TOYOTA NASCAR Notes & Quotes
Week of May 5, 2008

Upcoming Races:
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) @ Darlington Raceway:
Friday, May 9, Qualifying, 5:15 PM (ET) -- SPEED, MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch. 128)
Saturday, May 10, Race start @ 7:30 PM (ET) -- FOX, MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch. 128)
Race 11 of 36

NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) @ Darlington Raceway:
Friday, May 9, Qualifying, 3:10 PM (ET) -- SPEED, MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch. 128)
Friday, May 9, Race start @ 7:30 PM (ET) --ESPN2, MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch. 128)
Race 12 of 35

HISTORY HERE: This weekend's race at Darlington Raceway will be the second trip for the Toyota Camry to the 1.366- mile South Carolina oval in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS). Among the four Camrys in the field, Dave Blaney (32nd) was the highest finishing Camry a year ago, ahead of David Reutimann (33rd), AJ Allmendinger (36th) and Brian Vickers (43rd). Denny Hamlin, in his first season with Toyota this year, led a race-high 179 of 367 laps, finishing runner-up to race-winner Jeff Gordon in 2007.

MORE HISTORY HERE: Friday night will also be the second race for the Toyota Camry at Darlington in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS). In 2007, Jason Leffler finished sixth in the No. 38 Great Clips Camry, the highest-finishing Toyota driver. Reutimann (24th) and Dave Blaney (31st) were also in the field. Toyota newcomer Hamlin led 79 of 147 laps a year ago en route to victory lane for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR).

HAMLIN HAD IT: Past success at Darlington -- including two top-10 finishes in two NSCS starts and two NNS wins in four races -- might be the only thing to make Hamlin feel better after Saturday night's race at Richmond International Raceway (May 3). The Chesterfield, Va.-native started from the pole in the No. 11 FedEx Camry and led a track record 381 of 410 laps at his 'home' track. However, a flat tire dashed Hamlin's hopes of winning and relegated him to 24th-place.

DENNY'S DISAPPOINTMENT: "You can't whine about it -- it just wasn't meant to be," said Hamlin, following the Richmond night race. "God didn't want me to win this one -- it was just not our day. Dominating days like this just don't happen. Usually, when it does you have an issue at the end. To me, it almost wasn't that surprising. I've experienced similar challenges at Bristol and some other race tracks."

FEELING THE FLAT: "I definitely felt it," said Hamlin, of the flat tire at Richmond . "I was in complete ride mode all race long -- letting guys get close to me and then just pulling back away from them at leisure. We had the car to beat after that last pit stop. It was everything we needed. I was just out there riding and I knew right away. I went in one corner and it fell down in the right front, and I knew we had a tire going down. They said the tires looked good, but I knew that we had an issue and it just kept getting worse. There's nothing we could do. We were hoping, it was going to last to the end and it didn't."

TWO TAKE TOP-FIVE: Despite Hamlin's misfortune, two Toyota drivers scored top-five finishes at Richmond, with JGR teammates Kyle Busch (second) and Tony Stewart (fourth). In addition, Blaney (18th) scored his best finish of the season in the No. 22 Caterpillar Camry for Bill Davis Racing. Toyota drivers Reutimann (22nd), Vickers (28th), J.J. Yeley (34th), Michael Waltrip (37th), Allmendinger (39th) and Michael McDowell (40th) were also in the field.

BUSCH BATTLED: Busch's finish wasn't without controversy, as a late-race battle for the lead with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. left Earnhardt's No. 88 machine battered, and Busch in second-place behind race winner Clint Bowyer. "It was a tough battle there, we were really racing each other pretty hard," said Busch, following the race. "His car took up off the race track on the start of those first couple laps and he started running the top side. My car pinned down on the bottom and just started getting loose down there. It's just a product of good, hard racing getting into turn three. I apologize to those guys that the whole incident happened -- I didn't mean to do it on purpose."

KYLE CLIMBS: With his runner-up finish at Richmond, Busch moved into first-place in the current NSCS point standings -- swapping places with former points leader Jeff Burton -- to now lead by 18 points. Hamlin (sixth) and Stewart (eighth) are also in the top-10 in driver points after 10 of 36 races.

