Toyota Eyeing First Cup Win of 2018… Camry drivers will be looking for Toyota’s first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) win of 2018 as NASCAR continues its West Coast swing and heads to the City of Angels. Toyota has registered two MENCS victories at California’s Auto Club Speedway – both seized by Kyle Busch in back-to-back seasons (2013 and 2014). The Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) driver has the second-most total victories (three) and second-most laps led (611) among active MENCS drivers at the track located outside Los Angeles.
Busch’s Blistering Start to 2018… Camry driver Busch has had an electric start to the 2018 MENCS season. Following a 25th-place finish at Daytona, Busch has scored three-consecutive finishes of seventh or better, including back-to-back runner-up results. He currently sits second in the MENCS standings after four races and will look to add to his win total at California this weekend. Busch hasn’t been all business during the NASCAR Goes West swing, as he and his wife Samantha kicked up some dirt off-roading at the Glamis Dunes in California before racing at Phoenix last week in this video.
Keeping the Momentum… Last week in Arizona, five Camry drivers tallied top-nine finishing positions. Busch (second), Denny Hamlin (fourth) and Martin Truex Jr. (fifth) all scored in the top-five, while Daniel Suárez (eighth) and Erik Jones (ninth) recorded top-10 efforts. It marked the first time since New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s fall contest a season ago that all five Camrys had finished inside the top-10. After four races this season, Busch and Truex are second and third in the MENCS standings, respectively, while Hamlin remains in sixth.
Returning to Winning Ways… From 2008 to 2013, Camry drivers won every NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) race at Auto Club Speedway. The streak included nine-consecutive wins by three different drivers, including Busch and former Toyota and JGR drivers Joey Logano and Tony Stewart. The streak holds a record for most consecutive NXS wins at one track. Busch captured six-of-nine Toyota wins over the streak. Toyota is tied for the most NXS manufacturer wins at Auto Club and a win this weekend would move them into sole possession of the most NXS wins at the two-mile track. Christopher Bell, Brandon Jones and Ryan Preece will look to capture Toyota’s 10th NXS win at Auto Club this weekend. Bell is coming off his third-consecutive top-four or better finish and will be making his track debut at the California speedway this weekend.
Preece Set for 2018 NXS Debut with JGR… Last season, Camry driver Preece made the most of his opportunities with JGR. In four NXS races, Preece scored four top-five finishes, including a win at Iowa Speedway. He will compete in 10 NXS races with JGR this season and make his 2018 debut in Fontana with Eric Phillips as his crew chief this weekend.
Staying Connected… You can follow Toyota Racing on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and online at www.toyotaracing.com. For media images, please visit www.toyotaracingmedia.com.
Toyota Notes & Numbers at California… California is home to Toyota’s engine-building arm, which is located in Costa Mesa… Denny Hamlin has the second-most poles among active MENCS drivers at Auto Club Speedway with three… Kyle Busch is two pole wins away from having 100-career poles in a Toyota (26 MENCS, 53 NXS and 19 NCWTS) and will have a chance to score his 99th pole this weekend… Daniel Suárez recorded a finish of seventh in six different MENCS races last season with California being one of them… Martin Truex Jr. has been on a hot streak – recording three-consecutive top-five finishes over his last three MENCS starts in 2018.
Toyota 2018 Statistics:
| Series | Races | Starts (Drivers) | Wins | Tops-5s | Tops-10s | Poles | Times Led | Laps Led |
| Cup | 4 | 26 (7) | 0 | 8 | 12 | 2 | 23 | 253 |
| Xfinity | 4 | 25 (11) | 0 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 67 |
| Truck | 3 | 20 (10) | 2 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 22 | 240 |
