Toyota impressive in Truck Series debut

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- If there were any doubts about how strong Toyota would be in its initial season in NASCAR, they were answered Friday night.

FLORIDA DODGE DEALERS 250  •  Unofficial Results  •  Unofficial Standings

Travis Kvapil led 15 laps and finished second, and rookie David Reutimann led seven laps and finished ninth in the Tundra's debut in the Craftsman Truck Series.

Toyota's showing in the Florida Dodge Dealers 250 came as a bit of a surprise to Jim Aust, the manufacturer's vice president of motorsports and president and CEO of Toyota Racing Development.

"If you had told me six weeks ago that we would come down here and qualify two trucks in the top 10, lead and finish second, I wouldn't have believed you," Aust said. "This is a great start, and we can't wait to go to Atlanta."

Three of the seven Tundras didn't fare so well, as Robert Huffman, Mike Skinner and Shelby Howard wrecked. Bill Lester finished 16th and Hank Parker Jr. 18th in their Tundras.

But then there was Kvapil and Reutimann. Kvapil, driving for upstart Bang Racing, was a force throughout the night. He gave Toyota its first lap led in NASCAR when he took over on lap 8, and he led three more times.

"We definitely had a truck that was capable of winning," said Kvapil, who finished second in this race a year ago. "You know, to come out of the box with a good finish, that was the main thing. We definitely are looking at the 2004 championship. That's what I want to do. That's what I'm focused on. I know we got a team that can do it. I know we got a manufacturer and sponsor that can do it.

"To come out of the box second -- that's what I did last year. Things worked out for the rest of the year. Just got to be there at the end."

Kvapil won the 2003 NCTS championship, so, yes, things did work out. And things seem to be going well so far in 2004, too.

VIDEO CLIPS Edwards holds off Kvapil to win the season opener Play video Kvapil has mixed emotions about finishing second Play video Sprague and Skinner review the big wreck Play video Nearly half the field is collected in a Turn 4 wreck Play video Park and Starr bring out the caution early Play video

"I'm excited," Kvapil said. "Obviously, there were a lot of question marks coming into this race. I knew they were going to give us some horsepower. I do know numbers still show we're down a little bit. ... I was happy that it ran the whole race.

"I'm just happy to kind of prove that we can run a couple hundred-mile races. I know they're going to go back and still find us some more horsepower to get us up to where we need. To come out of the box this strong, knowing we're only going to get better, is pretty exciting."

Reutimann, driving for Darrell Waltrip Motorsports, was the highest-finishing rookie of the race despite a shaky start. He admitted to making a few mistakes, notably punting Steve Park, but his truck was good enough to post a top-10 finish.

"There was a big question mark on the whole Toyota program when we got here," Reutimann said. "Our truck was good enough to win -- if I could figure out where I was supposed to be on the racetrack.

"But, yeah, I'm just so pleased with the people at TRD, Darrel Waltrip Motorsports. Those guys have been working 24-hour shifts to get our stuff done. We've come light-years from when we started. I'm real happy with their effort."