Toyota NASCAR Kentucky Advance

Toyota NASCAR Kentucky Advance
Week of July 3 – 9

The 2018 Camry Has Arrived: Almost five months after its race track debut, the 2018 Toyota Camry race car will be joined by its production counterpart at Kentucky Speedway. The new, radically redesigned 2018 Camry will serve as the pace car at the 1.5-mile track as Toyota becomes the ‘Official Vehicle of Kentucky Speedway.’ The timing could not be more fitting as the all-new 2018 Camry began production just down the road in Georgetown, Kentucky at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. (TMMK) in late June. TMMK recently hired more than 700 people to support the launch of the new Camry, bringing the number of Kentucky team members to an all-time high of over 8,000. The largest Toyota plant in the world, TMMK has produced more than 11 million vehicles in 31 years, including more than eight million Camrys.

Bluegrass State of Mind: In six races at Kentucky Speedway, Joe Gibbs Racing drivers have captured a combined three Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) wins. Camry drivers Kyle Busch (two) and Matt Kenseth (one) have both visited victory lane at the 1.5-mile track and are tied for the highest-average finish (5.2) among active drivers. Kenseth recently logged his second stage win of the season at Daytona, where he led 21 laps before finishing 27th following an accident. This season, Busch has led 746 circuits, second in the series behind fellow Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. (963). Busch will run triple-duty, also competing in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) races this weekend.

Kentucky Charm: The Bluegrass State has been good to Toyota’s NXS program with four Camry victories. Busch returns to the NXS as the defending race winner of Friday night’s event where last year he led a race-high 185 laps (of 201). His Joe Gibbs Racing teammates at the time – Daniel Suárez (third) and Erik Jones (fourth) – also captured top-five results. Busch joins MENCS rookie Jones in this week’s NXS lineup along with series regular Matt Tifft. In last year’s September event, Tifft logged a career-best fifth-place finish and he is yet to finish outside the top 10 in two starts at the 1.5-mile track.

Tundra’s in Charge: The NCWTS returns to action as the Toyota Tundra lineup looks to make it four in a row at Kentucky Speedway. In the past three years, Toyota’s have led the field at the checkered flag withBusch, Matt Crafton, and former Tundra driver William Byron all taking home the much-acclaimed jukebox trophy. ThorSport Racing driver Ben Rhodes would like nothing more than to capture his first-career Truck Series victory at his home track as the Louisville, Kentucky native makes his second start at Kentucky Speedway.

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 Kentucky – Notes & Numbers:
Toyota will recognize its Toyota, Lexus and Scion owners with special on-site activations at Kentucky Speedway … The Toyota Owners Parking Lot offers select Toyota owners passes to hassle-free parking … Toyota will also host owners at the Toyota Owners Hub and through the Toyota Owners Express Lanes … All owners have to do is show their Toyota, Lexus or Scion keys and they’ll gain access to refreshments, driver appearances and giveaways before gaining easy access into the race.

Toyota 2017 Statistics: