Toyota Dover Notes & Quotes
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series -- Dover (DE) International Speedway -- June 4, 2004
THIS RACE: This will be the fifth visit to Dover International Speedway for the NASCAR Craftsman
Truck Series (NCTS). Seven Toyota Tundras are entered in the MBNA America 200.
LAST RACE: In the most recent NCTS race at Lowe's Motor Speedway (May 21) in Charlotte, two Toyota
Tundras finished in the top-15. Travis Kvapil was 8th in the No. 24 Bang Racing Line-X
Tundra, and his teammate Mike Skinner finished 15th in the No. 42 Toyota Tundra.
POINTS PACE: After five NCTS races, three Toyota drivers are among the top-10 in the NCTS championship
standings. Mike Skinner is sixth in the standings (677 points) and Travis Kvapil is seventh in
the standings (673 points). Rookie David Reutimann sits 10th in the standings (631 points), as
well as first in the Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year standings.
SECOND BEST: The best finish by a Toyota Tundra driver this season has been second-place. Bang Racing
teammates Travis Kvapil (Daytona) and Mike Skinner (Atlanta) have both finished second.
TUNDRA TOPS: Toyota Tundra drivers have recorded five top-five finishes, and eight top-10 finishes, in 35
combined appearances. Along with the two second-place finishes by Bang Racing (Daytona
and Atlanta), David Reutimann crossed the finish line third in Atlanta. In addition, Travis
Kvapil has a fourth-place finish (Atlanta) and Mike Skinner has finished fifth (Martinsville).
LESTER LEADS: At Lowe's Motor Speedway, Bill Lester led the field twice in his No. 22 Bill Davis Racing
Tundra for a total of 19 laps (laps 34-36 and 73-88).
MIKE LEADS 4: The race at Lowe's Motor Speedway was the fourth one this season in which Mike Skinner
has led the field in his No. 42 Tundra. Skinner led the Charlotte race for two laps (71-72).
He also led the field at Daytona (six laps), Atlanta (68 laps), and Martinsville (38 laps).
2 MORE: In addition to Bill Lester and Mike Skinner, two other Toyota Tundra drivers have been race
leaders this season. Travis Kvapil led 15 laps at Daytona and one lap in Atlanta, and rookie
David Reutimann has also led laps at Daytona (7) and Atlanta (8 laps).
POLE NO. 1: In Atlanta, a Tundra captured the NCTS pole position for the first time. David Reutimann
recorded a speed of 179.452 MPH (30.894 seconds) to earn his first NCTS pole, and
Toyota's inaugural pole. He set a new NCTS record by winning the pole in just his second
Series start. Greg Biffle, who had a pole in his third NCTS start (1998), held the record.
SUBSTITUTE: At Dover, Dave Blaney will substitute for Shelby Howard as driver of the Bill Davis Racing
No. 23 Tundra. "We have decided to put Dave in the No. 23 Tundra to help us evaluate the
entire team," said Bill Davis. "We know Shelby has the talent and capability to do this, but
we want to make sure we are giving him all the components he needs to be successful.
Obviously, Dave has a tremendous amount of experience, and has raced at Dover many
times. His input will definitely have a positive impact on the No. 23 team. Shelby will be at
the track and be able to listen to Dave's feedback and see firsthand what the feedback
translates to on the track. We are committed to making this team successful and I think this
will be a big help to Shelby and the entire team for the rest of the season."
TOP ROOKIE: Robert Huffman recorded his best NCTS finish of the season, and was the first rookie across the finish
line, when he guided his No. 12 Innovative Motorsports Tundra to a 16th-place finish at Lowe's Motor
Speedway. Huffman started seventh, recovered from an early on-track spin, and completed all 134 laps
en route to the finish.
TK TOP-10: At Lowe's Motor Speedway, Travis Kvapil recorded his third top-10 of the year when he
finished eighth. "Hopefully, this can be the start of a streak of top-10 finishes and lead lap
finishes," said Kvapil, following the Charlotte race. "I know we have a great team with
everybody in place to win some races. We just have to start qualifying a little better. All the
top guys in the series pretty much run the same speeds, which makes qualifying more
important. We came out strong at the start of the season at Daytona and Atlanta, then
struggled a little bit, but now I think we're back on the right track."
TRD TALK: Mike Skinner had some kind words about the work of everyone at Toyota Racing Development
(TRD) following the recent race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. "I'm very proud of everybody at
TRD," said Skinner. "They're relentless and they never quit working. Every time they find
something they don't celebrate, but they just go back to work and try to find something else."
START HELPS: The race at Dover International Speedway is the first of seven races in seven weeks for the NCTS,
after just five races in three months. "As a driver, I want to go race every week," said Mike Skinner.
"However, Toyota, as a new manufacturer coming into a sport as competitive as the NCTS, I think
they needed some time. I think without that time frame at the beginning of the season, our durability,
and a lot of other things in the program, wouldn't be where they are today. "
A YEAR AGO: Last year at Dover International Raceway, Travis Kvapil qualified fifth, completed all 200 laps, and
finished fifth. Bill Lester started 15th and completed 198 laps en route to an 11th-place finish.
BUILD IT: The Toyota Racing Development (TRD) R&D and production facility in High Point, NC
employs 17 people. While everyone is involved in the overall NCTS Tundra production, it
takes seven employees - working between eight and nine hours a day - five days to build a
NCTS Toyota Tundra. It takes about 20 hours - from start-to-finish - to build a production
Tundra at Toyota's Princeton, Indiana facility, where 5,004 associates work and where a new
Tundra rolls off the assembly line every 74 seconds. Princeton, Indiana is the only place in
the world where production Tundras are built.
LINE-UP: There will be four Toyota teams and seven Tundras at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The line-up:
Bang Racing: Travis Kvapil No. 24 Line-X Toyota Tundra
Mike Skinner No. 42 Toyota Tundra
Bill Davis Racing: Dave Blaney No. 23 Toyota Tundra
Bill Lester No. 22 Toyota Tundra
Innovative Robert Huffman No. 12 Toyota Tundra
Motorsports: Hank Parker Jr. No. 21 Toyota Tundra
Darrell Waltrip David Reutimann No. 17 NTN Bearings Toyota Tundra
Motorsports:
TV TIME: MBNA America 200, Dover International Speedway, June 4, 4:00 PM (Eastern), SPEED Channel
2004 TOYOTA TUNDRA NCTS DRIVER RESULTS -- Start/Finish (Laps Led)
SHELBY ROBERT BILL TRAVIS HANK DAVID MIKE DARRELL
DATE / RACE SITE HOWARD HUFFMAN LESTER KVAPIL PARKER REUTIMANN SKINNER WALTRIP
2-13/Daytona 15/29 8/36 17/16 3/2 (15) 11/18 12/9 (7) 14/28 (6)
3-13/Atlanta 26/25 2/29 5/15 9/4 (1) 7/33 1/3 (8) 4/2 (68)
4-17/Martinsville 32/23 20/34 12/17 6/13 27/12 25/8 8/5 (38) 21/24
5-16/Mansfield# 22/23 DNS 20/30 31/32 35/19 33/14 32/11
5-21/Charlotte 32/33 7/16 8/21 (19) 14/8 22/22 24/36 3/15 (2)
# Qualifying cancelled due to weather. Starting lineup determined by NCTS rule book.
