TOYOTA NASCAR Notes & Quotes
Week of March 31, 2008

Upcoming Races:
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) @ Texas Motor Speedway:
Friday, April 4, Qualifying, 4:40 PM (ET) -- SPEED, PRN and Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch. 128)
Sunday, April 6, Race start @ 2:00 PM (ET) -- FOX-TV, PRN and Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch. 128)
Race 7 of 36

NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) @ Texas Motor Speedway:
Thursday, April 3, Qualifying, 7:05 PM (ET)
Saturday, April 5, Race start @ 3:00 PM (ET) - ESPN2, PRN and Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch. 128)
Race 7 of 35

HISTORY HERE: The Toyota Camry will make its third trip to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) and NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) events. In 2007, three Camry drivers competed in the spring NSCS race -- Brian Vickers (14th), Dave Blaney (21st) and Dale Jarrett (30th), while six Camry drivers raced in the fall event at Texas -- Blaney (21st), Vickers (23rd), Mike Skinner (24th), Jarrett (38th), AJ Allmendinger (39th) and David Reutimann (43rd).

MORE HISTORY HERE: In last spring's NNS race at Texas, Reutimann (sixth) was the highest Toyota finisher followed by Jason Leffler (13th) and Blaney (25th). Reutimann also took the pole position for last fall's NNS Texas race, before finishing 18th. Other Camry drivers in that fall event included Leffler (12th), Michael McDowell (20th) and Brent Sherman (37th).

TRIUMPHS IN TEXAS: Toyota has earned multiple wins and pole positions at Texas in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) competition. Todd Bodine has four wins (one each year from 2004-07) and a pole in 2007 at the track located in Fort Worth. Fellow Tundra driver Ted Musgrave earned the victory in last fall's NCTS event at Texas. Skinner has five poles (one in 2004, two in 2005 and one in 2007) in a Tundra at Texas Motor Speedway.

NUMBER TWO FOR TOYOTA: Denny Hamlin, driver of the Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) No. 11 FedEx Camry, fought hard in Sunday's 500-lap NSCS race at Virginia's half-mile Martinsville Speedway to take the checkered flag. After starting from the outside of the front row, Hamlin led the field three times for a total of 82 laps en route to his fourth NSCS career win. The trip to victory lane was also the second for a Camry driver at NASCAR's top level, following Kyl e Busch's win in March at Atlanta. Hamlin was the first driver to bring the Camry to victory lane at the Cup level in a non-points race when he won the second qualifying race at Daytona in February.

HAMLIN HITTING HIS STRIDE: Hamlin may have started the year off slow, but he has come on strong -- earning three top-10 finishes in the last four races. "It's been difficult," says Hamlin, who won Sunday in his home state of Virginia. "I mean, it's hard to be patient. When you get so close to winning races and something bad happens or things just don't work out in your favor at the end and you end up losing a win, it's tough to maintain confidence. I felt like we had a chance to probably win three in a row here, but just the first two races (Bristol and Atlanta) we had a lot of problems. A lot of thanks to the guys at TRD (Toyota Racing Development) who help support us at Joe Gibbs Racing. For them to take a lead role and say that they would do whatever it took to help us fix the problems -- that goes a long way. That is what you look for in a manufacturer -- I couldn't be prouder to be with them."

CAMRYS AT MARTINSVILLE: Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Camry, followed Hamlin to the checkered flag and finished fifth at Martinsville. Other Camry drivers that competed in the event included Vickers (23rd), McDowell (26th), J.J. Yeley (27th), Skinner (31st), Michael Waltrip (35th), Ken Schrader (37th), Busch (38th), Reutimann (39th) and Blaney (43rd). Camry drivers led 89 laps at Martinsville. Along with race-winner Hamlin leading 82 of 500 laps, Reutimann (three laps) and Blaney (four laps) also led the field.

ANOTHER TOP-FIVE: Stewart earned his third top-five finish of the season at Martinsville this past weekend. He also has four top-10 finishes -- the most of the Toyota Camry contingent. He's led 289 laps so far this season and is 108 laps shy of hitting a career milestone of 10,000 laps led in NSCS competition.

MCDOWELL'S FIRST CUP: In his NSCS debut, McDowell started 34th and finished 26th at Martinsville. The driver of the No. 00 Aaron's Dream Machine Camry also has four NNS races and one NCTS race to his credit. "It was great and it was exactly what we needed to do is run laps," says McDowell, of his first NSCS race. "We were racing hard there at the end with the No. 28 (Travis Kvapil) and the leaders were coming for sure. There wasn't a whole lot of give in there -- there was a lot more take. For me being the new guy out there -- it's just one of those things where I have to go out there and earn their respect. I think we did a good job -- we ran all the laps, almost finished on the lead lap right until the end."

