This Week in Motorsports: April 29 – May 5, 2024
· NCS/NCTS/ARCA: Kansas Speedway – May 3-5
PLANO, Texas (May 1, 2024) – NASCAR’s Cup and Trucks Series head to America’s heartland and Kansas Speedway, where the sport makes its first of two trips this season. They’ll be joined by the ARCA Menards Series, holding their fifth race of 2024.
NASCAR National Series – NCS | NCTS
Points standings beginning to tighten … The Cup Series points standings once again altered following Sunday’s race in Dover. With his third top-five of the season, Martin Truex Jr. remains the lead Toyota Camry XSE, currently second in the standings and only 15 points behind first. Claiming his third win of the season, Denny Hamlin jumped two spots in the standings to fourth, also holding the most Playoff points of any driver with 17. The two are joined by Tyler Reddick (fifth) and Ty Gibbs (eighth) inside the top 10 of the point standings.
Toyota aims to continue Kansas dominance … Kansas Speedway has been a haven of success for Toyota over the last few seasons, where Camrys have been victorious in the last four Kansas races and five of the last six. Hamlin and Reddick provided a Kansas sweep for Toyota in 2023. The nine Camry XSE drivers set to start on Sunday aim to extend the win streak to five.
Second consecutive race for Johnson … Making the fourth start of his part-time campaign in 2024, Jimmie Johnson will once again pilot the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE for the second consecutive weekend. Sunday will be his 30th start at Kansas Speedway, where Johnson has three wins (2008, 2011, 2015), nine top-fives and 19 top-10s.
Three Toyota Tundras Inside Truck Series Top 10 … After a week off, the Truck Series is back in action at Kansas with three Toyota Tundra TRD Pros inside the top 10 of the series points standings. Corey Heim leads the Toyota contingent in second position, two points out of the top spot. His TRICON Garage teammates, Taylor Gray and Tanner Gray, sit fifth and ninth in the standings with nine races remaining in the regular season.
Moffitt makes 2024 Trucks debut … Longtime NASCAR veteran, Brett Moffitt, makes his season debut in the Truck Series in the No. 1 Tundra TRD Pro with TRICON Garage. Moffitt returns to Team Toyota after capturing the 2018 Truck Series championship and is making his first Trucks start since winning at Talladega last September.
Heim seeks another Kansas top-10 … Coming back to Kansas Speedway, Heim will be looking for his fourth consecutive top-10 finish at the mile-and-a-half, including coming off a fourth-place finish last year. Another top-10 would also make it eight-for-eight for Heim inside the top-10 so far this season.
NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA Menards Series
Quest for four in a row at Kansas … Once the green flag drops for the ARCA Menards Series race on Saturday, Toyota will be seeking its fourth consecutive win at Kansas Speedway and eighth in the last 11 races. Another victory would also mark Toyota’s 21st win in the last 23 ARCA Menards Series events.
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.
