Toyota confident of improvement in 2008
SCENEDAILY
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Toyota's top American racing executive is highly optimistic entering the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, a year after it struggled through its debut effort in stock car racing's top tier.
Lee White, senior vice president and general manager, Toyota Racing Development, USA, said during testing at Daytona International Speedway on Tuesday that the manufacturer is working particularly hard with Joe Gibbs Racing for 2008 and is committed to having its Cup teams work more closely together throughout the year.
In fact, White has high hopes heading into the season-opening Daytona 500.
"I'm optimistic that we have a shot to compete for the pole, win one or both of the 150s [qualifying races] and have a couple of guys contend to win the race," White said. "That's why we're here - to contend, to compete and have a shot. We'll see how it turns out."
Some of Toyota Racing Development engineers are currently working in the Gibbs shop as the team prepares for its debut with the manufacturer this season. Gibbs' engine builder Mark Cronquist has been spearheading development of the engine that JGR drivers Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch will race. Toyota officials hope that someday all of its teams will be using the same engine.
"There are three or four people based in their shop, helping them get over the hump and helping to get them going," White said. "We are working very closely on specifications of engines. At some point, because we are supplementing their parts acquisition activity so they can spend more time developing and working on the engine, we would hope that the two shops - TRD and Joe Gibbs - will build the same engine so all of our teams can race an engine that's assembled from the same components."
That philosophy of togetherness is something that White wants for all the teams competing under the Toyota banner - Bill Davis Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing, Red Bull Racing, Hall of Fame Racing and JGR. Not that it's been missing in the past, but White wants the teams to sit down and discuss changes and nuances of those changes on a regular basis.
That's how the manufacturer moved into the elite ranks in the Craftsman Truck Series. That's what White sees as the key to improving this season.
"It's working as a group," White said. "In our truck program, it's a complete open book. After every practice, our crew chiefs get together and open the book. They show tire pressures and they show chassis settings - they show everything. That's probably very optimistic to think that will happen in the Cup Series because there's too much at stake.
"There are a lot of projects that can be done as a group that can better prevent everyone from spending the same dollars and doing the same projects. That's where we think our role as a company, with our engineering support, can help Joe Gibbs, Michael Waltrip, Bill Davis and Red Bull spend their money more wisely, so they can get more out of it."
The group certainly knows how difficult it is to gain ground in the Cup ranks. Toyota ended the 2007 season with only one team - Bill Davis Racing's No. 22 with Dave Blaney - in the top 35 in owners points. All four teams that were added for 2008 (three JGR entries and Hall of Fame) are also locked in, but those teams outside that group face another uphill battle.
White understands the challenge. Asked if he thinks that Toyota can avoid having to qualify most of its cars for most of the season, he responded: "Absolutely not. As long as the top-35 condition is set, anyone who is outside that group is going to be faced with that. You're faced with building qualifying cars, period - because that's what it takes to get your sponsor in the race, and qualifying cars don't race well. Consequently, it's a coin toss as to what your chances are to elevate yourself into the top-35 group.
"As long we have 12 to 16 guys competing on a regular basis that are funded with good people and good drivers, that condition really isn't going to change."
While he believes that the Toyota teams overall performance will improve, it might be a stretch to say they could improve enough to have all 11 Toyota teams locked into the field.
Busch leads Daytona test, gives Toyota hope
January 10, 2008
Associated Press
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- It didn't take Kyle Busch long to settle into his new ride with Joe Gibbs Racing -- just three days, in fact.
Busch paced the field on the final day of testing at Daytona International Speedway, and his lap of 188.830 mph was fastest of all 26 cars that participated in the three-day session.
The showing was a relief to the talented 22-year-old, who despite two appearances in the Chase for the championship, lost his seat at elite Hendrick Motorsports when the team signed Dale Earnhardt Jr.
"It's been a big deal to be able to come out here and run strong," Busch said after Wednesday's final session. "It's easy. Everything's going great. You know, being back at the shop, working with the guys a little bit, getting seats all squared away, everybody's been real helpful, real eager, have been telling me about how excited they are."
Few would have blamed Busch if he'd been nervous about the test session, which also came in a new car. Signed as an 18-year-old at Hendrick, he grew up in that organization and found all of his success driving a Chevrolet.
When he signed with JGR, that team also fielded Chevys. But the team later switched to Toyota, and heads into this year expected to help the automaker find success in NASCAR. Toyota teams struggled last season, its first at the elite Cup level, and the burden is on JGR to raise the performance.
So Busch's showing at testing was an exciting sign for Toyota, which saw decent performances from most of its teams -- particularly J.J. Yeley of Hall of Fame Racing and A.J. Allmendinger of Red Bull Racing. Even newcomer Jacques Villeneuve in a Camry for Bill Davis Racing spent time at the front of the field.
"Overall, we're happy with how things went here the past three days," said Lee White, general manager of Toyota Racing Development. "I think all of the Toyota teams participating in this session were relatively pleased with the performance of their cars."
But it was Busch who carried the banner and provided a baseline for teammates Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin, who don't test until next week's session.
"We want to make sure we give (Stewart) and (Hamlin) everything that we've learned, so then they're coming back here the way we leave, so they can keep going on the same path that we were," Busch said. "Everybody's excited about the tandem that we have here with myself, Tony and Denny. You know, everybody's pretty pumped up and ready to get the season rolling."
That's especially true at Toyota, which had a rocky first season at the Cup level. Dave Blaney's third-place finish at Talladega in October was Toyota's best finish of the season, and its only other top-five came from Brian Vickers at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May.
