| Toyota teams tally five top-fives at Charlotte Motor Speedway CHARLOTTE, N.C. (May 27, 2012) -- Camry driver Denny Hamlin captured a pair of runner-up finishes at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Toyota drivers captured a combined five top-five finishes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) and NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) over Memorial Day weekend. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)
Camry driver Hamlin finished in the second position in Sunday nights NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) at Charlotte Motor Speedway -- the seasons longest race of the year.
Hamlin, who started in the eighth position, ran among the top-10 contenders throughout the evening and led twice for 13 laps (of 400) during the 600-mile event. Hamlin appeared to be a contender late in the race, but could not reel in eventual race winner Kasey Kahne in the closing laps.
It was a good day, said Hamlin, following the race. I knew our car was going to be pretty strong. Had a good idea in practice that we were going to be pretty good. executed great today on pit road -- getting on and off pit road under green flag pit stops, we made up time. Theres nothing we did wrong, we just got beat by a better car today. Hamlin was followed to the finish by his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Kyle Busch, who claimed a third-place result. Busch started in the 17th position, but quickly darted into the top-10. Like Hamlin, Busch consistently raced with the leaders at Charlotte, but found himself unable to catch Hamlin and Kahne.
It was a really good race for us, said Busch, following the race. We definitely fought our battles there throughout it and 600 miles is a long day. Just missed it on a couple runs there -- got ourselves a little bit too far behind. The M&Ms Camry was awesome. Were keeping our string of good, strong finishes going and thats whats important right now.
Busch led three times for a total of 55 laps en route to his fourth consecutive top-five finish in NSCS competition.
In addition to Busch and Hamlin, Toyota drivers Martin Truex Jr. (12th) and Clint Bowyer (13th) also finished in the top-15.
Other Toyota drivers in the field included Landon Cassill (18th), Joey Logano (23rd), Bobby Labonte (47th), Travis Kvapil (29th), Mark Martin (34th), David Stremme (38th) and Joe Nemechek (41st).
The Sprint Cup Series returns to race at Dover International Raceway on June 3.
NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES (NNS)
In Saturdays NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Hamlin recovered from an early-race mechanical issue to finish in the second position.
Hamlin started 13th and quickly realized his car had a motor issue with the carburetor. Utilizing an early-race caution on lap 13, the team replaced the carburetor, but the lengthy delay resulted in the No. 11 Camry returning to the track in the 37th position, one lap down.
Despite restarting in the back of the pack, Hamlin immediately made steady progress moving through the field and reemerged among the top-10 on lap 115 (of 200). After adjusting the car to improve the handling, Hamlin later moved into the top-five on lap 154 and came to the checkered flag behind race-winner Brad Keselowski.
I complained about the motor early, said Hamlin, following the race. We tried to change the carburetors and that didnt fix it. Just got stuck 14th or so for a while until we got the handling until it was at least drivable and then we were able to make our move to the front. We were good on long runs.
In addition to Hamlins top-10 finish, fellow Toyota drivers, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano, finished in the third and sixth positions, respectively.
Logano started the race from the pole and led three segments for 26 laps in the race. The 22-year old driver appeared to be in contention for a top-five finish, but his teams race strategy did not play out as intended.
It didnt play out the way it was supposed to, said Logano, following the race. We tried a little different strategy and when youre up front there its kind of hard to know what everyone else is doing. We did fuel only and then we -- if the run went more than 10 laps, we would have been alright. It went 10 laps, so then we took four tires and we went back to 12th or 15th or whatever it was. We had to work our way back up, so just needed a longer race to recover from what we screwed up with in the beginning.
Other Toyota drivers in the field included Mike Bliss (12th), Tayler Malsam (19th), Travis Pastrana (24th), Joe Nemechek (29th), Brian Scott (31st), Jeff Green (32nd), Jason Bowles (33rd) and Kevin Lepage (43rd).
The Nationwide Series races next weekend at Dover International Speedway on June 2.
NASCAR K&N PRO SERIES WEST
Camry driver Eric Holmes claimed sixth in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West (NKNPSW) race at Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota on Saturday to finish as the top Toyota driver in the field.
Holmes started in the fifth position and moved to the front to lead one lap (of 50) on the 2.5-mile road course configuration before finishing in the sixth position.
Other Camry drivers in the field included Cameron Hayley (12th) and Chris Evans (17th) The NKNPSW returns to action on June 2 at the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East also resumes racing on June 2 when the series visits Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston Salem, N.C.
Toyota NSCS Driver Finishing Positions @ Charlotte Motor Speedway
2nd, DENNY HAMLIN
3rd, KYLE BUSCH
12th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
13th, CLINT BOWYER
18th, LANDON CASSILL
23rd, JOEY LOGANO
28th, BOBBY LABONTE
29th, TRAVIS KVAPIL
34th, MARK MARTIN
38th, DAVID STREMME
41st, JOE NEMECHEK
Toyota Drivers in NSCS Point Standings following Charlotte Motor Speedway*
3rd, DENNY HAMLIN, 437 points
6th, MARTIN TRUEX JR., 404 points
8th, KYLE BUSCH, 391 points
12th, CLINT BOWYER, 366 points
16th, JOEY LOGANO, 314 points
*unofficial point standings
Toyota NNS Driver Finishing Positions @at Charlotte Motor Speedway
2nd, DENNY HAMLIN
3rd, KYLE BUSCH
6th, JOEY LOGANO
12th, MIKE BLISS
19th, TAYLER MALSAM
24th, TRAVIS PASTRANA
29th, JOE NEMECHEK
31st, BRIAN SCOTT
32nd, JEFF GREEN
33rd, JASON BOWLES
43rd, KEVIN LEPAGE
Toyota Drivers in NNS Point Standings -- following Charlotte Motor Speedway*
8th, MIKE BLISS, 291 points
10th, JOE NEMECHEK, 262 points
11th, TAYLER MALSAM, 254 points
13th, BRIAN SCOTT, 225 points
15th, JASON BOWLES, 205 points
*unofficial point standings Toyota NKNPSW Driver Finishing Positions @ Brainerd International Raceway
6th, ERIC HOLMES
12th, CAMERON HAYLEY
17th, CHRIS EVANS
Toyota Drivers in NKNPSW Point Standings -- following Brainerd International Raceway*
5th, ERIC HOLMES, 234 points
8th, CAMERON HAYLEY, 195 points
*unofficial point standings
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