Toyota NASCAR Notes and Quotes

Denny Hamlin celebrates Toyota's 100th Xfinity Series win two weeks ago at Richmond

TOYOTA TIDBITS

TALLADEGA TOP-10s: Denny Hamlin (ninth) was the top-finishing Camry driver in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, while JJ Yeley tallied a fourth-place result for Toyota in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) race on Saturday.

CLINT'S KANSAS HOME: When the NSCS returns to Kansas Speedway this weekend, the stop is a trip home for Kansas-born Clint Bowyer. The native of Emporia, Kansas began racing motocross in 1985 and won over 200 events and several championships before moving to four wheels. Bowyer then won multiple titles racing cars at local tracks like Thunderhill, Lakeside and I-70 Speedway before moving to the NASCAR ranks. In addition to racing in Kansas, Bowyer worked in the service department at Emporia Motors – which is now the Clint Bowyer Autoplex where Toyotas are sold.

CARL IN KANSAS: First-year Toyota driver Carl Edwards hails from nearby Missouri and has had considerable success at Kansas Speedway, but is still seeking his first NSCS victory at the 1.5-mile track. Among active drivers with three or more starts at the track, Edwards has the second-best average finish at Kansas (10.1). In 15 starts in at the track, the Camry driver has six top-five results and 11 top-10 finishes. In addition to his NSCS results, Edwards claimed a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) win at the track in 2004.

TOYOTA TUNDRA TITLE: This weekend's NCWTS race at Kansas Speedway is named the Toyota Tundra 250, Toyota's first race entitlement at the Kansas track. In addition to sponsoring the Kansas NCWTS race, Toyota was recently the title sponsor for the Toyota Owners 400 NSCS event and Toyota Care 250 NXS race at Virginia's Richmond International Raceway. Toyota will also serve as the co-sponsor for June's Toyota/Save Mart 350 NSCS event at Sonoma Raceway in California.

TUNDRA TALLIES IN KANSAS: As Toyota sponsors the Toyota Tundra 250 NCWTS race at Kansas Speedway, Tundra drivers will return to the track seeking a third-consecutive Kansas win. Kyle Busch won the most-recent NCWTS race at Kansas and Matt Crafton was victorious at the track in his Tundra in 2013. Crafton, who has won the last two NCWTS championships, finished second to Busch in 2014. Tundra driver Johnny Sauter, who won in Kansas in 2010, has the second-highest average finish at the track (10.3) among active drivers with more than three NCWTS starts in Kansas.

NOTES, QUOTES & NUMBERS

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS): Camry drivers Matt Kenseth (eighth) and Denny Hamlin (10th) currently rank in the top-10 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) point standings … Hamlin (2012) and Kenseth (2013) have visited victory lane at Kansas in their Camry race cars … In addition to making his first start behind the wheel of the No. 18 Camry in the NSCS race in Kansas, Erik Jones will also pilot his full-time ride, the No. 4 Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports, in the Toyota Tundra 250 at Kansas.

Matt Kenseth

MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Is it difficult for a team to quickly improve their performance with the testing ban?

"I don't think so. I think that rule is the same for everybody and I feel like I drive for one of the best teams in the sport and the best team should be able to figure it out more so than other guys – we have all the resources we need at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) to be able to figure it out without going to the race track, testing. I don't think that's really affected us and really Texas was a setback, but until then I felt like we were really gaining on it. We're definitely a chunk better than we were last year."

ERIK JONES, No. 18 M&M's Red Nose Day Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What are your expectations for your first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start?

"For me, it's really all seat time and experience with our M&M's Camry. I think keeping our expectations realistic is a pretty big thing for us. If we can go run top-15, I'd feel like that would be a pretty big win for us. It's a big step. We've talked a lot about it. I've talked with Adam Stevens (crew chief) a lot about it and kind of what the jump to Sprint Cup is like and I've talked to Kyle (Busch) about it. It's not going to be an easy step for anybody, but I really believe we can go run top-15 and if we can do that, I think that would be a good day."

David Ragan makes his first start in the #55 Michael Waltrip Racing Camry

DAVID RAGAN, No. 55 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing

What are your goals with Michael Waltrip Racing?

"At the end of the day, Michael Waltrip Racing has all the tools and resources that Joe Gibbs Racing has or that Hendrick (Motorsports) or Stewart-Haas (Racing) has, and there's no reason for us not to be able to win a race and have a shot at making the Chase. Certainly, that is our goal going forward. We've got a lot of really good race tracks for me, a lot of good race tracks for the MWR bunch – they're working extremely hard trying to get those Toyotas as competitive and as fast as they can."

NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS): Camry drivers Daniel Suarez (ninth), David Starr (12th) and JJ Yeley (13th) currently rank in the top-15 in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) point standings … The series will enjoy an off-weekend before returning to the track for the season's first standalone race weekend at Iowa Speedway on Sunday, May 17.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS): Tundra driver Matt Crafton leads the series point standings after three races … Erik Jones (third), Johnny Sauter (fourth), Cameron Hayley (ninth) and Ben Kennedy (10th) also currently rank in the top-10 for Toyota in the NCWTS point standings … In addition to Kyle Busch and Crafton's consecutive victories at Kansas, Todd Bodine won in a Tundra at the track in 2005 and Mike Skinner in 2009 … This weekend's Toyota Tundra 250 is the first action for the NCWTS since racing at Virginia's Martinsville Speedway in March.

MATT CRAFTON, No. 88 Slim Jim/Menards Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing

Are you excited to get back on the track?

"It's been an eternity since we've been on the race track, but I always look forward to going back to Kansas – it's a very cool race track. As the only driver entered that's competed in all 14 Truck Series races at Kansas, I feel old at 37 – crazy. Kansas is definitely a tricky race track. It's tough to get off Turn 4 and to get your stuff handling good in Turns 1 and 2 and then be that good in Turn 4. Just getting balance overall is key. I expect the track to have lost some grip since the repave. We were really, really fast there last year (and) a contender all night. We were a little bit free in and tight (in the) center and off, but we were scared to make any adjustments to hurt us on corner entry. I had to protect my entry and that's how Kyle (Busch) got around us for the win."

TIMOTHY PETERS, No. 17 Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing

What are you expectations for the Toyota Tundra 250 at Kansas Speedway?

"We're just trying to make this year a little bit better than last year. We ended up getting into a little trouble on the first lap and we still ended up with a good result, which shows you how strong our Toyota Tundra was. I'm excited to be back in the truck with the little break we've had since the last race. I'm ready to get back at it and start climbing out of the hole I feel like we're down in the points and get back to where I feel like we belong."

Toyota Racing