Engine problems leave Toyota teams scrambling

LAS VEGAS -- Officials from Toyota Racing Development spent Saturday afternoon checking engines after four of the manufacturer's power plants failed early in the Sprint Cup weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Marcos Ambrose, Brian Vickers, Scott Speed and David Reutimann will start Sunday's Shelby 427 at the rear of the field after changing engines. While Vickers' problem was due to a valve spring issue, the other three drivers all suffered from a common problem -- a breakdown of the coating inside the cam lifter.

Motoring on

Cam and lifter interface problems in the TRD Toyota engines have caused issues for MWR and Red Bull Racing.

• Video: Engine woes at Vegas

"If it breaks in OK and it's getting lubrication correctly, the thing will run forever," said Lee White, president and general manager of TRD. "But if for whatever reason you get a little metal transfer, it makes it worse, and the next thing you know ... it never fixes itself. It only gets worse."

Ambrose, Vickers and Reutimann all changed engines Friday. Speed's new engine didn't arrive until Saturday, forcing the Sprint Cup rookie to sit out the day's first practice session. After final practice, TRD engineers examined the backup engines to see if they had survived the day's activities intact.

"Obviously, we ran both practices, every car but the 82," White said, referring to Speed's car number. "They're doing a detailed check on them to see where we are. We did some lubrication changes that we think will hopefully get them going. So if they made it through practice, they should be good to go."

Kyle Busch also suffered an engine problem at Las Vegas, losing his motor four laps into Friday's opening practice. Under NASCAR's one-engine rule, he will have to vacate his pole position and join his manufacturer brethren at the rear of the starting field. Because Joe Gibbs Racing builds its own engines, Busch's issue was separate from the problems suffered by the TRD motors, which were constructed at a Toyota facility in Costa Mesa, Calif.

White said he didn't think the durability of the backup engines would be an issue in Sunday's 285-lap race.

"All I can say is, if we made it through these two practices and we don't see the issue in a detailed inspection of the engines," he said, "I'm optimistic they'll be fine."