This Week in Motorsports: August 3-9, 2020
· NCS/NGROTS/ARCA: Michigan Int’l Speedway (Brooklyn, Michigan) – August 7-9
· NXS: Road America (Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin) – August 8
· ARCA WEST: Evergreen Speedway (Monroe, Washington) – August 7
· ARCA WEST: Douglas County Speedway (Roseburg, Oregon) – August 8
PLANO, Texas (August 5, 2020) – It’s a busy weekend for Toyota Racing drivers with seven races on the docket, including a NASCAR Cup Series doubleheader in Michigan, the first NASCAR Xfinity Series road course race of the season in Wisconsin and two races for the ARCA Menards Series West in the Northwest.
NASCAR National Series – NCS| NXS| NGROTS
Back Home… Erik Jones heads into his home race this weekend. The Bryon, Michigan-native will get two chances at his first Michigan International Speedway (MIS) win. In six Cup Series starts at MIS, Jones has a best finish of third, which he scored in his rookie season in 2017.
Hamlin Finishes Top Two… Denny Hamlin drove to a runner-up finish on Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to score his eighth top-two finish of the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) season. Hamlin – who has a series-leading five victories this year – owns two wins at Michigan in 2010 and 2011.
Heritage Trophy Back Up for Grabs… The Heritage Trophy, given to the winning manufacturer at races at MIS, is up for grabs this weekend. With this year’s Michigan events being conducted on the same weekend, a manufacturer will win the trophy if they sweep the two events. If two different manufacturers collect victories this weekend, the award will go to the manufacturer with the most points earned by top-10 finishers of both races.
Jones leads Xfinity Charge… Brandon Jones makes the return to Road America as the only current Toyota driver to have a NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) start at the 14-turn, 4.048-mile Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin-track. Jones has a top-10 finish there in 2018, while current NCS driver Christopher Bell scored Toyota’s first victory at Road America last season.
Herbst Ready for First National Road Course Start… While NXS rookie Riley Herbst may be making his first NASCAR national series start on a road course this weekend, he does have previous success at Road America. In 2017, Herbst drove from the ninth starting position to a runner-up finish in the ARCA Menards Series event.
Tundra Hot at Michigan… Toyota Tundra drivers have driven to NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series (NGROTS) victory lane five times in the last six events at Michigan International Speedway. Hattori Racing Enterprises (HRE) has scored the last two victories with series points leader Austin Hill driving to the win last season. Hill led the final 10 laps to score his first Michigan victory. Kyle Busch and former Toyota drivers Johnny Sauter and Brett Moffitt (two wins) account for the rest of Toyota’s recent success at Michigan.
Graduate Looking Strong… Stratford, Wisconsin-native Derek Kraus comes into Michigan on a string of strong runs. The 18-year-old Kraus, who missed his high school graduation to race at Kansas Speedway, has scored top-10 finishes in four of the last five events. With those strong runs, Kraus has moved back into a NGROTS Playoff spot.
NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA| ARCA West
Self Leads Halfway Through… Michael Self continues to lead the ARCA Menards Series point standings with 10 races in the books and 10 to go. Self opened the season with a win at Daytona International Speedway and has led the point standings ever since. Self scored the win at Michigan International Speedway last season with a last lap pass.
Love Dominate… The ARCA Menards Series West is back on track with two races this weekend after one month away. Jesse Love, a 15-year-old rookie, has been on an incredible run to start his first season in the series. With two wins and two second-place finishes, Love leads the 10-race series by 17 points going into Friday’s event at Evergreen Speedway.
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