Toyota Trucks NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Indianapolis
Notes and Quotes
Toyota Notes & Quotes
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Indianapolis Raceway Park - August 6, 2004
THIS RACE -- This will be the 10th visit to Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP) for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Series (NCTS). Eight Toyotas -- the most Tundras to appear in one NCTS race this season -- are scheduled to
compete in the Power Stroke Diesel 200 at IRP.
TOYOTA TRIUMPHS -- Toyota earned its first-ever NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory when Travis Kvapil
captured the checkered flag at Michigan International Speedway (July 31) in his No. 24 Bang Racing Line-X Tundra.
Earlier this season, Toyota posted a pair of second-place finishes at Daytona (Kvapil) and Atlanta (Mike Skinner).
LUCKY 13 -- Toyota's inaugural NCTS victory came in the 13th race of its debut season in the NCTS. "Looks like
this was our lucky race number 13," said Jim Aust, vice president of Toyota Motorsports. "A lot of people have been
working hard towards this goal and they deserve a lot of credit -- including everyone at TRD and all our race team
partners. We're looking forward to more of these before the season is over."
TRAVIS TACKLES MIS -- At Michigan, Travis Kvapil battled back from several problems en route to recording
Toyota's first NCTS victory. Qualifying was cancelled due to the weather, Kvapil brushed the wall in the final
practice session, and then he had to start the race from the rear of the field after an engine change following practice.
During the race, the Janesville, Wis.-native worked his way through the field and by the halfway point had moved
into the top-10. Kvapil then passed his Bang Racing teammate, Mike Skinner , on lap 84 (of 100) and led the final 17
circuits around the Michigan two-mile oval on his way to the historic win.
KVAPIL JOINS ELITE COMPANY -- Travis Kvapil now joins Gil de Ferran, Scott Dixon, Juan Montoya, Rod
Millen and Ivan Stewart in the Toyota record books as a first-time winner in a major professional race series. De
Ferran recorded Toyota's first Indianapolis 500 victory (2003), Dixon registered Toyota's first IRL win (2003) and
Montoya was Toyota's initial CART race winner (2000). In addition, Millen scored Toyota's first Pike's Peak Hill
Climb triumph (1994) and Stewart had the first Baja 1,000 victory for Toyota.
ONE IN FOUR -- The win at Michigan was Travis Kvapil's fourth career NCTS victory. He has won one NCTS
race in each of the past three years. In addition to his Michigan win, Kvapil has recorded victories at Bristol (2003),
Memphis (2002) and Texas (2001).
TRIO IN TOP-FIVE -- Along with Travis Kvapil, two other Toyota Tundra drivers finished among the top-five in
the recent race at Michigan. Mike Skinner crossed the finish line third in his No. 42 Bang Racing Tundra and Johnny
Benson finished fourth in the No. 23 Bill Davis Racing Tundra. It marks the first time that three Tundras have
finished among the top-five.
MORE ON MIKE -- Skinner, who led the field three times for a total of 26 laps at Michigan, recorded his fourth top-
five finish of the 2004 season. It also marked the seventh race this season in which Skinner has led the field.
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Toyota Indianapolis Notes & Quotes -- Page 2
DANDY DEBUT -- Grand Rapids, Mich.-native Johnny Benson returned home to make his 2004 NCTS debut with
Bill Davis Racing. Benson, who was making his first NCTS start since 1997, started 31st in the No. 23 Tundra when
qualifying was cancelled due to rain. Even though he was running outside the top-10 with 20 laps remaining in the
race, Benson charged past several cars in the final laps to earn a fourth-place finish -- the best finish by the No. 23
Tundra all season.
GOOD TO BE BACK -- Johnny Benson was happy to be racing again following his run at Michigan. "I wish the
race had lasted another 100 laps," said Benson, following the race. "My Tundra was running really good, but there
were just some guys I couldn't get past. Maybe, with some more laps, I might have been able to make a move."
HOT HUFFMAN -- Rookie Robert Huffman recorded his second top-10 finish in the past three races when he
guided his No. 12 Innovative Motorsports Tundra to a ninth-place at Michigan. He was also the top finishing rookie
in the field at Michigan. Huffman also crossed the finish line 10th in Kentucky.
2 STRAIGHT 4 IN 10 -- Michigan was the second straight race in which four Tundra drivers registered top-10
results. At St. Louis (July 17), Toyota Tundra drivers Hank Parker Jr. (5th), Travis Kvapil (7th), David Reutimann (9th)
and Bill Lester (10th) all finished among the top-10.
POINTS PACE -- After 13 races, three Toyota drivers are among the top-15 in the NCTS championship standings.
Travis Kvapil is seventh in the standings with 1,749 points, 222 points behind current leader Dennis Setzer, and just
77 points from third-place in the standings. Mike Skinner, Kvapil's teammate, is ninth in the standings (1,628 points)
and rookie David Reutimann sits 14th in the standings (1,535 points).
