After futility, two drivers in the show
A.J. Allmendinger and Jeremy Mayfield finally qualified for a race at NASCAR's top level.
BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) -- A.J. Allmendinger and Jeremy Mayfield are finally in the show, ending four weeks of futility at NASCAR's top level.
Both drivers were absolutely giddy after qualifying for today's race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Then they struggled through a pair of Saturday practice sessions and the party came to a screeching halt.
"After making the race, we thought everything else was going to be a bonus," Allmendinger said Saturday. "But when we got out here today, our mind-set changed. We just wanted to get faster. But we struggled and that's been a little bit frustrating."
Allmendinger, the former Champ Car driver, has experienced his share of frustration in his first season in the Nextel Cup Series. Team Red Bull has struggled to make races this year, and Allmendinger has yet to actually make his Cup debut after failing to qualify for the first four events.
But he put the No. 84 Camry in this week and will start the race in the 43rd position -- fitting because that's where he ranked on the speed chart after Saturday's final practice.
Mayfield was just a tick better, ending Saturday 38th on the chart, but it didn't dampen his spirits. He also missed the first four races this season, and has only raced once since last August -- the season finale in Homestead, Fla.
"I'm just happy to be here," Mayfield said. "The team is just pumped up to be in the race."
Toyota has struggled
The Toyota program has struggled mightily through its first month in NASCAR's top series. With three teams fielding seven Camrys, the Japanese automaker expected a decent start to the year.
The start was instead just the opposite, as the bulk of the Toyota drivers were sent home at the end of every Friday.
But a season-high five of the seven Toyota cars will race today, with only David Reutimann and Michael Waltrip failing to qualify.
It's led many in the Cup garage to speculate Toyota pumped all of its resources into the Car of Tomorrow, which makes its NASCAR debut today. Because the COT will run 16 races this season, and NASCAR is hoping teams will ask to use it exclusively in 2008, it makes sense that Toyota wouldn't waste too much time working on the current car.
But Toyota officials insist they devoted equal time to both programs, and putting five cars in today's race reflects more on their hard work than it does on the COT.
"It's great to see what we at Toyota call 'Kaizen,' which is constant improvement," said Lee White, vice president of Toyota Racing Development. "We've had our challenges and the teams have had their challenges, and we're certainly thrilled to have five cars in the race.
"But I'm not so sure how much of it has to do with Car of Tomorrow and how much has to do with the overall progress and improvement of the programs."
The bottom line
It ultimately comes down to the COT, though, and the aftermath of Toyota's disappointing test session here last month.
Because the Camrys as a group lagged far behind the leaders during the two-day COT test, Toyota competition director Andy Graves summoned all three organizations together for a sit-down.
It was the first of its kind, a fact that troubled Toyota because it wants its teams working together toward one common goal.
"Even though we preach sharing information, with all our teams competing against each other just to get into races, that's been a real fight to make that happen," White said. "Since we were uniformly not where we wanted to be at the test, Andy Graves got them all together for a little 'Come to Jesus' meeting and they decided 'You know what? We're all in the dumpster here, let's share some information.' "
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