Scott Kalitta died Saturday when his Funny Car burst into flames and crashed at the end of the track during the final round of qualifying for the Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. Kalitta’s Toyota Solara was traveling at about 300 mph when it burst into flames.

Kalitta started his career at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in 1982. His father, Connie Kalitta, was a longtime driver and team owner known as “The Bounty Hunter,” and his cousin, Doug Kalitta, also drives competitively.

“We are deeply saddened and want to pass along our sincere condolences to the entire Kalitta family,” the NHRA said in a statement. “Scott shared the same passion for drag racing as his legendary father, Connie. He also shared the same desire to win, becoming a two-time series world champion. He left the sport for a period of time, to devote more time to his family, only to be driven to return to the drag strip to regain his championship form. He will be truly missed by the entire NHRA community.”

One of only 14 drivers in NHRA history to win in both premier nitro categories, Kalitta’s last victory came in Chicago in 2005 in Top Fuel. He had a runner-up finish two weeks ago in Chicago, his 36th career NHRA final-round appearance.

He’s survived by his father, wife Kathy and sons Corey, 14, and Colin, 8.

LEXINGTON, Ohio – After a wet seventh round of Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series competition at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexus continued to lead all categories with championship leads in the driver, team and engine manufacturer standings.

With a healthy points lead ahead of the mid-point of the season, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates missed out on a podium finish for the first time this year after opening the year with four wins in the first six races. Drivers Memo Rojas and Scott Pruett brought the No. 01 TELMEX Lexus Riley home eighth, after an early race downpour that caused diabolical conditions where most every car ran into trouble at one point or another.

Rojas drove the opening stint and started the race strongly moving into second place by Lap 2. By Lap 10, a quick pit stop changing from dry tires to wets put the No. 01 car in the lead. From the front, the long-brewing Rolex Series rivalry with the No. 10 car saw an outstanding battle for the lead as Rojas showed both patience and aggression, keeping the Lexus-powered machine at the front and in the fight as the two hour and forty-five hour race continued to run in treacherous conditions.

The ever-changing weather conditions caused the Ganassi squad to alter their strategy and keep Rojas out on wet tires hoping that they would be able to fuel, change drivers and be among the first to go back to dry tires. Unfortunately the track never dried as Rojas fought up front.

“We had a really good car as usual but the strategy just didn’t go our way,” Rojas said. “Our last stop to get Scott in the car came too late and he got back out on track in 15th place. He did a great job to get up to eighth place.”

Shane Lewis and Bill Lester were hoping to make the most of the Mid-Ohio race weekend for the home race for the home team, Powell, Ohio-based Southard Motorsports in the No. 3 Lexus Riley. However, the race didn’t play out as hoped as Lewis suffered multiple spins and was forced off-course more than once. But the two fought to take the checkered flag with a Daytona Prototype race finish of 13th.

“It was a shame because we were just never able to find the traction to put all the Lexus power down,” said Southard driver Bill Lester. “But even though these conditions were really challenging, the motor didn’t miss a beat and there were no reliability problems even with how wet it was. We were looking to get more out of this Mid-Ohio race even though I’d never been here in the Daytona Prototypes, but we’ll fight back at Daytona.”

LEXINGTON, Ohio – Lexus-powered cars will take their start on the second and fifth rows for the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series EMCO Gears Classic at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday afternoon.

Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates driver Memo Rojas of Mexico, in the No. 01 TELMEX Lexus, turned in a quick lap of 1:18.219 seconds around the sinuous 2.38 miles of Mid-Ohio to qualify in fourth position. His effort was only a 0.336-second deficit to the pole. The 15-minute qualifying session was run under a bright and sunny sky, raising the track temperature and robbing the Rolex runners of precious grip.

Lexus power stands firmly atop the Rolex Series driver, team and engine manufacturer championship standings coming into the season’s mid-point at Mid-Ohio. Chip Ganassi Lexus-powered drivers Scott Pruett and Rojas lead comfortably by 36 points in the driver’s chase for the title while their team sits atop the team standings by the same 36-point margin.

“I struggled with the tires coming in right away, so it wasn’t until the end of the stint that the tires were working with me,” Rojas said. “This is definitely a place where you want to qualify well because the passing during the race is very difficult. I kept pushing and pushing the TELMEX car and there were some laps were a slight bobble in a turn would cause me to lose time. For the very last lap, I changed a setting on the rear bar, which seemed to help the overall balance of the car so that I could push without sacrificing making a minor mistake on the track. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race. We have a strong Lexus engine and we’re in a good consistent starting position.”

Shane Lewis, driving the No. 3 Lexus Riley for Ohio-based Southard Motorsports, will start from the 10th spot on the starting grid. He turned in a time of 1:19.363 seconds, good for an average speed of 102.425 mph. Lewis’ co-driver Bill Lester lacks the track time at Mid-Ohio of his more experienced teammate, and as a result, Lewis didn’t get as much track time during the morning practice session as he would have liked. Nonetheless, he was mindful of the bigger picture benefits.

“The only difficulty we had was that I sacrificed the time on the new tires so that my teammate could get more comfortable with this track,” said Lewis. “But that’s just what being a teammate means sometimes, so even though we had to guess a little about how the car would be on new tires, we should be good to go in the race tomorrow. The one thing we haven’t needed to worry about one bit has been the Lexus power. The support has been fantastic. There is a lot of pressure for us to do well here at the team’s home race, but it’s really pushing the team to perform and we’re excited about the race on Saturday.”

