NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

Vickers, who started 15th, ran among the top-half of the field throughout the race. The Thomasville, N.C.-native also registered the first top-10 for Team Red Bull in the organization's inaugural season participating in the Nextel Cup Series.

"We got into the top-five and I felt like we could be even better," said Vickers, following the race. "We tried some things on the car and it went in the wrong direction. We got it fixed back at the end and we just ran out of time to improve our track position. When you get up there with the leaders -- you want more -- you always want a little bit more, but you have to step back and look at circumstances.

"I think this finish means a lot for Toyota," added Vickers. "Everybody knows we have work to do. We didn't win the race today but we had a good, solid run. I'm really proud of everyone at Toyota and TRD. They've been a lot of help with this Red Bull program, but there's still room for improvement -- there's always room for improvement."

Other Toyota drivers in the Nextel Cup field included Dale Jarrett, David Reutimann and Dave Blaney. Jarrett, driver of the No. 44 UPS Toyota, finished 32nd and Reutimann, pilot of the No. 00 Domino's Toyota, ended up 33rd after being sidelined following contact on lap 239.

Blaney, who was running among the leaders during the first half of the race, retired on lap 112 and finished 39th. "We had some kind of motor problem," said Blaney. "Although you have to be encouraged by the performance -- the car was really fast. It's a shame because we had a top-10 car -- that's where it had been running all day. We were fourth, fifth or sixth a lot of the time."

The next race on the NASCAR Nextel Cup calendar is at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, March 11.

In Saturday afternoon's Busch Series race at California Speedway, three Toyota Camrys took the green flag -- Blaney (No. 10- ABF U-Pack Moving Toyota), Jason Leffler (No. 38 Great Clips Toyota) and Reutimann (No. 00 Aarons's Dream Machine Toyota). Blaney started from the pole in his Braun Racing Toyota -- becoming the first Camry driver to pick up a pole position in NASCAR competition.

After leading the first 16 laps of the race and running among the top-10 throughout the afternoon, Blaney crossed the finish line 10th. In two Busch Series starts this year, Blaney has a pair of top-10 finishes. Along with his 10th-place result at California, Blaney was runner-up in the Daytona season-opener.

Reutimann guided his Michael Waltrip Racing Camry to a 15th-place finish at California and Leffler, who was involved in an incident on lap 87 of the 150-lap event, was credited with a 38th-place finish.

Blaney, Reutimann and Leffler all return to Busch Series action at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, March 4.

In Friday night's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, California native Mike Skinner drove his No. 5 Bill Davis Racing Toyota Tundra to victory lane -- the 27th victory for a Toyota in Craftsman Truck Series competition.

Skinner, who was born in Ontario, Calif., became the first Californian to win a NCTS race at the two-mile superspeedway. He led the field four times for a total of 43 laps and recorded the 20th Craftsman Truck Series victory of his career.

"I was born just down the street, so it's pretty cool to win in my own backyard," said Skinner, after the race. "It was a great night for our Tundra. We always qualify good here, but we never run good in the race. Our Tundra wasn't perfect, but it drove all night with a good old conventional set-up."

Tundra drivers Jack Sprague (third), Ted Musgrave (fifth), Johnny Benson (sixth) and defending series champion Todd Bodine (seventh) also recorded top-10 finishes. Other Toyota drivers in the field were Aaron Fike (18th), Tyler Walker (24th), AJ Allmendinger (25th) and Terry Cook (30th).

Skinner's victory -- coupled with Sprague's win in the Daytona season-opener -- gives Toyota wins in the first two races of the season.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will enjoy a two-week break before returning to action at Atlanta Motor Speedway, March 16.