Toyota Kansas Notes and Quotes
If the following text-only file is not easily readable, particularly any tables of numbers, try enlarging this window since every line has a forced end and there is no word-wrap. Otherwise, this report will look and print better from the following PDF file: http://www.sportssystems.com/applib/PDFload.cfm?file=/email/filehost/RC097.pdf&id=BC097RC3PE671 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. · 19001 South Western Avenue · Torrance, CA 90501 Contacts: Diana DeJoseph, 626-354-3084, diana_dejoseph@toyota.com Marc Spiegel, 414-559-7700, marcspiegel@hotmail.com TOYOTA Notes & Quotes NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Kansas Speedway - July 1, 2006 THIS RACE: The O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) race at Kansas Speedway will be the sixth Craftsman Truck Series event at the track. There will be nine Toyota Tundras in the field at the one- and-a-half-mile Kansas oval. LAST RACE: In the most recent race of the 2006 NCTS season at the Milwaukee Mile (June 23), Johnny Benson recorded his second consecutive Craftsman Truck Series victory when he guided the No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra to 'Victory Lane.' Benson started fourth and led 47 laps en route to the checkered flag. Tundra drivers following Benson to the finish line were Jack Sprague (fourth) and David Reutimann (fifth). BENSON'S BACK-TO-BACK: Johnny Benson's first-place finish at Milwaukee came one week after he recorded his first-ever NCTS win at Michigan. Prior to the back-to-back wins at Michigan and Milwaukee, the previous best Craftsman Truck Series result for the Grand Rapids, Michigan-native had been second-place. MOTORING AWAY AT THE MILE: At the Milwaukee Mile, Johnny Benson finished first in only his second NCTS start at the track. "I really can't believe this happened," said Benson, following the race. "That first win was pretty hard to get. Everyone said the second one would come a little easier, but I didn't think it would come so soon. We've been close this year and have had some opportunities to win races. I just didn't think we would win again so soon after that first one -- although I thought we'd have more chances to win this year." JOHNNY BE GOOD: Johnny Benson has recorded five straight top-six finishes and has moved into third-place in the championship point standings. In addition to his back-to-back wins at Michigan and Milwaukee, Benson finished fifth (Texas), sixth (Dover) and fourth (Mansfield) before his two straight wins. TOYOTA NOW HAS 19: Toyota now has 19 NCTS wins since the Tundra began competing in the Craftsman Truck Series at the beginning of the 2004 season. Along with six wins this year -- two by Johnny Benson (Milwaukee and Michigan), three by Todd Bodine (Texas, St. Louis and Atlanta) and one by David Starr (Martinsville) -- Tundras finished first nine times in 2005 and four times in 2004. Drivers who have recorded wins driving Tundras include Bodine (10), Travis Kvapil (two), Benson (two), Mike Skinner (two), David Reutimann (one), Starr (one) and Brandon Whitt (one). POINTS PACE: After the first 11 races of the 2006 season, Toyota drivers hold down the top-five positions in the NCTS championship point standings. Todd Bodine sits atop the championship standings with 1,758 points. Trailing Bodine in the standings are second-place David Reutimann (1,632 points), third-place Johnny Benson (1,628 points), fourth-place Ted Musgrave (1,560 points) and fifth-place Jack Sprague (1,502 points). LAST YEAR HERE: A year ago at the Kansas oval, Todd Bodine captured the checkered flag in his No. 30 Germain Racing Tundra and Bill Lester earned the pole position in his No. 22 Bill Davis Racing Tundra. Lester registered a record qualifying speed of 173.833 mph (31.100 seconds). FIRST IN 2005: Todd Bodine's victory at Kansas was the first NCTS win for Toyota in 2005. A year ago, Toyota earned its first win in the 12th race of the season. Two years back, Toyota earned its inaugural NCTS win in the 13th race of the year at Michigan. -more- Toyota Kansas Notes & Quotes - page 2 MORE KANSAS RACE RECAP: Four Tundra drivers were among the top-five finishers at Kansas a year ago. Following Todd Bodine to the checkered flag were Toyota drivers David Reutimann (third), Mike Skinner (fourth) and Bill Lester (fifth). TODD TALKS KANSAS: "We really struggled at Kansas during practice last year," said Bodine. "But, before qualifying we made a shock change -- and it was absolutely the right change to make. My Tundra was just awesome during the race and the horsepower was incredible. The truck was just a little 'free' all day -- but that's what you've got to have to go fast with these trucks." MAJOR MARK: Bill Lester's fifth-place finish at Kansas last year equals the best outcome of his NCTS career. He also finished fifth in the 2005 season-finale at Homestead. JOHNNY ENJOYS REGULAR RACING: "Week-in and week-out racing is what I like," says Johnny Benson. "It keeps everybody in the 'swing of things.' Although, it doesn't give you a whole lot of time to relax, but that keeps you on your game. To run a race and take three weeks off, and then run another race and take two weeks off -- it looks good on paper, but it really isn't good." MIKE MAKES MARK IN MIDWEST: Mike Skinner, driver of the No. 5 Bill Davis Racing Tundra, has made two NCTS starts at Kansas Speedway. However, the Daytona Beach, Fla.