Week of March 13-19, 2017
2018 Camry Wins Out West… In the first event of NASCAR’s three-race West Coast swing at Las Vegas, Martin Truex Jr. drove the new, radically redesigned 2018 Toyota Camry to its first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) victory since debuting at Daytona in February. The win was also the first in 2017 for Truex who became the first MENCS driver to sweep all three race stages as he led a race-high 150 laps (of 267). Truex will attempt to become the first driver to sweep #NASCARGoesWest events as he heads to Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) where he owns seven top-10 finishes in 22 MENCS starts.
Toyota Track Record… Toyota has experienced much success at PIR, including two MENCS victories – Denny Hamlin (2012) and former Toyota driver Kasey Kahne (2011). Toyota drivers qualified 1-2-3 in the spring Phoenix race with Kyle Busch on the pole and Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin in second and third, respectively. When it comes to Toyota’s current driver lineup, Busch has had the most success at Phoenix by tallying 13 wins across all three national series, including 10 victories in a Toyota. Busch’s sole MENCS victory at the track came in 2005 during his time at Hendrick Motorsports. Since then, he has posted a 12.9 average finish. In his last three starts at Phoenix, Busch has three top-five finishes including a runner-up finish in 2016.
New Year, New Look… Two of Toyota’s newest MENCS additions, Erik Jones and Daniel Suárez, have triumphed at PIR. Jones became the youngest NASCAR national series winner (17 years, 5 months and 8 days) after visiting victory lane in Phoenix in only his fifth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) start in 2013, a record that has since been broken. He owns two total NCWTS victories at the track and in eight combined NCWTS and NXS starts, Jones has never finished outside the top 10. His sole MENCS start at Phoenix resulted in a 19th-place finish when Jones substituted for Matt Kenseth in 2015. Suárez also picked up his first NCWTS win at Phoenix last season and in six starts has five top-10 finishes. He also owns one win at the track in the NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series (2014). Suárez will make his first Phoenix MENCS start on Sunday.
Dashing for Victory…Rookie driver Matt Tifft continues his full-time campaign in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) as he makes his series debut at PIR on Saturday in the first of four Dash 4 Cash races. In three NCWTS starts at the track, Tifft captured two top-10 finishes including an eighth-place finish in his last appearance in 2016. Tifft will compete in NASCAR’s new Dash 4 Cash format in which the highest NXS points-earning eligible driver will win a $100,000 bonus. Tifft has Toyota history on his side as Camrys have captured 10 wins in the NXS at Phoenix since 2008, including seven of the last nine races.
NASCAR Goes West… Toyota Racing continues its #NASCARGoesWest road trip that is featured on @ToyotaRacing social channels and ToyotaRacing.com as NASCAR heads to PIR for the second of three races on its West Coast swing. Equipped in a 2017 Toyota Highlander, the team is scheduled to visit the Sedona red rocks and Toyota Arizona Proving Grounds this week.
Staying Connected… You can follow Toyota Racing on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter by using #ToyotaNation and online at www.toyotaracing.com. For media images, please visit www.toyotaracingmedia.com.
Toyota at Phoenix: Notes & Numbers:
Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth each have one MENCS win at Phoenix and Hamlin is the only driver to have captured a Toyota victory at the track … Erik Jones and Daniel Suárez will drive double-duty, competing in the MENCS and NXS.
Toyota 2017 Statistics:
Series
Races
Starts (Drivers)
Wins
Top 5s
Top 10s
Poles
Times Led
Laps Led
Cup
3
27 (12)
1
2
6
0
11
170
XFINITY
3
22 (13)
1
2
4
2
4
75
Truck
2
25 (15)
1
4
9
1
15
161
