Johnny Benson (third), Mike Skinner (fifth), Ted Musgrave (ninth) and Terry
Cook (10th) all recorded top-10 finishes in Tundras at Atlanta.
Other Tundra drivers in the field included Jacques Villeneuve (14th), Justin
Marks (22nd), Todd Bodine (24th), Jack Sprague (25th) and Josh Wise (35th).
Skinner is unofficially listed as second in the NCTS point standings
following today's race at Atlanta -- now four points behind Ron Hornaday. Toyota
clinched the 2007 NCTS Manufacturer's Championship last weekend at Martinsville
Speedway.
Tundra drivers have earned 11 wins, 15 poles, 53 top-five and 85 top-10
finishes in 32 of 35 races this season.
This year, Skinner (Atlanta, Martinsville, Kansas, Charlotte, Mansfield,
Dover, Milwaukee, Nashville, and Gateway), Bodine (Texas and Talladega), Brad
Keselowski (Memphis), Ryan Mathews (Kentucky) and Sprague (Martinsville-2 and
Daytona) have put Tundras on the pole.
This October, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. is celebrating its 50th year
of doing business in the United States. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. was
formed October 31, 1957, establishing its headquarters in a former Rambler
dealership in Hollywood, Calif. Sales began in 1958 and totaled a modest 288
vehicles that first year -- 287 Toyopet Crown sedans and one Land Cruiser.
JOHNNY BENSON, No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota Tundra, Bill
Davis Racing Finished: 3rd How was the truck during the race? "Yesterday the
truck was not running anywhere near where we wanted it to be so we changed the
complete set-up -- from front to back. We tried it out in qualifying and I was
happy about it and then we changed a few more things for the race. We really got
the truck where we wanted it for the race and I really only had that one mess-up
during the race where I sped down pit road and had to start at the back. That
made it pretty fun out there. I didn't really want to see those last couple of
cautions -- I would have liked for the race to have gone green to the end. Kyle
(Busch) was good, Ron (Hornaday) was good and Mark (Martin) was good today -- so
to finish third racing those guys today was a satisfying finish." What are your
thoughts on the competitive point's battle in the NCTS? "I don't think I'm
really part of the points battle. I'm a little farther back and just watching it
and having fun. We would like to see Mike (Skinner) win the championship for
Bill Davis Racing. Ron and those guys are doing a great job too and I'm sure its
going to come down to the very end. Hopefully we can still gain some points
before the end of the season because we're fifth right now and would like to
make it up to third. That might be a far reach, but we're catching them." Is
Ryan Mathews still a part of the Bill Davis Racing organization? "I think when
(Jacques) Villeneuve came in -- it kind of took his ride away. He's looking for
a ride and I hope he finds one because he did a great job for Bill Davis Racing.
He still comes around and asks for some pointers from us -- he had never been to
Atlanta so he came down and talked to us about getting around here. He's a good
kid and somebody needs to give him a ride." Did you feel like you had anything
for Kyle Busch or Ron Hornaday at the end of the race? "I think the top-four
were all pretty good trucks. I think if we could have stayed out front -- we
would have been in good shape if the race went green. Ron chased us down one
time and he was just getting to the point of losing some control of his truck so
we were able to get back by him. Then a caution came back out and that was tough
on us. But our team really worked hard today to give us good pit stops and the
race probably didn't go the way we would have liked to have gotten the win. Trip
Bruce (crew chief) and the guys changed the whole set-up on the truck before the
race so we really didn't know what we had. But it was a good day and everybody
worked hard all weekend."
MIKE SKINNER, No. 5 Toyota Tundra, Bill Davis Racing Finished: 5th Did
you ever get your truck the way you wanted it during the race? "We never really
did get the truck fixed. The truck was really good yesterday, but I don't know
what happened today. It was just a different day and a different race track, I
guess. We struggled all day. We had some good pit strategy, though. We used up
our right side tires early and used some used tires in the middle of the race so
we had new tires for the end of the race. That's how we got back up to fifth."