-driver has plenty of Craftsman Truck Series experience in the Kansas City-area, having run at Topeka's Heartland Park three times (1995-97) and Missouri's I-70 Speedway twice (1995-6). In those five NCTS starts at tracks surrounding the current Kansas City circuit, Skinner recorded NCTS wins at Topeka (1996) and I-70 (1995), as well as a second-place at I-70 and two fifth-place finishes at Topeka. TWO AT TOPEKA: Veterans Todd Bodine and Johnny Benson have also competed in NCTS races at Topeka's Heartland Park. Bodine, who won at Kansas last season, finished fourth at Topeka in 1995. Benson finished sixth at Topeka in 1996. BODINE BUSY AT KANSAS: Todd Bodine has started races at Kansas Speedway in all three of NASCAR's premiere divisions. He has two NCTS starts at the track (2004 and 2005), as well as two Busch Series starts (2002-03) and has qualified for four NASCAR Cup races (2001-04) at the circuit. TOYOTA HAS 24: Mike Skinner's pole position at Michigan was the 24th NCTS pole position for a Tundra since Toyota began competing in the Craftsman Truck Series at the beginning of the 2004 season. Along with Skinner (12), Tundra drivers who have recorded poles include David Reutimann (six), Bill Lester (two), Brandon Whitt (two), Todd Bodine (one) and Travis Kvapil (one). 2006 LINE-UP: The Toyota NCTS line-up at Kansas Speedway: Driver Truck Team Johnny Benson No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra Bill Davis Racing Bill Lester No. 22 Toyota Tundra Bill Davis Racing Mike Skinner No. 5 Toyota Tundra Bill Davis Racing Joey Miller No. 12 Curb Records Tundra Darrell Waltrip Motorsports David Reutimann No. 17 Team Tundra Racing Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Todd Bodine No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Tundra Germain Racing Ted Musgrave No. 9 Team ASE/Germain Toyota Tundra Germain Racing David Starr No. 11 Red Horse Racing Tundra Red Horse Racing Jack Sprague No. 60 Con-Way Freight Tundra Wyler Racing BROADCAST TIME: SPEED Channel coverage of the NCTS race at the Kansas Speedway will begin at 3:00 PM (Eastern) on Saturday, July 1. The race is tentatively scheduled to start at 3:15 PM (Eastern). NOTE TO EDITORS -- High-resolution digital images are available for EDITORIAL USE at www.toyotamotorsportsmedia.com. -more- Toyota Kansas Notes & Quotes - page 3 2006 TOYOTA TUNDRA NCTS DRIVER RESULTS -- Start/Finish (Laps Led) JOHNNY TODD BILL JOEY TED DAVID MIKE DAVID JACK DATE/SITE BENSON BODINE LESTER MILLER MUSGRAVE REUTIMANN SKINNER STARR SPRAGUE No. 23 No. 30 No. 22 No. 12 No. 9 No. 17 No. 5 No. 11 No. 60 2-17/Daytona 10/15 8/2 (6) 2/35 (3) 9/33 17/3 (6) 13/9 5/4 (34) 6/14 7/5 (1) 2-24/California 26/6 5/2 (11) 16/15 18/13 3/3 1/4 (3) 2/17 (7) 19/12 8/5 (8) 3-17/Atlanta 17/3 1/1 (38) 18/29 8/36 36/4 7/5 2/35 13/17 12/17 4-1/Martinsville 7/30 9/12 27/24 6/16 10/2 11/15 8/8 15/1 (121) 22/17 4-29/St. Louis ^ 11/5 3/1 (66) 27/30 24/29 2/2 (28) 4/3 (63) 14/35 5/8 7/4 5-19/Charlotte 6/12 26/3 DNQ 30/22 15/4 9/6 1/31 (38) 31/26 13/34 5-27/Mansfield ^ 6/4 1/15 (117) 35/24 29/5 2/16 (2) 4/9 19/29 7/3 9/2 6-2/Dover 10/6 7/3 8/30 29/32 26/18 1/5 (18) 11/22 14/11 23/9 6-9/Texas 4/5 (1) 6/1 (1) 26/22 33/30 23/7 9/4 1/2 (113) 17/18 19/11 6-17/Michigan 5/1 (31) 25/4 26/33 21/20 31/23 4/15 1/11 (25) 28/13 15/10 6-23/Milwaukee 4/1 (47) 7/20 (8) 15/15 20/23 13/24 14/5 6/11 21/8 2/4 (15) 7-1/Kansas 7-8/Kentucky 7-15/Memphis 8-4/Indianapolis 8-12/Nashville 8-23/Bristol 9-16/NH 9-23/Las Vegas 10-7/Talladega 10-21/Martinsville 10-28/Atlanta 11-3/Texas 11-10/Phoenix 11-17/Miami ( ) -- Number of laps led BOLD -- Wins, poles and most laps led ^ -- starting position determined by points # # # To review or change the format of emails from this group, copy the following link into your browser: http://www.sportssystems.com/emformatoptions.cfm?trackingCode=BC097RC%3B3PE671%20%3B0426&userEmail=submit%40theautochannel%2Ecom This email was individually sent to you, however if you wish to unsubscribe, copy the following link into your browser: http://www.sportssystems.com/unsubscribe.cfm?trackingCode=BC097RC%3B3PE671%20%3B0426&userEmail=submit%40theautochannel%2Ecom