But there was little consistency, as the teams struggled to make races and never sniffed Victory Lane.
Busch expects that to change in 2008.
"I'm confident enough in Toyota -- because we're talking about Toyota here -- that they're going to make it to Victory Lane," he said. "I feel like the Gibbs organization is ultimately going to be the telltale story of how good Toyota is going to be.
"You still have Red Bull, who has been a strong effort. Obviously, they came down here prepared and ready to go. They've been pretty fast, as well as Bill Davis. Villeneuve has been good. It's not a stretch at all to say that Toyota's going to be in Victory Lane."
That confidence has made this switch easier for Busch, who had a dream situation at Hendrick and saw it all taken away when the team let him go for Earnhardt. After four Cup wins, solid improvement in the standings every season and two berths in the Chase, he's now starting over with a No. 18 team that hasn't found consistent success since Bobby Labonte won the title in 2000.
"No regrets, no nothing," he said. "I'm fortunate enough to be with another great organization, with Joe Gibbs. The team that I'm with, the 18 team, has struggled a little bit the past couple years. I'm excited about the way all the guys are working, really digging in deep, making changes really fast in order to get out there and just get more track time."
Speedy test session has NASCAR buzzing about Toyota improvement
January 17, 2008
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -After a difficult - some may even call it disastrous - inaugural season at NASCAR's top level, Toyota has made marked improvements in its Sprint Cup program.
The two weeks of preseason testing at Daytona International Speedway showed that the 11 Camrys are fast and ready to challenge for wins.
Although Kasey Kahne posted the fastest overall speed in a Dodge, Toyota drivers Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch had the next best speeds and Tony Stewart was 10th fastest. And in single-car runs, Camry drivers posted five of the top six speeds and 10 of the top 15.
It was a solid showing that had rivals wondering if a Toyota driver might score the manufacturer's first Cup victory at the season-opening Daytona 500.
Toyota officials were pleased with the showing, but were cautious to take too much away from testing.
``If I told you how many times I have won testing in 40 years!'' said Lee White, senior vice president of Toyota Racing Development. ``It's just testing, and it's really hard for me to get all jazzed up over testing because you don't know what people are doing. And there's a month left before we race. That's a lot of time for people to tune up their programs.''
It is difficult to accurately gauge just where the Toyotas rank after one testing session on the 2 1/2-mile superspeedway. NASCAR splits the session equally among single-lap runs and drafting, and nobody is certain what each team is even working on. Some may be looking for qualifying speed, while others may be fine-tuning race setups.
``This is the biggest game of chess,'' Sprint Cup director John Darby said. ``All these teams are toying with each other, and no one wants to show their full hand. Yes, the Toyota's have been very impressive. But it's hard to say for sure where they stack up against the competition.''
But the improvement goes way beyond rankings on the speed chart. Across the board, the teams are far more prepared than they were this time last season, and their programs have shown tremendous advancement.
Some of that can be attributed to time - Red Bull Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing were startups last season and simply ran out of time to accomplish everything before Daytona.
``When we were here last year, it was just trying to throw everything together as quickly as we possibly could just to be here,'' said Dale Jarrett, who drives for Waltrip. ``Now a year has gone by, and a lot has happened in that amount of time to make us that much better.''
But credit should also be given to Joe Gibbs Racing, which joined Toyota this season and instantly became the leader of the five teams that field 11 cars. Gibbs is assisting TRD in engine development, has made many of its resources available to all the Toyota teams and allowed shock specialist Ronnie Crooks to visit with any team that wanted assistance during the test.
``We've already derived benefit from the addition of JGR to Toyota,'' said team owner Waltrip, a two-time Daytona 500 champion. ``They know how much power they had here last year when they raced Chevrolets. They know what kind of aero they had.
``They're not going to give up any power or aero to race a Toyota. They want them to be the same or better.''
When JGR left General Motors after 16 years with the manufacturer, team president J.D. Gibbs said it was so his family business could take a larger role in industry development. Overshadowed by Hendrick Motorsports in the Chevrolet camp, moving to Toyota gave JGR the opportunity to become a leader.
When the team made its official switch to Toyota in December, Gibbs visited with all the existing teams to offer his support.
``He went to Bill Davis Racing and Red Bull and to Michael, and he did that on his own and that's something we at Toyota are extremely grateful for,'' White said. ``It assured our teams that Joe Gibbs Racing was here to help everyone, and it's because they realize the better the overall Toyota program is, the better Joe Gibbs Racing will be.''
A specific set of Toyota engineers worked strictly on the restrictor-plate program that will be used in the Daytona 500, and that focus on one aspect contributed to the gains the teams have shown. But it's also created the possibility that the other programs still lag behind, and the first test will be later this month when NASCAR heads to an intermediate track test in Las Vegas and a superspeedway test in California.
White said Mark Cronquist, Gibbs' respected engine builder, has been given responsibility for making sure the cars have the horsepower needed to be competitive beyond Daytona.
It's also far too early to declare the teams ready for the season-opener. Only five of the 11 cars are guaranteed a spot in the 500 right now. And the unique qualifying format of the Daytona 500 means that only two cars will make it into the field on speed. The others must race their way in.
But TRD is determined to be ready.
``We all recognize that it begins and ends with the Daytona 500,'' Whit said. ``It's the Super Bowl and we want 11 cars in that race. We don't know that we'll get all 11 in there, but we sure are going to try.''