This Week in Motorsports: April 19-25, 2021
- NCS/NXS: Talladega Superspeedway – April 24-25
- ARCA: Talladega Superspeedway – April 24
PLANO, Texas (April 21, 2021) – Toyota drivers are back on the high banks of Talladega Superspeedway for three races in two days. On Saturday, the ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series complete a doubleheader before the Cup Series takes to the track on Sunday.
NASCAR National Series – NCS| NXS
Hamlin looks to add another superspeedway win… Denny Hamlin continued to show he is the driver to beat on superspeedways as the Virginia-native added another victory at Talladega last fall. Hamlin has an impressive six consecutive top-five finishes on superspeedways in NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) competition. Hamlin continues to hold the top-spot in the NCS standings after his eighth top-five finish in the first nine events of the season.
Joe Gibbs Racing riding impressive streak… Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has been riding high for the last two weekends at Martinsville Speedway and Richmond Raceway with all four Camrys placing in the top-10 in both Cup races, along with the Xfinity race in Martinsville. JGR looks to continue that streak at Talladega with four entries in each race.
First Cup Series start for Burton… Harrison Burton has a special weekend ahead as he will make his NASCAR Cup Series debut behind the wheel of the No. 96 Toyota Camry for Gaunt Brothers Racing. The 20-year-old driver made his debut with Toyota at age 15 in what is now the ARCA Menards Series West. Burton continued to impress as he drove to an ARCA East title days before his 17th birthday, and he added to his impressive stats with four Xfinity Series wins and a Rookie of the Year title one year ago.
Hemric, Jones run for the cash… Daniel Hemric continues to impress in his first full-time season with JGR. The 30-year-old driver is second in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) point standings on the strength of four top-five finishes. He’s also one of four drivers competing for the ‘Dash for Cash’ this weekend – which could lead to a $100,000 bonus for his team. One driver he is going to have to battle for the cash prize is his teammate – Brandon Jones. Jones has also scored four top-five finishes this season.
Dillon, Garrett back behind the wheel… Two Supras will see the return of drivers behind the wheel in Saturday’s NXS race. Ty Dillon makes his fourth start of the season in the JGR No. 54 Supra, while Sam Hunt Racing (SHR) will field its fourth different driver in the first eight events as Colin Garrett will make his first start of the season in the No. 26 Supra. Garrett drove SHR’s debut race at Homestead in 2019 and made five starts for the team in 2020. So far, rotating drivers has proven to be a success for SHR as the team has seven top-20 finishes in eight starts in its first full-time season.
NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA
Dollar looks for return to victory lane… Drew Dollar is ready for his third ARCA Menards Series start of the season and for the first time, he climbs in his Toyota Camry as the defending race winner. Dollar led 40 of 76 laps and scored his first-career ARCA Menards Series victory last year at Talladega Superspeedway.
Heim leads early… After top-two finishes in the first two ARCA Menards Series races of the season – including a race win in the season opener at Daytona – Corey Heim heads into Talladega as the points leader. He leads the standings over fellow Toyota driver Ty Gibbs by two points.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands plus our 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota has created a tremendous value chain and directly employs more than 47,000 in North America. The company has contributed world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama that begins production in 2021.
Through its 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.
