TOYOTA NASCAR Notes & Quotes
Week of February 25, 2008

Upcoming Races:
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) @ Las Vegas Motor Speedway:
Friday, February 29, Qualifying, 3:30 PM (PT) -- SPEED, MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch. 128)
Sunday, March 2, Race start @, 1:30 PM (PT) -- Fox-TV, MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch. 128) Race 3 of 36

NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) @ Las Vegas Motor Speedway:
Saturday, March 1, Qualifying, 9:00 AM (PT) -- SPEED, MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch. 128)
Saturday, March 1, Race start @ 1:30 PM (PT) -- ESPN2, MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch. 128)
Race 3 of 35

HISTORY HERE: Two Camrys competed at the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the 2007 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race, with Dale Jarrett (33rd) recording Toyota's highest finish and Dave Blaney (42nd) also competing in the race. Toyota newcomers Denny Hamlin (third), Tony Stewart (seventh) and Kyle Busch (ninth) each finished in the top-10 a year ago. In NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) competition, three Camrys started the race in 2007 with Blaney (25th) taking Toyota's top finish. David Reutimann (31st) and Jason Leffler (37th) also competed in the same race. Mike Skinner -- who will drive the No. 27 Toyota Camry in NSCS competition this week in Las Vegas -- has held the pole position three times (2004-06) and recorded one victory (2006) at the Nevada oval in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) competition. Skinner's best Cup finish at Las Vegas was fourth-place in 1999.

RAIN DELAY WRAPUP: Following multiple rain delays on Sunday, the NSCS race was completed Monday and Toyota Camry drivers finished strong for the second consecutive week. Busch, driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Camry, recorded Toyota's top finish (fourth) while Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) teammate Stewart finished seventh in the No. 20 Home Depot Camry. Brian Vickers recorded his second top-15 of the year, crossing the finish line in 11th-place in his No. 83 Red Bull Camry. A total of nine Camrys were in the race, including Reutimann (23rd), Michael Waltrip (28th), J.J. Yeley (29th), Blaney (30th), Jarrett (33rd) and Hamlin (41st).

BUSCH BATTLES: "We had a great race car, but not quite as good as those guys at the end," said Busch, following the race. "Our car was good all day. Last night (Sunday), it was definitely pretty cool, and we had a lot of grip on the race track - - it was pretty fast. It was cool to race with the 24 (Jeff Gordon) and 48 (Jimmie Johnson) like that -- we aren't teammates anymore, but still we respect each other. We'll take a fourth-place finish and a good championship points day when we can if we don't have the car to win."

STARTING STRONG: Nine Toyota Camrys started the rain-delayed 500-mile race -- the most Camrys to start a NSCS race for the second consecutive week. Previously, the most Camrys to start a NSCS race was six, which took place six times in 2007 -- at Sonoma, Watkins Glen, Pocono (2), California (2), Texas (2) and Talladega (2).

TOYOTAS ON TOP: Following the second weekend of NASCAR competition, Toyota drivers top the point standings in all three series -- NSCS, NNS and NCTS -- for the first time. Busch has scored two consecutive fourth-place finishes and is the current Sprint Cup points leader, marking the first time a Camry driver has led the NSCS points chase. Busch is currently six points ahead of second-place Ryan Newman and 19 points ahead of fellow Camry driver Stewart. Busch also leads the NCTS point standings after his win on Saturday in California, 20 points ahead of 2006 series champion Todd Bodine. In the NNS, Stewart leads the standings following his back-to-back victories at Daytona and California. He holds a 30-point lead over Busch.

TOO EARLY TO TALK TITLE: "It was a good championship points day," said Busch, following the rain-delayed race in Fontana, Calif. "It doesn't mean much right here in California. If the championship was paid for (today) -- 'Woo hoo, yeah for us' -- but we've still got 33 weeks left in this deal. We'll take it now and hopefully hold onto it for a while and keep battling."

TALLYING TOP-10s: After totaling 11 NSCS top-10s for the Camry last season, Toyota drivers have already recorded four top-10s in just two races. Busch and Stewart finished fourth and seventh at the Auto Club Speedway. At Daytona, Stewart was third -- equaling Toyota's best NSCS finish -- and Busch finished fourth.

LAPPING LAST YEAR: Toyota Camry drivers led a total of 166 laps across 16 different NSCS races last season. This year, Camry drivers have led 155 laps in the first two events of the year -- Daytona (138 laps) and California (17 laps). Six Camry drivers have led at least one lap this year with Busch out front with 100 laps led in the first two races -- including a race-high 86 laps in the Daytona 500 and 14 laps led in California. JGR teammates Hamlin (32) and Stewart (16) also led laps at Daytona. Other Toyota drivers who have led laps this season include Jarrett (3, California), Waltrip (3, Daytona) and Blaney (1, Daytona).

BUSCH BACK HOME: Busch will return home this week to compete at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and his homecoming could not come at a better time. "It's always nice to go back to the home track and the hometown -- see some friends and hang out with some friends," says Busch, who has recorded three consecutive NSCS top-10 finishes in Las Vegas. "It's pretty much business on Friday, Saturday and Sunday."

TESTING TALK: All the Camry NSCS drivers return to Las Vegas after completing a two-day test session at the end of January. Red Bull Racing Team driver AJ Allmendinger will attempt to qualify for his first race of 2008 after being second quickest overall at the test last month. All three JGR drivers -- Busch, Hamlin and Stewart -- were also atop the speed charts at the 1.5-mile oval. "The test we had there was great," says Busch. "I felt like we were one of the best cars there. It's a great place to race -- it's a fun track. There's some banking there and it's just a cool venue."

