Toyota NASCAR Charlotte Advance

Toyota NASCAR Charlotte Advance
Week of May 22 – 28, 2017

Million Dollar Man: On the heels of a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) win, Toyota driver Kyle Busch was victorious yet again, capturing his first Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race win at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) victory at the 1.5-mile track. Busch hopes the experience carries over to the Coca-Cola 600 where he holds the second-highest driver rating (104.8) and finished sixth in last fall’s race. Charlotte Motor Speedway is one of only two tracks (Pocono Raceway) where Busch is yet to win a MENCS points race.

Truex Returns in Dominating Fashion: The 2016 Coca-Cola 600 was a night to remember for Martin Truex Jr., who dominated the 600-mile race to capture the checkered flag and break multiple records including: most laps led in NASCAR’s longest MENCS race ever (Truex led 392 of 400 laps); most miles leading the field in a single race in NASCAR history (588 of 600); and first perfect driver rating in his MENCS career (150.0).Truex returns to Charlotte with two victories this season – and both at 1.5-mile tracks (Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway).

Toyota Takes on Charlotte: A 2017 Coca-Cola 600 victory by a Camry driver would mark Toyota’s third-consecutive victory in NASCAR’s longest race. In addition to Truex’s triumph last year, former Camry driver Carl Edwards won the Coca-Cola 600 in 2015. In fact, since 2015 and including All-Star Races, Camry drivers have now won four-of-the-last seven MENCS races on the 1.5-mile track. In that span, Toyota has two Coca-Cola 600 wins, as well as two All-Star Race triumphs, with Busch’s recent victory and Hamlin winning the exhibition event in 2015. Additionally, David Reutimann claimed the first Cup win for a TRD-built (Toyota Racing Development, USA) engine in May 2009 while former Camry driver Clint Bowyer won at Charlotte in fall 2012.

Moving On Up: Christopher Bell makes his NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) debut on Saturday, May 27 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The NCWTS regular has two previous starts at Charlotte in a Toyota Tundra, including a third-place finish last weekend. Bell will drive the No. 18 SiriusXM Toyota Camry in Saturday’s event having already tested the NXS car at Charlotte earlier this month. Following Charlotte, Bell will compete in six additional NXS races this season. He joins a Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) lineup for Charlotte that includes NXS regular Matt Tifft, as well as Cup driver Hamlin, who will look to defend his 2016 victory at the track as he pilots the No. 20 Hisense Camry. Including Hamlin’s 2016 victory, Camry drivers have won eight total NXS contests at Charlotte with six victories by Busch and one by former Toyota driver Joey Logano.

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 Charlotte – Notes & Numbers:
In 2017, Truex has the most MENCS laps led with 536 while fellow Toyota driver Busch is second with 521 … Dating back to former Toyota driver Carl Edward’s Coca-Cola 600 win, Toyota has captured checkered flags in eight-of-the-last nine ‘crown jewel’ MENCS events (Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, Brickyard 400, Southern 500).

Toyota 2017 Statistics: