This Week in Motorsports: October 16 – 22, 2023
· NCS/NXS/NCTS: Homestead-Miami Speedway – October 20-22
· ARCA WEST: Madera Speedway – October 21
PLANO, Texas (October 18, 2023) – NASCAR’s three national series head to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the final intermediate track of the season. All three series continue their Playoffs’ Round of 8, with this weekend serving as the cutoff race for the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series before the Championship 4. ARCA West heads to Madera Speedway in the penultimate race of its season.
NASCAR National Series – NCS | NXS | NCTS
Toyota drivers right around Playoff cutline … After Sunday’s race in Las Vegas, the four remaining Toyota Playoff drivers are slightly above or below the points cutline as the Cup Series Round of 8 continues. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. are on the right side of the line, both two points above. Their teammate, Christopher Bell, and 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick come into Miami with ground to gain, as Bell is two points below the cutline and Reddick 16 under.
One more to 500 … After Bell’s blistering pole at Las Vegas last weekend, Toyota now stands one pole position away from 500 in NASCAR competition. The first Toyota pole came at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2004 in the Truck Series from David Reutimann. Last weekend’s pole was also Bell’s sixth of the season and the 10th of his career. The Norman, Oklahoma, native has the most poles in the Cup Series this season, and Toyota added another to its manufacturer-leading total (14) on the season.
A second HOMEstead for Toyota drivers … Homestead-Miami Speedway is a favorable circuit for the Toyota Cup Series drivers. Of the notable statistics at the South Florida track, Truex Jr. has finished in the top-10 in six of the last seven races; Hamlin has six of the last eight poles to go along with three career wins; Reddick has two top-fives in three Cup starts, along with two Xfinity Series wins (2018 and 2019); and Bubba Wallace won the 2014 Truck Series race.
Xfinity Series Playoff drivers in the thick of championship hunt … With a second-place finish last weekend, John Hunter Nemechek extended his buffer over the points cutline to 47 with two races remaining in the Xfinity Series Round of 8. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver still stands atop the points standings, 26 points in front of second place. His teammate, Sammy Smith, is currently seventh in the standings, 35 points below the cutline.
Nemechek continues impressive Playoff run … Having solid, consistent finishes is key to advancing in the Playoffs, which is exactly what Nemechek is doing in the 2023 Xfinity Series Playoffs. The 26-year-old has six consecutive top-10s heading into Homestead this weekend, which includes his Kansas and Texas victories. A win this week or next in Martinsville clinches him into the Championship 4 at Phoenix.
Truck Series Playoffs resume … After a three-week break, the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series continues its Round of 8 at Homestead. Toyota driver, Corey Heim, has already clinched his way to the Championship 4 with his win at Bristol in September. The TRICON Garage driver, who announced on Monday that he will return to the team in 2024, has this week to get through before the championship race in Phoenix in two weeks.
Favorable circuit for Friesen … Halmar-Friesen’s Stewart Friesen has performed well over the years at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The 40-year-old Canadian has three career top-10s at the South Florida speedway to go along with a pole in 2019. Another top-10 at this track would be Friesen’s seventh of the 2023 season.
NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA West
Hingorani continues points lead with two races remaining … Ahead of this weekend’s ARCA Menards Series West race at Madera Speedway, Sean Hingorani has the championship lead. This will be Hingorani’s first start at Madera Speedway as he seeks his fifth win of the season.
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.
