DAYTONA BEACH -- Remember the old advertising slogan, "Oh, what a feeling -- TOYOTA!"Race teams certainly did on Sunday afternoon at Daytona International Speedway, where 3 of the top 5 qualifiers for next week's Daytona 500 were driving Toyota Camrys. Michael Waltrip led the charge by joining pole-sitter Jimmie Johnson on the front row, while teammate David Reutimann turned the fourth-quickest lap of the afternoon. Dave Blaney was fifth-fastest overall.
Only the top 2 qualifiers are locked into starting spots through time trials, while the remainder of the field will be set in Thursday's Gatorade Duels.
"There is so much relief for everybody," Waltrip said. "There were questions over (last) summer whether we would even make it to the end of last year. And we not only start 2008 with a solid team -- we're a lot better than we've ever been before."
It was a giant leap forward for Toyota in the span of one calendar year. The Japanese manufacturer's inuaguration into Sprint Cup Series racing last season was a particularly messy one, especially when Waltrip's own team was mired in a controversy surrounding an illegal substance found in his engine in techical inspection prior to qualifying.
He made the race but joined his own team cars -- the No. 00 of Reutimann and the No. 44 of Dale Jarrett -- and the two entries from Red Bull Racing in having trouble simply qualifying for races for the remainder of the season. In fact, Waltrip missed 11 straight Cup races following the Daytona debacle.
"I'm still very emotional, but for drastically different reasons now," Waltrip said. "We made (Toyota) part of the controversy by what happened.
"Now it's a year later, and I'm happy -- but I still want to cry. I'm just happy we were able to get through (the controversy) and get through the middle of '07."
In all, 8 Toyota teams were among the fastest 19 qualifiers in the session, including Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Denny Hamlin (8th) and Tony Stewart (12th), who made the switch to Toyota this season.
Waltrip and Reutimann were among 17 drivers vying for the 8 starting spots available in the 500 to teams that failed to finish in the top-35 in last season's point standings. Joe Nemecheck qualified third overall and is also locked in.
Toyota's move to the front of the pack on Sunday overshadowed the effort's of Johnson, the 2-time defending Cup champion who will lead the field to the green flag in next Sunday's 50th Daytona 500.
"There's a total of 12 timed laps on the race track," said Johnson's crew chief, Chad Knaus, "so it's relatively unproven. We took a chance."
Click here for a complete qualifying rundown.
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