The debut of Toyota in the Nextel Cup Series hasn't gone as smoothly as the manufacturer had hoped, and Brian Vickers' 10-place finish in the Auto Club 500 at California Speedway on Sunday was treated almost as a victory.
The top-10, Toyota's first in the Nextel Cup Series, closes a tumultuous month for its seven teams. The manufacturer has failed to qualify six cars in the first two races, but Vickers narrowly missed a top-five finish in his first 2007 start.
Vickers was one of three Toyotas that failed to qualify for the Daytona 500, but his No. 83 Camry handled well in the season's first downforce test. Only a bad pit stop on Lap 226 -- where Vickers lost six spots -- kept him from finishing even better.
"We messed up a little bit on the last pit stop but those guys did a tremendous job all day long," Vickers said. "The car had no problems, we didn't have any problems with the car. We learned a lot about the setup and what we can do moving forward, so all around, it was a win-win."
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