POINTS PACE: Busch dropped from the NSCS points lead to fifth in the standings after replacing a broken rear end and housing during the Martinsville race. Camry drivers in the top-20 in the unofficial NSCS driver point standings also include Stewart (sixth), Hamlin (eighth) and Vickers (18th). Other Camry drivers in the NSCS standings include Reutimann (28th), Yeley (31st), Waltrip (32nd), Blaney (38th), Skinner (41st), Schrader (43rd) and McDowell (48th).

FIRMLY IN THE FIELD: Teams are relying on their 2008 on-track performances, and those within the top-35 in owner points will be guaranteed starts at Texas Motor Speedway. Currently, seven Toyota teams are within the top-35 -- the three Camrys of JGR (No. 18, 20 and 11) and the No. 83 Camry of the Red Bull Racing Team. In addition, two Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) Camrys are 25th (No. 00) and 33rd (No. 55), and the Hall of Fame Racing entry sits 32nd (No. 96) in owner points. The No. 44 Camry of MWR is 37th, 20 points out of the 35th position, while the No. 22 Camry of Bill Davis Racing is 39th, the Red Bull Racing Team's No. 84 Camry is 41st and BAM's No. 49 Camry is 42nd.

TEXAS TORNADO: The entire Camry stable has come a long way since last April's Texas race when inclement weather and tornado warnings forced the field to be set according to the NASCAR rule book. Three Camrys were among the 43-car field -- a strikingly different scenario from the 11 Camrys that participated in last weekend's Martinsville event.

FAST AND FUN: "Texas is fast -- but not easy fast," says Vickers, who set Texas' qualifying record in November 2006 with a speed of 196.235 mph (27.518 sec.). "It's hard to keep the car in control when you're going that fast, but that's what makes it so much fun to drive. At Texas, you go the same average speed as Talladega, but you have to work a lot harder for it. I have always liked mile-and-a-half tracks. They seem to really suit my driving style."

STEWART IN THE LOOP: As the NSCS heads to Texas, Stewart leads the field in NASCAR's loop-data for the track. In addition to his 2006 Texas win, he has three top-five finishes, seven top-10s and has led 437 laps in 12 starts at the track. He has also spent 1,786 laps among the top-15 -- most of any NSCS competitor. The JGR driver has the NSCS's highest rating of 109.3 (on a 150 point scale) and has an average running position of 7.731, in the last six Texas races.

PICKING UP THE PURSE: The NSCS purse at Texas will be in excess of $7.3 million -- the largest purse during the track's 12-year history of racing. "I finished eighth or 10th at Salt Lake City in a Legends car and I think I got 25 bucks," says Busch, of his first professional race. "It was pretty sad. That's what it is with short tracks. Texas is always known for their record purses -- it's fun to see that and we always love it. They make a pretty big deal out of it, which is cool."

DOUBLE DUTY: Four Camry drivers will compete in both the NSCS and NNS races at Texas this weekend. Busch and Stewart will pilot their JGR Nos. 18 and 20 Camrys, respectively, in both races. Vickers will also be behind the wheel of the No. 32 Braun Racing entry and Reutimann will be in the No. 99 Michael Waltrip Racing entry in the NNS race.

BACK TO WORK: Despite enjoying last weekend off, the NNS most recently competed at Nashville Superspeedway two weeks ago. Busch registered the third NNS pole of the season for Toyota, and the seventh pole overall. Two Camry drivers finished among the top-10 at Nashville -- Hamlin (seventh) and Reutimann (ninth). Leffler (13th), Busch (16th) and Mike Wallace (20th) also had top-20 finishes.

POINTS POSITIONS: Reutimann gained two spots in the NNS points chase with his ninth-place finish at Nashville and is now third in the standings. Other Camry drivers among the top-15 in the points include Wallace (ninth), Leffler (10th) and Busch (11th).

SEASON SUMMARY: Camry drivers have won two NNS races this season -- Stewart won back-to-back races at Daytona (2-16-08) and California (2-25-08) in a JGR entry to open the season. In the first six 2008 NNS races, Camry drivers have posted seven top-five and 15 top-10 finishes, and led approximately two-thirds of all the race laps (638 of 966 laps). Three poles have also been earned by Camry drivers -- Stewart at Daytona, Vickers at Las Vegas and Busch at Nashville.