STEWART'S VIEW OF 'SIN CITY': "I love going to Las Vegas," says Stewart, who has tallied six top-10 finishes in nine starts there. "I don't know anybody who doesn't like going to Las Vegas. It's a unique race weekend when we get to go out there and go to the casinos and see all the shows. There's a lot to do in the evenings there, where a lot of the places we go don't have a lot to do at night."

DJ'S VEGAS FAREWELL: Jarrett will make the third of his final five starts at Las Vegas. He has captured the pole position twice (1999, 2001) at the Nevada oval, which ties a track record. Jarrett has recorded three top-10 finishes in 10 starts at the track and his best finish was a second-place result in 2001. The 1999 Cup Series champion has amassed 32 wins and 16 poles in 665 starts during his storied 24-year NASCAR career. When he retires, Jarrett will turn over driving duties of the No. 44 UPS Camry to Reutimann and become a TV analyst for ESPN, competing only in May's All-Star race in Charlotte.

TESTING TALK FROM DJ: "I was pleasantly surprised when I got in the car here and made the first few laps -- the car does things that we couldn't get it to do last year," said Jarrett, of the January Vegas test session. "We have speed and the car drives well for a number of laps. I know that Toyota has continued to work extremely hard on our engine package to get the power where we need. To me, that seems to be a lot better than what we had last year."

DOUBLE DUTY: Four Toyota drivers will make multiple starts this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. For the third consecutive week, Busch, Reutimann and Stewart will be behind the wheel of Camrys in the NNS race on Saturday and the NSCS race on Sunday. In addition, Vickers will run his second NNS race of the year after finishing fourth in the Daytona season-opener.

STEWART SCORES SECOND STRAIGHT: Stewart led 136 of 150 laps in the No. 20 Z-Line Designs Camry and earned his second consecutive NNS victory Monday afternoon at the Auto Club Speedway. Additionally, two other Camrys -- Busch (second) and Reutimann (fourth) -- finished among the top-five in California. Busch has now finished runner-up in back-to- back weeks in the NNS. The win gave Toyota its fourth NNS victory and second win this year. Toyota earned two NNS wins in its first season of competition in 2007 with Jason Leffler (Indianapolis) and Reutimann (Memphis).

TONY TALKS TRIUMPH: "This car was awesome," said Stewart, after his win. "It was so fast, all you had to do was run hard, and if I could stay ahead of the No. 99 (Reutimann) for about 15 laps, I could just keep running my pace. They'd wear their tires out and wear themselves out trying to stay with us, and we'd just drive at our own pace."

KYLE'S CAR: "I felt like we had the best handling car through the corner for much of the day," says Busch of his No. 32 Beringer Vineyards Toyota Camry. "Overall, having to come back from the back a couple times -- it was a good race out there. These cars are hard to pass 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."

TOYOTA TO HOST THUNDERBIRDS: The Toyota suite will be home to the famed 'Thunderbirds' from Nellis Air Force Base on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. After participating in the pre-race festivities, the Thunderbirds will watch the race from the Toyota suite. The nine members of the Thunderbirds that will be in attendance during the NSCS race are: Lieutenant Colonel Greg Thomas, Major Christopher Austin, Major Kirby Ensser, Major Scott Poteet, Major Dyon Douglas, Lieutenant Colonel Rob Skelton, Major Charla Quayle, Captain Giff Ploetz and Captain Elizabeth Kreft.

BRIAN TO FLY HIGH: Vickers will step away from the track on Thursday to take a ride in the Red Bull Edge with Red Bull Air Race pilot Kirby Chambliss. Vickers and Chambliss will take off from Perkins Field outside Las Vegas at 4:00 PM (PT) and Chambliss -- the 2006 Red Bull Race World Series Champion -- will perform stunts over the drag strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Vickers is set to ride in the front seat of the two-seater plane while Chambliss controls the plane from the second seat. At times, Vickers will be given the opportunity to control the plane himself through passenger controls located in the front seat.

EXTRA ENERGY: This weekend, Red Bull wi ll bring back the Red Bull Energy Station to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The two-story, 5,000-square-foot metal structure can play host to up to 200 Red Bull guests and features two full-service beverage bars, furniture, flat screens and a DJ booth. The Red Bull Energy Station will be located outside turn three facing the track.

BUSCH EARNS 40TH FOR TOYOTA: Busch led a race-high 51 laps to dominate the field last Saturday to give Toyota its 40th NCTS win since the start of the 2004 season (102 races). The victory marks Busch's seventh-career NCTS win in 38 starts, and his inaugural win in a Toyota Tundra. "This win here probably means the absolute most," said Busch, following the race. "In November 2001, I got kicked out of this track for being under -age and I wasn't able to run in the Craftsman Truck Series."

TAKING THE TOP FOUR, AGAIN: For the second consecutive week, Tundras swept the top four spots in a NCTS race. In the California event, Busch crossed the finish line first followed by Todd Bodine (second), Johnny Benson (third) and Terry Cook (fourth). In the NCTS season-opener at Daytona, Bodine captured the checkered flag and was followed to the finish line by Busch, Benson and David Starr.

STRONG STARTER: Bodine, the 2006 NCTS champion, sta rted the 2008 season with his 13th career NCTS victory at Daytona and followed that up with a second-place finish at California. "First last week and second this week -- that's how you win championships," says Bodine.