morning and people stayed until 10 or 11 o'clock last night. You know they were cold and wet all day and a lot of them came back today. That's pretty impressive and that's who this win is for. It's always nice to dedicate a win to somebody, but I think this one goes to the fans who stuck it out all weekend long. It was a really weird weekend as far as weather and it didn't make for perfect conditions by any means. I think NASCAR did a great job and the track staff did a great job of doing everything they could to get all the dramas fixed to get us on the race track as much as they did. Anytime you have people who are paying for tickets in the stands and they stick it out like that -- it impresses me. That's why at the end of the race, I turned around and pointed to the fans because it was for them. Those are the people that stuck around all day today, through two races, and you want to dedicate it to those people."

    KYLE BUSCH, No. 32 Beringer Vineyards Toyota Camry, Braun Racing
    Finished: 2nd
    How strong was your car today?
    "This Beringer Toyota was pretty awesome today. The guys with Braun Racing, Trent Owens (crew chief) and all the guys at the shop were great. We had a seat fiasco -- we had to go through and get a seat in this car, but everybody dug in and worked hard and got this thing prepared. We were pretty successful when we unloaded here in practice, but we didn't quite have enough for that 20 (Tony Stewart) car. I don't know if it was down the straight-away or not, but this motor was definitely down a little from the 99 (David Reutimann) because he was pretty stout. Hopefully we can figure something out with TRD (Toyota Racing Development) on what we can do to make ours better."

    How was the battle with David Reutimann early in the race?
    "It was and there at the beginning of the race I think we were racing a little too hard. He side-drafted me and doored me getting into turn one, which is what spun me out with my brother (Kurt Busch) at the All-Star race and I didn't appreciate that. I was pretty upset there, but we cleaned it up and got it back going. We had to come down pit road and fix a chassis adjustment that went the wrong way on us. Again we passed the most cars this weekend, but they don't pay passing points so we need to change that."

    Did you feel like you would have had something for Stewart in the closing laps?
    "Tony (Stewart) was pretty much in a league of his own all day for some reason. I felt like we were down on motor from what the 99 (David Reutimann) was -- I never got a chance to race around the 20 to see what his was like. It was just frustrating to have to battle down the straight-away with a guy that had more motor behind you. I felt like we had the best handling car through the corner for much of the day. Overall, having to come back from the back a couple times -- it was a good race out there. These cars are hard to pass in and hard to make up ground in because everyone is so equal under the hood or close to that you can't make up ground exiting the corner because you're all just wide open. Whatever you car has underneath the hood is about all it's got."

    How focused were you on the possibility of leading the points in all three series after this race?
    "The biggest thing we try to do is to get results and get wins -- that is the optimum thing that you want to do it to get your team to victory lane. We weren't able to capitalize on that today with either car, but the truck series we were able to. It just means that either I have more work to do or whatever to get my stuff a little bit better to get to victory lane. It's been a good weekend for me. You can't really complain coming out of two weekends off and all six finishes in the top-five."

    Do you feel like you're pushing your teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing to perform better?
    "Not really. I think if you ask Tony (Stewart) that, he already said that. He felt like me coming on board was going to elevate Joe Gibbs Racing and make those guys have to drive harder. For me, I just go out there and do what my car can do. If it's a 20th place car, then I finish 20th on those days and if it's a 30th place car then I normally wreck it. With a top-five car, I can finish up there and on a bad day, then it's a top-10. It's more about what your car will give you and today Tony didn't have quite the car that he wanted in the Cup series, but he was able to come home seventh. Here he was the class of the field and was able to lead the most laps and win the thing."

    DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 99 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
    Finished: 4th
    Did the handling go away on your car toward the end of the race?
    "We got real tight there at the end and we were real free at the beginning of the run. We were too free to really stay close and then would get too tight there toward the end and couldn't maintain. We kind of teeter-tottered on that deal all day. It ended up being all right -- the car drove good, the pit stops were good. With the new motor rules and the gear package, if the car gets tight you're definitely in trouble with it."

    Did you think you had a chance to get around Tony Stewart at any point in the race?
    "The 20 car was very good and I got to him once there and thought we might be able to make a move, but then the yellow came out. When we went back to green, his car just got better or our car got worse. It was a good day, I enjoyed the racing and it was fun. I didn't tear the car up, so it's a good day."

    How big of a challenge was it for you to run both the NSCS and NNS races today?
    "It wasn't that big of a deal. I'll sleep really good tonight. All in all, it really wasn't much of an issue. I would have much rather raced last night and been home by now, but I'm sure I'm not the only one."

    JASON LEFFLER, No. 38 Great Clips Toyota Camry, Braun Racing
    Finished: 11th

    MIKE WALLACE, No. 7 GEICO Toyota Camry, Germain Racing
    Finished: 16th

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