BUSCH HAS BEEN GOOD: In 25 races across three NASCAR series -- NSCS, NNS and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) -- Busch has seven wins, three poles, 15 top-five finishes and has led a total of 1,146 laps. The 23-year-old Las Vegas-native has won NSCS races at Atlanta (3-9-08) and Talladega (4-27-08), NNS races at Texas (4-5-08), Phoenix (4-11-08) and Mexico City (4-20-08), and NCTS events at California (2 -23-08) and Atlanta (3-7-08).

MICHAEL'S MILESTONE: Waltrip, driver of the No. 55 NAPA Camry and owner of the Nos. 00, 44 and 55 Toyotas, will make his 700th career NSCS start Saturday night at Darlington. The Owensboro, Ky.-native has recorded four wins and 124 top-10 finishes in 699 races. Waltrip made his first start on May 26, 1985, at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, finishing 28th in a race won by his brother, Darrell. All three MWR cars have combined for 99 NSCS starts over the past two seasons, reaching the 100-start milestone at Darlington.

MOMS TO REMEMBER: The day after the Darlington NSCS race is Mother's Day and Waltrip wanted to pay tribute to mothers with a 'Love You Mom' decal on the back of Michael McDowell's No. 00 Toyota Camry. "We put a special note on McDowell's car to all the mothers that will be watching the race Saturday," Waltrip said. "My mom is an important part of my life. I love the fact that we're racing on Saturday, so that I can spend Mother's Day with her at home Sunday." McDowell was a huge supporter of the idea because he wanted to recognize his mom who lost her battle to pancreatic cancer at 45, when he was only 21. "I wanted to pay tribute to my mom," McDowell said. "In addition to MW's 'Love You Mom' decal, I'm also running one I designed to honor my mom. She had such a positive impact on my life. Everybody that knew her loved her. She was just a happy person. I miss seeing her smiling face, but I know she's with me every day."

'DINGER ON DARLINGTON: For the first time this weekend, drivers will compete on Darlington's repaved racing surface. "I've heard that Darlington is really fast now," says Red Bull Racing Team driver AJ Allmendinger of the 'Lady in Black.' "I thought it was fast last year. When it comes to still making the race, it's going to be the same thing as Richmond. I will be nervous, but maybe not as nervous as I used to be. I'm really looking forward to Darlington just from what I've heard and how fast it is.."

FIRMLY IN THE FIELD: Based on the current NSCS owner point standings, seven Camrys will be guaranteed starting spots at Darlington. Per NASCAR rules, the top-35 in owner points are given starting spots, assuring that Busch's No. 18 (first in owner points), Hamlin's No. 11 (sixth), Stewart's No. 20 (eighth), Vickers' No. 83 (18th), McDowell's No. 00 (31st), Reutimann's No. 44 (32nd) and Waltrip's No. 55 (33rd) Toyotas will be in Saturday's field. Blaney's No. 22 (36th), Yeley's No. 96 (38th) and Allmendinger's No. 84 (40th) will have to qualify for the race.

HOMETOWN BOY: For Hall of Fame Racing team member Jason Rogers, this weekend's race will have special meaning. An engineer and over-the-wall gas man on the No. 96 DLP HDTV Camry, Rogers grew up in nearby Florence, S.C., and obtained a mechanical engineering degree from Clemson (S.C.) University. "There are only a few tracks that have as much history and personality as Darlington," says Rogers. "I can remember going there for races with my father at five or six years old. I never thought I would actually be working in racing until some friends in high school got involved in late-models, but now, it's pretty special to make a living doing this, and to come back to Darlington, I always think, 'Man, this is cool.'"

TIME TO TEST: In preparation for the All-Star Race and Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway later this month, NSCS teams participated in a two-day NASCAR-sanctioned test (May 5-6) at the one-and-a-half-mile oval outside Charlotte, N.C. The test was added to the schedule to help teams gain more experience with the new NASCAR chassis (COT), and all five Toyota teams participated.

