Toyota Racing On-Track this Week
· MENCS/NXS/NCWTS: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Las Vegas, Nevada) – Sept. 14-16
· NHRA: Maple Grove Raceway (Mohnton, Pennsylvania) – Sept. 13-16
· Formula DRIFT: Texas Motor Speedway (Fort Worth, Texas) – Sept. 14-15
· NKNPSW: Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Las Vegas, Nevada) – Sept. 13
· ARCA: Salem Speedway (Salem, Indiana) – Sept. 15
· POWRi: Jacksonville Speedway (Jacksonville, Illinois) – Sept. 14
Spoon River Speedway (Canton, Illinois) – Sept. 15
NASCAR National Series – MENCS | NXS | NCWTS
Playoff Field Set… The 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) Playoff field is set and first up on the postseason schedule is Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Camry drivers Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Erik Jones and Denny Hamlin will each contend for the title as they look to capture Toyota’s third-consecutive Cup Series manufacturer’s championship. Busch cemented his place in the title hunt when he locked up the regular-season championship earlier this week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He looks to win his second career Cup Series title after finishing runner-up in 2017 – and has been a part of the championship 4 every year since earning the title in 2015. Truex contends for back-to-back championships after earning a season-high eight victories last year and sits only 15 points from the playoff point lead as the 10-race postseason begins. Meanwhile, Hamlin and Jones are both looking for their first Cup Series titles. Truex (2017) and Busch (2009) are Toyota’s only active drivers with Cup Series wins at Las Vegas.
The Grand Finale… Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be the 2018 regular-season finale. Toyota drivers Christopher Bell and Brandon Jones are locks for the 2018 Xfinity Playoffs after strong regular-season performances. Bell remains third in the Xfinity Series standings and has an outside chance at the regular-season championship with a win at Las Vegas. He has four wins this season and has accumulated 24 playoffs points. While Jones has not captured a win this season, his 11 top-10 finishes have vaulted him to seventh in the Xfinity Series standings where he currently remains in the 12-driver playoff field.
Trucks Take Two… Following the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ (NCWTS) playoff opener at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Toyota drivers Brett Moffit and Noah Gragson remain third and fourth in the postseason standings, respectively. Gragson returns to his hometown of Las Vegas where he has two previous starts at the 1.5-mile track. Earlier this year, Moffitt scored a third-place finish in his first career-series start at Las Vegas and has scored two of his four wins in 2018 at 1.5-mile tracks. Tundra drivers have won the last two Truck Series events at Las Vegas, including Busch who won at his hometown track in March.
NHRA
Rolling Into the Playoffs… Camry Funny Car driver J.R. Todd enters the NHRA Countdown to the Championship fresh off his second-consecutive win at the U.S. Nationals, and third victory of the year. Toyota teammate and Top-Fuel driver Antron Brown went to the finals in two of the last three NHRA events, including a win in Seattle, while Doug Kalitta advanced to the finals after an early win at Pomona and Shawn Langdon also competes in the playoffs his first season in Funny Car competition.
Toyota Drivers No Strangers To Countdown Success… All four Toyota drivers in this year’s Countdown have previously finished second or better in the Countdown final standings. Brown registered Top Fuel titles in 2012, 2015 and 2016, while Toyota teammate Langdon took home the Top Fuel championship in 2013. Kalitta is a four-time runner-up in Top Fuel and Todd placed second in 2014 while also competing in Top Fuel.
In the Grove… Five of the six Toyota drivers expected to compete this weekend have previously won at Pennsylvania’s Maple Grove Raceway. Brown (2015, 2016), Langdon (2013), Todd (2006) and Kalitta (2002) all won in Top Fuel, while Cruz Pedregon scored a Funny Car in 2010. Brown holds the track record for the quickest Top Fuel pass, a 3.688-second run in 2016, while Langdon holds the Top Fuel record for speed at 334.15 mph set in 2012.
Formula DRIFT
Aasbø Aims For Top Spot In Dallas… With just two Formula DRIFT (FD) events remaining on the 2018 schedule, Papadakis Racing driver Frederic Aasbø looks to gain ground on the top position in the point standings. The series heads to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend for ‘Round 7: Showdown’ where Aasbø remains 30 points away from the FD points lead in second. Aasbø is coming off his second FD victory of the season after winning the series inaugural event at Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis, Missouri last month. The Corolla Hatchback driver has four podiums in six events this season as he looks to win his second career-series championship (previously won in 2015). In 2014, he won at Texas Motor Speedway.
Regional Stock Car Racing – NASCAR K&N Pro Series West | ARCA
NASCAR K&N West Hits The Dirt… Derek Kraus leads Toyota drivers to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway dirt track on Thursday night for the K&N Pro Series West event. Kraus remains third in the series point standings and has logged a series-best three victories with four races left in the 2018 season. Toyota teammates Cole Rouse (fourth) and Hailie Deegan (seventh) are both in the top-10 in the K West standings and look to capture their first wins of the 2018 season at Las Vegas. Deegan comes from a dirt racing background where she won the 2013 Junior 2 Kart championship. NXS regular and Toyota driver Bell will also get back to his dirt-racing roots and is set to race in the event.
Coming Down To The Wire… Three Toyota drivers are battling for the ARCA Racing Series driver championship with just three events remaining in 2018. Toyota drivers Sheldon Creed, Zane Smith and Riley Herbst sit atop of the ARCA Series standings with strong 2018 performances. Creed (three) and Smith (four) each have multiple wins this season and have led over 350 laps. They will take the title clash to Salem Speedway this weekend where Toyota drivers have won three of the last five races.
POWRi
Race To The Championship… Toyota drivers Tucker Klaasmeyer and Ryan Robinson continue their battle for the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League title as the series heads to Illinois for races at Jacksonville Speedway on Friday and Spoon River Speedway on Saturday after being rained out last weekend. Klaasmeyer leads the series with six victories this season.
Get to Know the Driver
Klaasmeyer The Kid To Beat… In his first year with Toyota team Keith Kunz Motorsports (KKM), 21-one-year old Tucker Klaasmeyer is excelling in the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League as he leads the series with six wins while remaining at the top of the driver point standings this season.
But racing has not always come easy for Klaasmeyer. Prior to this season, the Kansas native worked to adjust to the POWRi series, driving for several teams, including his own. After moving to KKM at the start of this season, Klaasmeyer notes the switch has given him the confidence he’s needed to race at the top of his game.
“We ran our own equipment prior to this season and we struggled to be consistent each time we raced,” said Klaasmeyer. “Being with Keith, I’ve been able to be 100 percent committed to racing with this team and now living closer to Keith’s shop has even helped me out.”
Klaasmeyer’s strong performances have allowed him to hold strong at the top of the point standings where he sits 360 points ahead of the second place.
He competes next at Jacksonville Speedway and Spoon River Speedway on September 14-15.
