his Week in Motorsports: August 7-13, 2023
· NCS/NXS: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course – August 12-13
· NCTS/ARCA: Indianapolis Raceway Park – August 11
· NHRA: Heartland Motorsports Park – August 13
PLANO, Texas (August 9, 2023) – It’s a busy motorsports weekend with four races in Indianapolis, and NHRA will compete at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka as they close into their regular season finale next month.
NASCAR National Series – NCS | NXS | NCTS
Kobayashi debuts… Kamui Kobayashi will make his NASCAR debut this weekend in a third entry for 23XI Racing. Kobayashi, a Formula 1 veteran, has been a part of the Toyota family for over a decade. He is currently a driver and team principal for the Toyota Gazoo Racing Team in the World Endurance Championship (WEC).
Truex looks to close in on regular season title… Martin Truex Jr. expanded his NASCAR Cup Series points lead with two stage wins and a runner-up finish in Michigan on Monday. Truex leads by nearly a full race with three races remaining in the regular season. The former Cup champion is looking for his first top-10 on the Indianapolis road course. His best finish, 15th, came in the track debut in 2021.
Gibbs plans to expand advantage to the Playoff cutline… Ty Gibbs continued his strong performance in Michigan with an 11th-place finish on Monday afternoon. With the finish, Gibbs moved into the Playoff field by three points heading into Indianapolis. Gibbs finished 17th in his track debut in the Cup Series last season, while earning a top-10 finish – after starting on the front row – in the Xfinity Series event.
Nemechek looks to expand lead… John Hunter Nemechek took back the NASCAR Xfinity Series points lead with his fifth win of the season at Michigan International Speedway. With the win, Nemechek is tied atop the point standings with five races to go in the regular season. Nemechek is making his first start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series on the Indianapolis Road Course.
Grala continues to be strong on the road courses… Kaz Grala has been impressive at the two most recent road courses. Grala drove to a top-10 finish on the Chicago Street course to start July and closed it with a season-best qualifying run and seventh-place finish at Road America. Six of Grala’s last 10 top-10 finishes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series have occurred on the road courses.
Heim looks to continue incredible consistency… Corey Heim’s first full Truck Series season has been nothing short of impressive. The Toyota development driver scored the regular season title on the strength of 13 top-10 finishes in 15 starts, as he won the championship by over 50 points – despite competing in one less race than his competitors. Heim goes in as the top seed and has a Truck Series start at Indianapolis Raceway Park where he finished in fifth place last season.
Sawalich double-duty… William Sawalich has been impressive in his limited Truck Series starts as he has earned top-10 finishes in two of the three events he’s competed in – including a 10th-place run at Richmond Raceway. Sawalich will compete in double-duty on Friday in Indianapolis, competing in the ARCA Menards Series event for Joe Gibbs Racing before getting behind the wheel of the No. 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for TRICON Garage.
NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA
Love desires to add another victory to his tally… Jesse Love continues to impress as the California-native earned his sixth victory in 11 races this season to expand his points lead to over 80 points with nine races to go in the regular season. Love competed at Indianapolis Raceway Park last season and finished sixth.
NHRA – Top Fuel | Funny Car
Ashley, Torrence battle for points lead… Justin Ashley and Steve Torrence continue to battle for the points lead. With Ashley’s series leading fifth Top Fuel win of the season at Sonoma Raceway, Ashley took back the points lead over Seattle winner Torrence by 32 points. Both drivers had strong runs at Topeka last season with Ashley earning a semi-final finish, while Torrence drove to a final round appearance – coming up just short to his Team Toyota teammate Antron Brown.
Todd continues to improve… After another victory in his self-described ‘favorite track’ – Sonoma Raceway, former Funny Car world champion J.R. Todd continues to move up the Funny Car point standings ladder. Todd has five semi-final appearances or better in the last six races, including in the last four events. He moved up to eighth in the point standings after his victory but sits just over 100 points out of third.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 24 electrified options.
