This Week in Motorsports: March 6-12, 2023
· NCS/NXS/ARCA: Phoenix Raceway – March 10-12
· NHRA: Gainesville Raceway – March 12
PLANO, Texas (March 8, 2023) – It’s the end of NASCAR’s run of West Coast races at Phoenix Raceway this weekend, while NHRA starts its season at Gainesville Raceway in Florida.
NASCAR National Series – NCS | NXS
Bell leads with top-fives… Christopher Bell is one of just two drivers to earn two top-five finishes in the first three NASCAR Cup Series races this season as the Oklahoma-native crossed the line in fifth in Las Vegas. Bell is looking for his first top-five at Phoenix but has finished inside the top-10 in three of the last four races at the track.
Truex earns Toyota milestone… Martin Truex Jr. is set to make his 400th career Cup Series start aboard a Toyota Camry this weekend. Truex has earned most of his career success while driving a Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, Furniture Row Racing and now Joe Gibbs Racing. The New Jersey-native has earned 29 of his 31 career Cup Series wins and the 2017 Cup Series championship while being a part of Team Toyota.
Wallace scores strong run… Bubba Wallace earned his first top-five finish of the season with a strong fourth-place run, which boosted him to inside the current Playoff positions. Wallace is looking for his first top-five at Phoenix but earned a top-10 finish at the track in 2018.
Nemechek looks to continue strong start… John Hunter Nemechek continued his strong run to start the season as the North Carolina-native scored his third straight top-10 finish to begin the year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday. Nemechek ran this race one season ago for Toyota’s other Xfinity team – Sam Hunt Racing. He led 11 laps and scored a top-five finish.
Mosack, Truex make season debuts… Connor Mosack and Ryan Truex will make their NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) season debuts this weekend at Phoenix Raceway. Mosack, who scored a runner-up finish in the season-opening ARCA Menards Series event at Daytona, will run 23 of the final 30 NXS races this season, with the majority of those behind the wheel of the No. 24 Toyota GR Supra for Sam Hunt Racing. For the second consecutive season, Truex will compete in a limited schedule for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NXS. Saturday is his first of six scheduled starts for the team aboard the No. 19 Toyota GR Supra.
NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA
Hingorani, Sawalich debut… Toyota development drivers Sean Hingorani and William Sawalich will make their national ARCA debuts this weekend. Newport Beach, California native Hingorani will run for Venturini Motorsports, while Eden Prairie, Minnesota’s Sawalich will compete for Joe Gibbs Racing. Both drivers are 16 and have quite a bit of success in the late models ranks.
NHRA – Top Fuel | Funny Car
Toyota looking for milestone this season… After 12 victories in 2022, Toyota is looking for a big milestone in NHRA racing action to kick off the season – 200 victories. Toyota begins this season at 193 race wins in nitro competition.
Top Fuel Callout… Three Toyota drivers are involved in this weekend’s all-star event for the Top Fuel class, the Pep Boys Callout. Justin Ashley, Steve Torrence and Doug Kalitta will run in the specialty race, which will run on Saturday, with the drivers calling each other out on Friday. Torrence will have the second call-out, with Ashley choosing his opponent third.
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