NEWS RELEASE
This Week in Motorsports: September 27-October 3, 2021
· NCS/NXS/NCWTS: Talladega Superspeedway – October 2-3
· ARCA: Salem Speedway – October 2
PLANO, Texas (September 29, 2021) – It’s time for the final superspeedway race weekend of the year as NASCAR’s top three series make their way to Talladega, while the ARCA Sioux Chief Showdown champion will be crowned in Salem, Indiana.
NASCAR National Series – NCS| NXS| NCWTS
Hamlin locked in… Denny Hamlin has clinched his spot in the Round of 8 with his second consecutive opening round win, this time at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Hamlin has proven to be one of the best at superspeedways as well with three Daytona 500 victories. Hamlin is also the defending Talladega race winner as he drove past Matt DiBenedetto on the final lap to earn his second victory at the Alabama superspeedway last October.
Strong starts for Busch, Truex… It was a strong start to the Round of 12 for both Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. as both earned top-five finishes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Both drivers sit 30 points over the cutoff heading into Talladega.
Xfinity Series drivers in position to advance… After earning top-10 finishes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, all three Toyota Xfinity Series Playoff drivers – Harrison Burton, Daniel Hemric and Brandon Jones are in position to advance to the second round. Jones made the biggest move from below the cutoff to 10 points to the good with his sixth-place finish in Las Vegas.
Ferrucci returns… Santino Ferrucci will be back behind the wheel of the Sam Hunt Racing Toyota Supra this weekend, making his superspeedway debut. In six starts this season, the former Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year has been impressive – scoring four top-15 finishes.
Toyota looking to sweep Truck Championship Four… With two races remaining in the Round of 8, Toyota drivers are currently in position to sweep the Championship 4. Ben Rhodes regained the points lead with a second-place finish at Las Vegas. He is followed by John Hunter Nemechek, Stewart Friesen and Matt Crafton. Friesen has had an incredible run in the Playoffs – finishing all four events inside the top-six.
Toyota Truck Manufacturer Championship… After a stellar season in the Truck Series, Toyota is looking to potentially clinch the Truck Series Manufacturer’s Championship at Talladega Superspeedway. With victories in 14 of the 19 Truck Series events this season, Toyota has clinched the tiebreaker and needs to hold an 80-point advantage leaving the superspeedway. Currently, Toyota holds a 76-point advantage over Chevrolet.
NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA
Toyota Drivers in Contention for Sioux Chief Championship… Either Ty Gibbs or Corey Heim is going to win the Sioux Chief Showdown Championship this weekend at Salem (Indiana) Speedway. With six victories in the nine events thus far, Gibbs holds a 17-point advantage over Heim heading into the weekend.
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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.
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