Busch confirms Toyota switch

Busch confirms Toyota switch

	Published : Fri, 31 Aug 2007 21:30 By : Agencies Print this Story

FONTANA, Calif. (AP) - While Joe Gibbs Racing officials remained mum Friday on the anticipated switch from Chevrolet to Toyota, Kyle Busch was more than happy to talk about it.

Busch, who will leave Hendrick Motorsports to drive for JGR in 2008, said he got a call from the team earlier this week confirming the change.

'We were just always kept in the loop on what exactly was going to happen with that and, when they finally made their decision, they went ahead and called us,' Busch said Friday at California Speedway, where he will race in Sunday's Sharp Aquos 500 NASCAR Nextel Cup race.

Asked what the call was about, he reiterated, 'That they were going with Toyota.'

Although Toyota, in its first season in Nextel Cup, has struggled with new and underperforming outfits, this is a move that will give the Japanese automaker a marquee team -- one that has won three Cup championships in the past seven years.

The switch is just fine with Busch, who will join two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin at JGR.

'I got the call and pretty much was OK with it,' he said. 'It's something more so that crew chiefs, the engineers and all those guys need to approve on.

'Us drivers, it doesn't matter what we are driving, especially next year,' he added, referring to the fact that all the teams will be running NASCAR's new Car of Tomorrow for the entire Sprint Cup season in 2008. 'It's just going to be the motor that's going to be the biggest difference. The bodies are all pretty much close enough to being the same.'

The Gibbs team has scheduled a news conference for Wednesday at its headquarters in Huntersville, N.C., where it is expected that the change to Toyota will be made official.

Officials at both Toyota and General Motors declined comment.

Busch, who lost his ride at Hendrick when Dale Earnhardt Jr. was signed for next season, said the possible switch to Toyota was part of the discussion before he signed with JGR.

'I think it's something that's going to take Joe Gibbs Racing, hopefully, a step forward in the right direction,' he said. 'They have got a great reputation for being able to produce winning race cars year in and year out and championship contending teams, so I think they are going to be just fine.

'This is a business decision that they felt (was) right. Now I have got to talk to Five Star Race Car Bodies to make me a late model body that's a Camry. So I have got to make my changes, too.'

Busch, who has driven Chevrolets for Hendrick since he first raced in Cup in 2004, said the discussions before he signed with JGR included talks with Gibbs' chief engine builder Mark Kronquist about the possible change.

'Actually, when we were talking about the Toyota stuff, they brought Mark in because I had a bunch of questions about the motor stuff,' Busch said. 'You know (Toyota's) got a lot of questions in that area with the motors because they have got, supposedly, the top end power but they don't have the bottom end and stuff like that. They have had not too many reliability issues, but a couple.

'Mark alluded to me that they feel like their package that they have in the Chevrolet engines, especially with the new R-7 stuff, that they can translate that into the Toyota stuff and, hopefully, have a pretty good piece come January.'

Although Busch said he hasn't talked with former Hendrick teammate Brian Vickers about Toyota, he noted that Vickers has had some pretty good results for Red Bull Racing recently.

'You know Brian, he's run really well at Charlotte and Michigan lately and been able to keep that thing buzzing up there on the top side, so it looks pretty good,' Busch said.

The 22-year-old Busch said he fully expects Toyota to become a solid contender in Cup before too long.

'Looking at years past in different series, you have got Toyota who came into CART and tore CART up in a few years,' he said. 'Then they came into the IRL and tore the IRL up. They have come into the (NASCAR) truck series and they pretty much own the truck series now.

'So I'm not scared. I think they are going to actually be a pretty good source to be associated with and Gibbs is going to make the right decision that they feel is fit in order to make sure that they get the best possible results every week. And, being as it's going to be with Toyota, I think it will be fine.'