Busch hammers Toyota
Kyle Busch, Driver of the #18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry: "I made some remarks out of frustration on my radio at the end of last weekend's race in Dover that were very misguided. I owe my friends at Toyota and TRD an apology. We have a great partnership with TRD and they built me a motor that helped me lead over 300 laps and nearly lap the field. It's just frustrating that the caution fell where it did and suddenly it became a fuel mileage race and we were set up for maximum horsepower. Obviously, that worked well for most of the day and you can't control when the cautions will fall. I think we have a great partnership with TRD and we will continue to communicate with them on what our team is looking for. I'm looking forward to getting down to Talladega this weekend and focusing on the race."
Lee White, President and General Manager, TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development): "We understand Kyle's passion for racing — and winning. At TRD and Toyota, we have that same zeal for racing — and winning. We were disappointed with Kyle's post-race comments from Dover — a race that he dominated. Kyle's had a frustrating year with several car and engine mechanical failures which were not his responsibility, and we're working extremely hard on our end to improve our products and processes. We will continue to address these issues, but we're ready to put this behind us and move forward with the remainder of the season, including the Toyota drivers battling for the championship."
Joe Gibbs, Team Owner, Joe Gibbs Racing: "We have a great relationship with Toyota and obviously they are a major part of everything we do at Joe Gibbs Racing. Toyota is first class in every aspect of their company and they share our passion for winning. It has been a frustrating season for Kyle in many ways when you think about some of the issues we've had with that 18 team this year and obviously some of those frustrations carried over to his finish last week in Dover. We were able to lead over 300 laps, but unfortunately the cautions didn't fall our way and certainly you can understand the frustration of having to give up the lead late in the race. However, Kyle recognizes that his comments and the tone of his comments were misguided. We've been able to work through this issue and I think everyone is ready to get back to the focus being on racing and Talladega."
Ed Laukes, Vice President of Marketing Communications & Motorsports, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.: "We've had a fabulous relationship with Kyle Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing over the last five years. Kyle is a talented driver who wins races and can compete for championships, and he is a very important part of the Toyota brand. We look forward to a long-term relationship with Kyle and Joe Gibbs Racing for years to come." Toyota/Gibbs PR
10/04/12 TRD president Lee White said Thursday that his organization has worked hard on the introduction of electronic fuel injection this year and stands by its record of eight failures on race weekends for the six cars (three at JGR, three at MWR) that it supports. He said that is better than the performance by Chevrolet’s Hendrick Motorsports but not as good as Dodge’s Penske Racing.
Hendrick has had five official engine failures during races among its four Sprint Cup teams, according to NASCAR statistics. Penske has had none, while Ford’s Roush Fenway Racing has had just one.
“We’ve been under extreme pressure from crew chiefs, teams and everybody—we’ve brought several performance upgrades to the racetrack," said White, whose Toyota engines led 342 laps overall Sunday. “We have made tremendous progress in outright power and performance."
Then there’s the fuel mileage issue. Teams can choose one of three levels of fuel mixture, and all six chose maximum performance over fuel efficiency at Dover, White said.
In his two victories this year, Bowyer’s MWR team chose fuel efficiency because its car was burning up its right rear tire with maximum horsepower.
“You never have enough horsepower," White said. “Obviously any failure of any kind is too much because invariably it happens at the wrong time. And now, because of the nature of the racing in NASCAR, this whole fuel mileage thing has become a popular topic.
“It certainly is something that we’ve looked at. But to be honest with you, our focus with fuel injection has been number one, performance, number two, durability, and number three, fuel mileage." Sporting News
10/04/12 Kyle Busch was not happy with Toyota Sunday after running low on fuel at Dover International Speedway.
Now, Toyota officials are not happy with Busch for his profanity-laced tirade after the race, which was aimed at Toyota Racing Development.
Busch dominated the race at Dover, leading 302 of 400 laps. But his car did not get the fuel mileage that other drivers did, forcing he and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin to pit late in the race. Busch wound up finishing seventh and Hamlin was eighth, both a lap down.
Afterward, Busch lashed out at TRD, which supplies engines to Gibbs and other Toyota teams.
“Thank you TRD," Busch said on his team radio after the race. “(Expletive) us out of another one. Piece of (expletive) (expletive)."
According to thatsracin.com, Toyota officials are not happy with Busch over his comments. TRD president Lee White confirmed to Sporting News on Thursday that Toyota officials have talked to team owner Joe Gibbs about the incident.
"We're as frustrated as he was that he didn't win that race considering how many laps he led, considering he and Denny both literally dominated the race," White told ThatsRacin.com. “We're as disappointed as he was. However, we've got used to saying, 'That's just Kyle, you know.' But this is a bit of a special case.
"We're extremely disappointed in his negative comments and the tone of the comments after the event. It is under discussion as we move forward. We certainly are very disappointed."