TAYLOR GRAY EARNS CAREER-BEST RUNNER-UP FINISH
Corey Heim moves on to the Round of 8 with his 12th straight top-10 run
KANSAS CITY (September 8, 2023) – Taylor Gray finished second to set a new career-best in the NASCAR Truck Series to lead Toyota at Kansas Speedway on Friday evening.
Corey Heim, who clinched his spot in the Round of 8 at the Milwaukee Mile, continued his strong performance with his 12th straight top-10 finish. The Toyota development driver finished in fourth.
ARCA Menards Series points leader Jesse Love (ninth) scored his second top-10 in as many Truck Series starts, while Jake Drew (11th) set new career-bests in starting position and finishing position in his third series start.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Kansas Speedway
Race 19 of 23 – 134 Laps, 201 Miles
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Christian Eckes *
2nd, TAYLOR GRAY
3rd, Matt DiBenedetto*
4th, COREY HEIM
5th, Zane Smith*
7th, STEWART FRIESEN
9th, JESSE LOVE
10th, TYLER ANKRUM
11th, JAKE DREW
15th, DEAN THOMPSON
24th, TIMMY HILL
26th, TANNER GRAY
29th, JUSTIN CARROLL
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
TAYLOR GRAY, No. 17 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage
Finishing Position: 2nd
Can you talk me through that last restart and how chaotic the last few laps were?
“Yeah, first, I can’t thank all of my guys enough at TRICON Garage for bringing me a pretty good JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro – just needed a little bit more to be able to get the 19 (Christian Eckes). It’s disheartening, because on a long run we were faster than the 19. I should have passed him before that first caution came out, when we started having multiple cautions there in the end. But like I said, I can’t thank all of my guys enough for bringing me good JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, just needed a little bit more there at the end.”
COREY HEIM, No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage
Finishing Position: 4th
Can you take me through those last few laps?
“Yeah, I feel like every time we got up front there was a caution. Can’t say enough about our speed tonight. Definitely an improvement from the first Kansas, and we were really fast then. Big thanks to TRICON Garage, Safelite and Toyota Racing for everything they do for me. “
JESSE LOVE, No. 1 HomeSmiles Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage
Finishing Position: 9th
Two top-10s in two truck starts. Can you talk about your day?
“Yeah, I think we made the HomeSmiles Toyota Tundra TRD Pro a lot better. I feel like we were really good all race long. We might have been a top-15 truck at the beginning, and I feel like we were a top-five truck on speed at the end. I just did not a great job today on restarts. I couldn’t restart worth a hell today. I just need to go work and it feels good. I can go to work and get better and work on myself. I’m looking forward to getting to work over the next few weeks, and upping my restart game when there is a lot of cars around me.”
JAKE DREW, No. 61 Cyclum Truck Stops Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Hattori Racing Enterprises
Finishing Position: 11th
Third start, and nearly got your first top-10 on the biggest track you’ve raced at. How was your race?
“Yeah, just continuing to learn the aero games in the Truck Series. It’s been a blast. Super happy with the career-best tonight in qualifying and race finish. Can’t thank all of the guys around me enough on this Cyclum Truck Stops Tundra who have been guiding me through this and teaching me and giving me all of the support to succeed. Looking forward to keep growing and improving every time.”
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.
