This Week in Motorsports: August 24-30, 2020
· NCS/NXS: Daytona International Speedway – August 28-29
· NGROTS/ARCA: World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway – August 29-30
PLANO, Texas (August 26, 2020) – It’s the final regular season race for the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) as drivers battle for spots in the Playoffs on the high banks in Daytona. The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) will join them, while the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Trucks Series (NGROTS) and ARCA Menards Series race in St. Louis.
NASCAR National Series – NCS| NXS| NGROTS
300 for the Camry… With Denny Hamlin’s sixth victory of the season at Dover International Speedway on Sunday, Toyota is closing in on 300 victories for the Toyota Camry in NASCAR. Hamlin’s victory was the 150th Camry win in the NCS. Toyota also campaigned the Camry in the NXS from 2007-2018, earning 149 victories.
Hamlin Strong at Daytona… Hamlin heads back to Daytona after winning the last two Daytona 500’s and three of the last five season-opening races at the 2.5-mile Florida superspeedway. In February, Hamlin led 79 laps (of 209) to score the prestigious victory. Hamlin has added five additional wins this season and currently has 37 Playoff points.
Busch Secure in Playoff Field… Kyle Busch clinched a spot in the 2020 Playoff field following Sunday’s race at Dover. Although he’s yet to register a win this season, the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series champion looks to defend his title on the strength of 11 top-five finishes and 13 top-10 results in 25 races this year. Busch has previously won at Daytona in the summer 2008 race and also scored a victory in the non-points playing Busch Clash at Daytona in 2012.
Jones Ready for a Playoff Push… Erik Jones heads to Daytona, a track he’s had success at in the past, as he looks to score another victory to clinch a Playoff spot. Jones earned his first career Cup Series victory in July of 2018 at Daytona and added a Busch Clash win this February at Daytona in the non-points race.
Burton Looking for One More Spot… Harrison Burton started his Xfinity Series rookie season with a strong performance at Daytona International Speedway in February, earning a runner-up finish and leading nine laps around the superspeedway. Burton has since scored his first two career NXS victories at Auto Club Speedway in February and Homestead-Miami in June and sits sixth in the overall point standings.
Hill Leads the Pack… Tundra driver Austin Hill continues to lead the NGROTS point standings with a series best 11 top-10 finishes, and he is also the frontrunner in average finishing position (7.4). Hill is looking for his first top-10 finish at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway after back-to-back 11th-place finishes.
Kraus Ready for the Arch… NGROTS rookie Derek Kraus is making his first Truck Series start at Gateway but has fond memories of the St. Louis-area track. Kraus drove to the victory in what is now the ARCA Menards Series West in 2018 and added a second-place finish there last season on his way to the ARCA Menards Series West championship.
NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA
Closing in on 100… With Michael Self’s second victory of the season at Daytona International Speedway nearly two weeks ago, Toyota has now earned 95 ARCA national series wins since joining the series in 2007. Former Toyota driver Michael Annett drove to the first win for Toyota in the series at Talladega Superspeedway in October 2007. Toyota has quickly added to that total in recent years as Camry drivers have won 44 of the past 52 national ARCA events.
Nothing Like Your First… Ty Gibbs drove to his first national ARCA Menards Series victory with a last lap pass last year at Gateway. Gibbs has since added four additional national series wins, including three triumphs this season at Pocono Raceway, Kentucky Speedway and Iowa Speedway.
Stay Connected
@ToyotaRacing.com @ToyotaRacing
facebook.com/ToyotaRacing Camera With Flash on Apple iOS 11.3 ToyotaRacingMedia.com
# # #
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold nearly 2.8 million cars and trucks (nearly 2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2019.
Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.