DARLINGTON DOUBLE: Four drivers will pull 'double-duty' this weekend, competing in both NSCS and NNS competition. Hamlin will drive the No. 18 Farm Bureau Insurance Camry for JGR in the NNS race, in addition to his No. 11 FedEx Camry in the NSCS. Stewart will drive the No. 20 Old Spice Camry Friday night, taking the wheel of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota on Saturday. Busch will drive the No. 32 Camry for Braun Racing in the NNS race and a special 'Indiana Jones' scheme on the No. 18 Camry the following day. Reutimann is driving full-time in both series this season, competing in the No. 99 Aaron's Dream Machine NNS Camry and No. 44 UPS NSCS Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing.

DENNY DOES IT: In Friday's Nationwide Series race (May 2), Hamlin led the race's final 12 laps en route to his first NNS victory of the season and seventh for Toyota in 11 races. Hamlin pitted for four tires during a late-race caution when the leaders stayed on the track, and used the fresh rubber to charge to the front, passing Kevin Harvick for the lead on lap 242 and held the field at bay when the race's final caution set up a 'green-white-checker' finish.

BIG DEAL FOR DENNY: "It's my biggest accomplishment as a race car driver so far in my career, even with all the Cup victories and everything," said Hamlin, following Friday's Nationwide race. "This one just stands out. It's just one of those situations where things worked out finally in our favor. We may not have had the best car all day, but we did when it counted. It's unbelievable that we were able to get this done in my home state."

SERIES SUCCESS: Camry drivers have won seven of the first 11 NNS races this season, including the last five in a row. In addition to Hamlin's victory at Richmond and Busch's three wins, Stewart also has a trio of NNS checkered flags this season, at Daytona (2-16-08), California (2-25-08) and Talladega (4-26-08). Toyota now has nine victories in 46 NNS races, since joining the series at the beginning of the 2007 season

POINTS PACE: With a third-place finish at Richmond, Busch remains third in the current NNS point standings, now just 12 points behind leader Clint Bowyer. Camry drivers Reutimann (sixth), Leffler (eighth) and Mike Wallace (ninth) are also in the top-10 in points after 11 of 35 races.

HIGH HOPES FOR HOMECOMING: Darlington is a 'home' race for Trent Owens, crew chief on the No. 32 Camry for Braun Racing. Owens grew up in Darlington, and always looks forward to racing in front of family and friends. "I have a lot of family and friends that watch me and it means the world any time you can race in front of people other than on TV," says Owens. "We're definitely going to try and win that race. That would mean a lot -- to go to Darlington, where I grew up and graduated high school -- and win that race. Winning any race is big, but winning that race would be really special to me. Kyle's (Busch) running Darlington for us, and any time you have him, you have a chance of winning."

HERE NOW, GONE TOMORROW: Drivers and teams in the NCTS will enjoy another weekend off before returning to action May 16 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The Toyota Tundras will race seven straight weeks starting at Charlotte, including races at Mansfield (May 24), Dover (May 30), Texas (June 6), Michigan (June 14), Milwaukee (June 20) and Memphis (June 28).

TUNDRA TRIUMPHS: Toyota Tundras have won three of five NCTS races this season. Todd Bodine won the season- opener at Daytona (2-15-08), followed by a pair of wins for Busch at California (2-23-08) and Atlanta (3-7-08). This season, fifteen Tundra drivers have recorded 13 top-five and 23 top-10 finishes in 49 starts, leading 270 laps.

TUNDRA TIME: Four Tundra drivers are currently in the top-10 in NCTS points after five of 25 races. Bodine is third, 71 points behind leader Ron Hornaday, Jr ., trailed by Johnny Benson (fourth), Busch (sixth) and Ted Musgrave (10th). Toyota drivers Mike Skinner (11th), David Starr (12th), Terry Cook (14th) and Justin Marks (17th) are also in the championship hunt.

MOVING FORWARD: After Darlington, teams will get to spend two weeks at home, as the Sprint Cup Series All-Star Race (May 17) and Coca-Cola 600 (May 24) are both at Lowe's Motor Speedway (LMS) in Concord, N.C., in close proximity to many teams' headquarters. The Nationwide Series returns to action at LMS on May 23.