What are your thoughts on the championship heading into the final few races? "We
just keep trading this thing back and forth each week. They're just doesn't seem
to be faltering any. They have some good luck on their side and they're doing a
good job. My guys are doing a good job, but we just had a pretty bad truck
today. We went from by far the best yesterday to a 10th-place truck today. We
had a set of stickers late in the race that got us a decent finish." What are
your concerns heading into the season's homestretch? "I think my biggest
disappointment is our lack of ability to fix a truck on pit road. I don't know
if I'm telling them wrong or we're doing wrong, but we can't fix it. It is our
biggest weakness, and it has been for two years. Hopefully, we can get better at
that. We're going to have to get better at that to win a championship. We just
haven't done well adjusting it when it's loose or tight. Once we figure that
out, we're going to be tough."
TED MUSGRAVE, No. 9 Team ASE Toyota Tundra, Germain Racing Finished: 9th
How was your race today? "It was just an up and down day, but we got a
top-10 finish. The truck was just out of balance on the aero part of it and I
think we just had too much from down force. It made the thing so loose to start
with and all we could do was try to tighten it up during the race, but it's too
late by then. The guys did a good job -- our strategy was good and our pit stops
were good. We had a good strategy on tires because we had another set of tires
in the pits when nobody else had any. We were kind of playing cat and mouse --
let the guys with new tires get away and hang in the back and then we were
waiting for the last stop. On that last caution it kind of messed up our
strategy, but we were prepared with a new set of tires there at the end. We'll
just head to Texas and see if we can get them down there." What happened between
you and Jack Sprague? "Jack's (Sprague) frustrated -- he's had a frustrating
year and a frustrating week. He was a lap down -- I'm in the lead lap and I'm
coming off the high side of turn two and he's coming off the bottom -- he slid
up in front of me and I had momentum on the top line. I guess he wanted me to
slam on the breaks, but I forgot where the brake pedal was."
TERRY COOK, No. 59 HT Motorsports Toyota Tundra, HT Motorsports Finished:
10th How was your race and what happened to tear up the front of your truck?
"We've been competitive since we unloaded off the trailer -- we haven't been
quite as close to the front as we would have liked to, but the last six or eight
races we have been racing really well and just haven't been able to get the
results. Today we at least got a top-10 out of it. I thought we might have had a
shot at a top-five finish, but the No. 30 truck (Todd Bodine) came up into me on
the backstretch on the last restart and pushed me up the track. It cut his
right-front tire down and just mangled the front of my truck. I don't know what
he was doing -- I guess just racing there at the end of the race. But at least
we can leave here with a top-10."
JACQUES VILLENEUVE, No. 27 Unicef Toyota Tundra, Bill Davis Racing
Finished: 14th
JUSTIN MARKS, No. 03 VooDoo Ride/Germain Toyota Tundra, Germain Racing
Finished: 22nd
BRANDON WHITT, No. 1 Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing
Finished: 23rd
TODD BODINE, No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota Tundra, Germain Racing
Finished: 24th What did you battle with your truck today? "We missed the set-up
on the truck today -- we were just too loose. We kept adjusting on it and kept
getting it better and better. There at the end the No. 59 (Terry Cook) got into
me and cut the right-rear tire down. It's just racing.
JACK SPRAGUE, No. 60 Con-Way Freight Toyota Tundra, Wyler Racing
Finished: 25th
JOSH WISE, No. 00 Aaron's Lucky Dog Toyota Tundra, Darrell Waltrip
Motorsports Finished: 35th What happened that took you out of the race? "I
just put myself in a bad position -- the hole closed in on me, but I probably
shouldn't have been there to start with. I just hate it for everyone on this
team and everyone who has given me an opportunity this season. I really wanted
to end my season better than this -- I'm pretty disappointed."