The first half of the 2008 season has yielded four wins out of six races for Lexus, with second- and third-place finishes in the other two. The result is a 15-point advantage over Pontiac in the engine manufacturers race.

Toyota Financial Services and Toyota Motor Sales announced today that they are donating $200,000 and two utility vehicles to the American Red Cross to support relief efforts in the Cedar Rapids flood areas.

Toyota Financial Services, which has had a large Call Center in Cedar Rapids since 1991, presently has almost 600 associates who reside in the area. The Center services Toyota customers who have financed or leased a vehicle through a dealer and TFS, and it additionally supports customers who have purchased Toyota automobile payment and vehicle protection plans. The Center, like many local businesses, shut down operations on Thursday due to the severe weather. While the Center itself has not been damaged by the floods, many of the TFS associates have homes in the area that have been hit hard. Today the Cedar Rapids facility reopened with a reduced crew.

“Cedar Rapids is home to a large number of our associates, and of course we have many more customers and dealers who have also felt the brunt of this devastating weather,” said George Borst, TFS President and CEO. “It is our hope that aid may quickly reach those who fell victim to the floods so that our employees and the city can begin to rebuild.”

In addition to the donation, impacted lease and retail customers residing in the devastated areas may be eligible to take advantage of several payment relief options, some of which include:
• extensions and lease deferred payments
• redirecting billing statements
• arranging phone or on-line payments

Toyota Financial customers should call (800) 874-8822.
Lexus Financial customers should call (800) 874-7050.

Toyota announced manufacturer’s suggested retail prices (MSRP) today for 2009 Tacoma pickup trucks, which range from $15,170 to $27,075.

All Tacoma models will now feature Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), and Traction Control (TRAC) as standard equipment, making Tacoma the latest model to feature Toyota’s STAR Safety system consisting of Anti-Lock Brakes, Electronic Brake Force Distribution, Brake Assist, VSC, and TRAC. Additional new standard features include an automatic limited slip differential, roll-sensing curtain and seat side airbags, and front active headrests.

Exterior styling has been freshened with an argent painted grille, LED taillamps and four new colors that include Magnetic Gray, Barcelona Red, Pyrite, and Timberland. Smoked headlamp trim is featured on X-Runner and models with the optional TRD Offroad and TRD Sport packages.

Inside, Tacoma features a new and enhanced standard equipment audio system. All Tacoma audio head units feature AM/FM radio, an auxiliary audio input, an MP3-capable CD player, and satellite radio capability. Standard audio on Access and Double Cab models have been upgraded to two ceiling mounted speakers for a total of six and will be satellite radio ready. An optional JBL six-disc CD changer with satellite radio that includes a three-month free subscription to XM Satellite Radio and Bluetooth™ is available for Tacoma Double Cab models.

Additional interior enhancements include a new front door trim panel on all Tacoma models. Access Cab models receive power windows and door locks as standard equipment and a new rear seat design that features a center storage area and under seat storage. Other enhancements include a stylish new seat fabric pattern for models equipped with the optional SR5 package, and all Regular Cab models are equipped with bench seats. A new backup monitor is offered as an option on Access and Double Cab models.

2009 Tacoma 4×2 models carry a base MSRP that ranges from $15,170 for the Regular Cab with a four cylinder engine and five-speed manual transmission to $25,285 for the X-Runner Access Cab V6 with a six-speed manual transmission. For PreRunner models, base MSRP ranges from $16,055 for the Regular Cab with a four cylinder engine and five-speed manual transmission to $24,000 for the Double Cab Long Bed V6 with 5-speed automatic transmission.

The base MSRP for Tacoma 4×4 models range from $19,130 for the Regular Cab with a four-cylinder engine and five-speed manual transmission to $27,075 for the Double Cab Long Bed V6 with a five-speed automatic transmission. The overall average MSRP for all Tacoma models increases $1,104, or 5.1 percent.

The 2009 Tacoma is available now at Toyota dealerships.

Through advances in engine design and hybrid technology, Toyota has a wide selection of fuel-sipping cars and the best overall average fuel economy of any full-line manufacturer.*

With gas prices at an all-time high, Toyota has seven models with EPA-rated highway fuel economy of 30 miles per gallon (mpg) or higher such as the four-cylinder Camry, Camry Hybrid (counted as separate model), Solara, Corolla, Matrix, Yaris and Prius. The Toyota Prius, is the company’s highest-mileage vehicle with an EPA highway rating of 45 mpg.

With the addition of the fuel-efficient Scion xD model, the total number increases to eight models.

Among the technological advances contributing to Toyota’s fuel economy numbers are Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive®, variable valve timing with intelligence (VVT-i), improvements in fuel injection technology, Toyota’s drive by wire system, transmission enhancements and lighter weight vehicle materials.

EPA Highway rating by model:

4-CYL. CAMRY- 31 mpg
CAMRY HYBRID- 34 mpg
SOLARA- 31 mpg
COROLLA- 35 to 37 mpg
MATRIX- 31 to 33 mpg
YARIS- 35 to 36 mpg
PRIUS- 45 mpg
SCION xD- 32 to 33 mpg