THREE TUNDRAS IN THE TOP-FIVE AT VEGAS
Corey Heim, Taylor Gray continue strong start to the season
LAS VEGAS (March 1, 2024) – Corey Heim added to the stellar early part of the season with his third consecutive podium finish to begin the 2024 racing year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday evening. Heim, who finished second in Daytona and third at Atlanta, brought home his Tundra in third position, once again, to lead three TRICON Garage Toyotas in the top-five. The Toyota Development Driver has now finished inside the top-five in eight of the last nine races, and in the top 10 in 24 of his last 27 Truck Series starts.
Taylor Gray had a strong run all night and delivered his second straight fourth-place finish. The 18-year-old has now earned consecutive top-five finishes for the second time in his career. Former Truck Series champion Christopher Bell made his first Truck Series start and battled back from an early pit road penalty to join Heim and Gray inside the top-five.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Race 3 of 23 – 134 Laps, 201 Miles
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Rajah Caruth*
2nd, Tyler Ankrum*
3rd, COREY HEIM
4th, TAYLOR GRAY
5th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
18th, STEWART FRIESEN
20th, TANNER GRAY
30th, DEAN THOMPSON
32nd, TIMMY HILL
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
COREY HEIM, No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage
Finishing Position: 3rd
A strong night overall, what needed to change there at the end for you?
“Yeah, there was just a bunch we could’ve cleaned up overall, including myself. I was slow coming out (of the pits) on the green flag cycle, and when I came out, I was racing the 18 (Tyler Ankrum) for three or four laps, and he slowed us down a bunch. But, huge congratulations to Rajah (Caruth). He earned every bit of that tonight. He drove his butt off and was really clean all night, put himself in position and won the race. So, big congrats to Rajah. With our TRICON Garage camp, I think we just got to clean it up a bit overall, including myself. I made some mistakes tonight. But, we put ourselves in a good position. Another top three for us, just got to close it out. Huge thanks to Toyota Racing and Safelite.”
What was the deciding factor in tonight’s race?
“I think there were a lot of variables. I made some mistakes on the cycle there. I could have executed a lot better there on pit road, and when I got back out there, I was messing with the 18 (Tyler Ankrum) too much. Just want to say a huge congratulations to Rajah (Caruth). He’s the first guy to come and congratulate you when you win, and he’s such a humble dude. Congrats to Rajah, and a huge thank you to TRICON Garage and Toyota Racing for everything they do. We had a rocketship tonight, and I feel like if we executed as a whole team, including me, I feel like we would have been in victory lane tonight. It happens, and we will use it as motivation for the team. Huge thank you to them, Toyota and Safelite.”
TAYLOR GRAY, No. 17 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage
Finishing Position: 4th
What are the emotions that you are feeling?
“It just sucks. We came out two seconds, or I don’t know what the exact number is, in the lead and it just sucks. I can’t thank everyone at TRICON Garage for bringing me a really good Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. I can’t hang my head too bad. We ran in the top-five and had a pretty good points day. Gotta keep working hard, and we will go get them in Bristol.”
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 1 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage
Finishing Position: 5th
What were your biggest takeaways from the race?
“Just that this Mobil 1 Tundra was super, super fast. The guys did a really good job making me comfortable in it. At the beginning of practice, I was extremely uncomfortable, but by the end of the race, and really all race long, I felt really good. It felt like I had what I needed to win, and we didn’t win.”
How badly did you want a caution there at the end?
“I mean, I did want a yellow as I knew that’d be my only shot at winning. But at the same time, whenever the yellow comes out at these Truck races, you know how that goes. It was nice getting a green flag run in, and it was cool to see the cream rise to the top. Awesome for Rajah (Caruth) to get his first Truck win. Happy and proud to drive for TRICON Garage. The Mobil 1 Tundra was everything I needed from it. We didn’t win today, but we’ll try again some other 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 26 electrified options.
For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