TAKING TOP-10S: Hamlin and Reutimann recently earned the 50th and 51st top-10 results for the Camry in NNS competition since Toyota entered the series at the beginning of 2007. In 41 starts, Reutimann has the most top-10s among Camry drivers with 16, followed by Leffler who has 13. Other Camry drivers with top-10 finishes include Blaney (six), Vickers (four), Bodine (three), Busch (two), Hamlin (two), Stewart (two), Wallace (two) and Mike Bliss (one). Camry drivers have also earned 22 top-five finishes since the beginning of 2007.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT: Last fall, Reutimann earned his first Texas pole position one week after his first NNS win at Memphis. "In the qualifying lap we ran wide open and it was pretty breathtaking," says Reutimann. "I was glad when the lap was over because I didn't want to have to do it again. It meant a great deal (to me) and any time you can get a pole, a win or a good finish for Toyota, it's great. That's a company that's done a lot for me so that's the only way I can actually give back is to go out there and run good."

MOVING WITH MOMENTUM: "After a win you always feel really good," added Reutimann, driver of the No. 99 Aaron's Dream Machine Camry. "Last year's pole at Texas followed our win at Memphis the week before. It's funny because after we won at Nashville (2005) in the trucks we went to Bristol the next week and sat on the pole. It shows you can have a little momentum from a performance like that. You're feeling great, your crew is feeling good and that stuff goes a long way."

TWO TOP-10S IN MARTINSVILLE: With just two laps to go in the NCTS race at Martinsville, three Toyota Tundras were among the top-five. When the checkered flag flew, two Tundra drivers -- Ken Schrader (fourth) and David Starr (sixth) -- finished among the top-10. Other Tundra drivers in the field included Bodine (12th), Terry Cook (13th), Ted Musgrave (15th), Phillip McGilton (16th), Chrissy Wallace (18th), Justin Marks (20th), Hamlin (21st), Johnny Benson (25th), Busch (26th) and Skinner (29th).

MOVING FORWARD: The NSCS and NNS Camrys will head west to compete on the 'dog legged' Phoenix International Raceway (4-13-08). Yeley and McDowell will race in front of their hometown fans at Phoenix after both drivers participated in successful test sessions at the track last month. The NCTS will enjoy three weeks off before returning to action in Kansas April 28.

CHRISSY'S COMMENTS: Chrissy Wallace made her NCTS debut at Martinsville over the weekend. Her father, NNS regular Mike Wallace, was her spotter and she had extra support in her pit box. "For my first truck race I was extremely excited coming home with an 18th place finish after starting 35th," she said after the race. "My Dad helped me and coached me the whole time. Plus, we had Tony Stewart on the pit box helping me. If it wasn't for them, I don't think we could have got where we did. They were both on the radio coaching me and telling me what to do. It was pretty good."

PACING THE FIELD: In NCTS competition, Toyota drivers have led a total of 267 laps of 583 this season, including 96 at Martinsville. Tundra drivers who have led laps in 2008 include Busch (90 laps), Bodine (74 laps), Hamlin (64 laps), Benson (36 laps) and Skinner (three laps).

TUNDRA TIME: A Tundra has made its way to victory lane in three of the first four NCTS races this season. Bodine won the season-opener at Daytona (2-15-08) in the No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Tundra, while Busch, driver of the No. 51 Billy Ballew Motorsports Tundra, won the two most recent races at California (2-23-08) and Atlanta (3-8-08).

BUSCH ON TOP: Busch remains the leader in the NCTS point standings after four of 25 races, holding a 35-point advantage over Bodine. Tundra drivers Starr (7th), Benson (9th) and Cook (10th) are also in the top-10 in points after Martinsville, while Musgrave (11th), McGilton (12th), Skinner (14th) and Marks (17th) are in the top-20.

MANUFACTURER'S MATH: Toyota is currently second in the NSCS manufacturer standings -- two points behind Chevrolet and tied with Ford. Toyota sits third in the NNS manufacturer standings -- one point behind Ford and 14 behind Chevrolet. In the NCTS manufacturer's standings, Toyota is ahead in the standings by nine points over Chevrolet.

CAMRY CAPTURES CAMPING WORLD WIN: Eric Holmes gave the Toyota Camry its first win in the NASCAR Camping World Series, when he led from start to finish in his No. 20 NAPA Auto Parts Camry during the West season opener at All American Speedway in Roseville, Calif. With his victory, Holmes became the first driver this year to secure a spot in the prestigious postseason NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown to be held in Irwindale, Calif., in January 2009. The NASCAR Camping World Series West races next at Phoenix International Raceway on April 10.

TOYOTA IN TEXAS: Texas is home to Toyota Motor Manufacturing of Texas (TMMTX). The production facility, which is located in San Antonio, opened in November of 2006 and produces 200,000 Toyota Tundras annually. The facility employs 2,000 Toyota team members, and an additional 2,100 people are employed at the 21 on-site suppliers located at the facility.