Toyota NASCAR Daytona Advance
Week of June 26 – July 2, 2017
Hitting Halfway: Toyota drivers head to Daytona International Speedway (DIS) as the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) season approaches its halfway point. Camry driver Martin Truex Jr. continues to have a career-best season, sitting second in the MENCS point standings with two victories, a series-best 11 stage wins and 963 laps led. Kyle Busch is fourth in the standings while looking for his first win of the season. Although winless, Busch has led the second-most laps (746) this season, including the most circuits paced in four races (Phoenix, Martinsville, Talladega and Pocono) and holds the highest driver rating (94.7) at Daytona among active drivers. Busch also finished runner-up in last year’s July race. Two Toyota drivers have captured victories at the 2.5-mile superspeedway with Busch (2008) doing so in July and teammate Denny Hamlin winning the 2016 Daytona 500.
Suárez and Jones Return to Daytona: Camry rookies Daniel Suárez and Erik Jones return to where it all began – DIS. Both drivers kicked off their full-time MENCS seasons at the 2.5-mile superspeedway and have since posted numerous top-10 finishes. Hailing from Monterrey, Mexico, Suárez has captured four top-10 finishes including a career-best sixth-place finish at Dover earlier this month. The 2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) champion leads the rookie standings by seven points over fellow Camry contender Jones. Jones makes his second MENCS start at Daytona and owns three top-10 finishes this season, including a career-best third at Pocono Raceway. Both rookies will also drive in the NXS race on Friday night.
Salute to the Military: Toyota continues to recognize and thank the U.S. military through several on-site activations at DIS. In addition to hosting 60 active military members from the five branches of the U.S. military on Saturday, Toyota will have SpraATX in Toyota PitPass custom painting five Camry hoods to represent each branch of the military – the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines and Navy. The Hiring our Heroes Toyota Tundra previously featured in the Toyota Injector will move to the UNOH Fanzone where brand ambassadors will be available to discuss the Hiring Our Heroes program and Toyota’s commitment to help military members find work after their service is complete. NXS cars will also feature names of active military units and installations on their race car windshields, including Matt Tifft’s No. 19 Comcast NBCUniversal Salute to Service Toyota, which honors the 3rd Infantry Division based out of Fort Stewart, Georgia.
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 Daytona – Notes & Numbers:
As the first Founding Partner at DIS, Toyota continues to showcase its Toyota Injector which features four levels of interactive activities, vehicles and displays for fans, including a replica of the 2016 Daytona 500-winning No. 11 Toyota Camry on display as fans enter the Injector … Matt Kenseth is tied for the most starts at DIS among active drivers, tallying 17 all-time series starts … Denny Hamlin has upped his superspeedway game, posting a 7.1 average finish in the last seven races at DIS, including a five-race streak of top-six results from 2014-2016 … Toyota drivers have won 18 (of 33) MENCS stages this season, more than any other manufacturer … Martin Truex Jr. leads all driver with 11 stage wins, while Toyota drivers Kyle Busch (four), Denny Hamlin (two) and Matt Kenseth (one) have also won stages this year … Camry drivers have also led 2,062 laps (of 4,776), comprising 43 percent of the 16 races so far this season.
Toyota 2017 Statistics:
Series
Races
Starts (Drivers)
Wins
Stage Wins
Top 5s
Top 10s
Poles
Times Led
Laps Led
MENCS
16
137 (15)
2
18
19
42
3
100
2,062
NXS
14
97 (21)
4
6
16
24
5
45
626
NCWTS
9
95 (18)
4
10
22
48
5
52
936
