Title Marks Toyota’s Ninth NCWTS Manufacturer’s Championship in 13 Seasons
AVONDALE, Ariz. (Nov. 11, 2016) – Toyota captured the 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) manufacturer’s championship with Daniel Suarez’s victory at Phoenix International Raceway on Friday night.
Tundra drivers won 13-of-23 races to date to capture the NCWTS manufacturer’s championship one week prior to the season finale at Homestead Miami Speedway. This is the ninth NCWTS manufacturer’s championship for Toyota in 13 seasons since the Tundra joined Truck Series competition in 2004.
“Toyota has won nine manufacturer’s championships in just 13 years in the Truck Series, and we’re tremendously proud of the continued accomplishments of our Tundra drivers,” said Ed Laukes, Vice President of Marketing and Integrated Marketing Operations for Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A. “The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the continued success in it by the Tundra is important to the Toyota brand. It also serves as a great showcase for the Tundra, which is built in Texas and has proven its mettle by winning numerous NASCAR championships on the race track. We have great race teams featuring both incredibly talented veterans and young, up-and-coming stars, and we couldn’t have reached this goal without their dedication, and the hard work of each our Toyota race teams.”
Three Tundra teams – Kyle Busch Motorsports, Red Horse Racing and ThorSport Racing – all contributed victories to the NCWTS manufacturer’s title this season, including wins by rookie William Byron (six victories), Matt Crafton (two), Kyle Busch (two), Christopher Bell (one), Brett Moffitt (one) and Daniel Suarez (one). After 22-of-23 races, Tundra drivers combined to win 13 races and lead 1,997 laps in the NCWTS – more than 50 percent of the races and laps contested.
Following the Truck Series race at Phoenix, three Tundra drivers – Bell, Crafton and Timothy Peters – qualified for the ‘Championship 4’ field and will compete for the NCWTS driver’s championship in the season finale.
In addition to winning the NCWTS manufacturer’s title and having an opportunity to capture the Truck Series driver’s championship, Toyota is also in contention for the driver’s and manufacturer’s titles in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series.
Since joining NCWTS competition in 2004, Toyota has won 157 races and captured 118 poles in 311 races. Kyle Busch (38) has the most victories driving a Tundra.
Toyota also claimed manufacturer championships in the following seasons — 2006 (12 wins); 2007 (13 wins); 2008 (13 wins); 2009 (14 wins); 2010 (15 wins); 2013 (13 wins); 2014 (18 wins) and 2015 (14 wins).
The NCWTS schedule will come to a close next Friday, Nov. 18 at Homestead-Miami Speedway where Tundra drivers Bell, Crafton and Peters will contend for the driver’s championship.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM), the world’s top automaker and creator of the Prius and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota and Lexus brands. Over the past 50 years, we’ve built more than 30 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than 44,000 people (more than 34,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (1,500 in the U.S.) sold more than 2.8 million cars and trucks (nearly 2.5 million in the U.S.) in 2015 – and about 80 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years are still on the road today.
Toyota partners with philanthropic organizations across the country, with a focus on education, safety and the environment. As part of this commitment, we share the company’s extensive know-how garnered from building great cars and trucks to help community organizations and other nonprofits expand their ability to do good. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.
About TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development)
TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development) in Costa Mesa, Calif., and Salisbury, N.C. A subsidiary of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., TRD serves as the North American racing arm for design, development and assembly of Toyota’s factory racing engines and chassis. TRD powers Toyota’s racing activities in NASCAR, NHRA and USAC, among other series.
