 | Hey Toyota Racing Fans,
It's shaping up to be an action-packed April for Toyota Racing, so here's a taste of what's coming up, including the 36th annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, plus a rewind of some of the highlights from the month just gone.
And remember, for everything Toyota Racing, your first stop has got to be toyotaracing.com.
COMING UP... TIME TO HEAD TO THE BEACH
What makes the 36th annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach such a special event? Well, pretty much everything! Street races are always special, but the weather, the location, the huge crowds and the party atmosphere, plus a must-see lineup of on-track action, including the IZOD IndyCar Series and American Le Mans Series, make this Southern California tradition the biggest, baddest street racing festival of them all.
This year's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach takes place Friday, April 16, to Sunday, April 18, and as always, one of the most popular on-track events will be the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race. The 10-lap, star-studded exhibition race is set to take the flag Saturday at 11:40 a.m and will feature celebrities competing against professional drivers in identically prepared Scion tC models. The event is once again expected to raise over $100,000 for "Racing for Kids," a national organization that benefits children's hospitals in Southern California.
For the full cast list of celebrities and Toyota pro racers, including 2009 celebrity winner Keanu Reeves and skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, read the full story here.
And if you want to know who Las Vegas gaming expert Anthony Curtis thinks will be taking home the trophy and the bragging rights, click here.
In the month ahead, Toyota's NASCAR® Sprint Cup Series™ teams and drivers experience the longest and the oldest superspeedways on the schedule -- the superfast 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway on April 25, and the historic 1.366-mile Darlington Raceway on May 8. Which one gives a driver the toughest physical workout? Find out by clicking here. And for the latest news, stories, photos and videos on Toyota in the NASCAR® Sprint Cup Series™, just click here.
The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series heads to the glitter of Las Vegas, April 16-18, with all four Toyota-supported Top Fuel racers in the top-10 in points. Rising star Shawn Langdon is in only his second season of Top Fuel competition, but is already holding a strong sixth overall. For Langdon's thoughts on his season so far, click here.
ONE TO WATCH: DENNY HAMLIN, IRONMAN
(Photo credit: LAT)
Two days after winning on the half-mile Martinsville Speedway for a third time on March 29, (full story here), Joe Gibbs Racing FedEx Toyota Camry driver Denny Hamlin had a date with the surgeon's knife to fix a pesky ACL injury to his left knee picked up in a pre-season game of basketball. Only 10 days later, Hamlin was toughing it out behind the wheel -- and finishing -- in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Did it hurt? Yes. But NASCAR's new Ironman isn't going to let that stop him. Next stop on the Sprint Cup schedule is Texas Motor Speedway, April 18.
For Denny Hamlin's Toyota Racing driver profile, click here, and to follow him on Twitter, click here.
ON THE WEB: "SPONSAFY YOUR RIDE CONTEST" FINALISTS
Toyota Racing has announced the finalists vying for the grand prize in the "Sponsafy Your Ride Contest" and you have until April 15 to vote for the winning design. One lucky fan's online masterpiece will be transformed into painted sheet metal and take part in the parade lap before the green flag drops at the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, May 22.
With more than 84,000 designs parked in the online galleries and nearly one million votes cast so far, the competition has proved a big hit with Toyota Racing fans -- and the drivers, too.
"There have been quite a few designs that have been really, really cool," said Kyle Busch, who drives a Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. "It's been neat how big this deal has taken off and how much the fans have really been receptive to it. They've built so many cars and there's a lot out there, and a lot of good ones to pick a winner from."
For more on the "Sponsafy Your Ride Contest" finalists, click here.
REWIND... CLOCKS, GUITARS AND MAKING HISTORY
In the month just gone, Denny Hamlin earned himself a third grandfather clock in Martinsville (see above), while Kyle Busch brought home another hand-painted Gibson electric guitar by taking his Toyota Tundra to Victory Lane in the NASCAR® Camping World Truck Series™ race at Nashville Superspeedway, April 3. Significantly, it was Busch's first win in the series as an owner-driver. Just four hectic months ago, Kyle Busch Motorsports' two-truck race team was just dreams and paper plans.
For more on a landmark race for the KBM team, the full story's here, and you can watch a video of the team in the making here. And to check out Busch's NASCAR® Nationwide Series™ race win at Phoenix International Raceway, April 9, click here.
(Photo credit: Ron Lewis)
It was also a big day for Toyota-supported NHRA Top Fuel racer Larry Dixon at the O'Reilly Auto Parts Spring Nationals in Houston, April 11. By beating Antron Brown in an all-Toyota final, the Al-Anabi Racing driver recorded his 50th career Top Fuel race win and is now just 28 points out of the 2010 championship lead. Read more here.
For more exclusive insights into the 2010 racing season, check out Toyota Racing on Facebook and Twitter.
NASCAR® is a registered trademark of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is a trademark owned by NASCAR, Inc., and Sprint. The NASCAR Nationwide Series logo and word mark are used under license by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc., and Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is a trademark owned by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc., and Camping World, Inc.
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