RETURN OF D.W. -- At IRP, Darrell Waltrip will return to the racetrack in his No. 11 Toyota Tundra. It will be his
second race the season. Earlier this year, Waltrip finished 24th at Martinsville.
MIKE IS 'THE MAN' -- Mike Skinner dominated the first two NCTS races at Indianapolis in 1995 and 1996. In
both races, Skinner earned the pole position in qualifying and then went on to capture the checkered flag. The two
IRP wins are half of Skinner's NCTS wins from the pole position.
MIKE'S LAST YEAR HERE -- A year ago, Mike Skinner started a pair of races at IRP. He competed in both the
NCTS race and the Busch event at IRP -- finishing better in his Busch car (7th) than his Craftsman Truck (26th).
COUNTDOWN FOR TK -- Travis Kvapil has three top-five finishes at IRP and in each of the past three years he
has improved his finishing position. He has finished fifth (2001), third (2002) and second (2003) at IRP.
ROBERT'S BACK -- In 1997, Robert Huffman made his second career NCTS start at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
He started 25th and finished 29th, completing 182 of 202 laps.
TWO FIRSTS -- Both Hank Parker Jr. and David Reutimann will be making their first career NCTS starts at IRP.
TUNDRA TOPS -- Tundra drivers have finished in the top-5 13 times, and in the top-10 24 times, in 88 combined
starts by 10 different drivers. Travis Kvapil has Toyota's first-place finish this season. In addition, Kvapil (Daytona)
and Mike Skinner (Atlanta) have finished second. David Reutimann (Atlanta, Texas), Hank Parker Jr. (Dover), and
Skinner (Michigan) have all finished third. Also, Kvapil has a fourth (Atlanta) and fifth (Milwaukee), Skinner has a
fourth (Dover) and fifth (Martinsville), Parker, Jr. was fifth (Gateway), and Johnny Benson was fourth (Michigan).
LAP LEADERS -- A Tundra driver has led the field in nine of the 13 NCTS races in 2004, Mike Skinner has been
the race leader in seven events (Daytona, Atlanta, Martinsville, Charlotte, Dover, Texas and Michigan) for a total of
266 laps. Travis Kvapil has led four races (Daytona, Atlanta, Milwaukee and Michigan), David Reutimann has led
three races (Daytona, Atlanta and Gateway) and Bill Lester led 19 laps at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte.
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Toyota Indianapolis Notes & Quotes -- Page 3
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 mark by winning the pole in his second start.
'BUCKLE UP' -- Toyota Motorsports has joined NASCAR's ongoing traffic safety alliance with the U.S.
Department of Transportation (USDOT) aimed at saving the lives of everyday drivers on America's roads. Toyota,
through its NCTS participation, will collaborate with the USDOT's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), and NASCAR to encourage race fans to use their safety belts. Starting at Michigan last weekend, each
Toyota truck in the NCTS series will sport a Buckle Up decal for the remainder of the season. In addition, Toyota
drivers will remind fans to buckle up at appearances and speaking engagements.
TV TIME -- Power Stroke 200, Indianapolis Raceway Park, Fri., August 6, 8:00 PM (Eastern), SPEED Channel
NOTE TO EDITORS -- High-resolution digital images are available for EDITORIAL USE ONLY at www.toyotamotorsportsmedia.com.
2004 TOYOTA TUNDRA NCTS DRIVER RESULTS -- Start/Finish (Laps Led)
SHELBY ROBERT BILL TRAVIS HANK DAVID MIKE
DATE / SITE HOWARD HUFFMAN LESTER KVAPIL PARKER REUTIMANN SKINNER
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)
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)
6-4/Dover 5/6** 21/11 19/25 8/17 13/3 8/17 6/4 (85)
6-11/Texas 27/21 2/28 3/12 13/27 15/23 6/3 9/11 (41)
6-19/Memphis 25/24 8/16 23/23 5/13 16/12 30/17 11/26
6-25/Milwaukee 18/21 21/36 27/34 7/5 (50) 13/17 24/32 11/29
7-3/Kansas DNS 28/24 22/28 9/7 18/21 12/29 10/12
7-10/Kentucky DNS 28/10 22/29 8/15 19/22 14/9 11/18
7-17/St. Louis DNS 16/27 8/10 5/7 12/5 17/9 (15) 19/28
7-31/Michigan 31/4^^ 27/9 22/18 8/1 (17) 18/29 13/24 12/3 (26)
Darrell Waltrip 4-17/Martinsville 21/24
8-6/Indianapolis
10/23/Martinsville
# Qualifying cancelled due to weather. Starting lineup determined by NCTS rule book.
** Dave Blaney substituted for Shelby Howard in the No. 23 Bill Davis Racing Tundra at Dover.
^^ Johnny Benson drove the No. 23 Bill Davis Racing Tundra at Michigan
DNS -- Did Not Start
