Toyota Racing to change name to Toyota Gazoo Racing North America in 2025
PLANO, Texas (October 17, 2024) – Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) announced today that its racing division, Toyota Racing, will formally become Toyota Gazoo Racing North America prior to the start of the 2025 motorsports season with all of its motorsports efforts competing under the global Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) banner. TRD, U.S.A., a subsidiary of TMNA, will continue its technical and engineering support across Toyota motorsports efforts throughout the U.S.
“The transition to Toyota Gazoo Racing is an opportunity for our world class racing program to better align with Toyota’s global motorsports efforts while simultaneously continuing the championship-level results we’ve earned under the previous banner here in the U.S.,” said Paul Doleshal, Group Manager, motorsports, Toyota Motor North America (TMNA). “Globally, the efforts of GR Company and Toyota Gazoo Racing, is a philosophy of utilizing motorsports to build ever-better production vehicles, pushing machinery to the limits on track so the production cars are more capable and reliable. We look forward to having our motorsports program continue to be on a global stage and contributing even further to the development and engineering of exciting-to-drive vehicles.”
Toyota has a rich 60-year heritage in motorsports, winning nearly every significant motorsports championship and racing event across the globe under various brand names globally. TGRNA will specifically focus on delivering excitement to motorsports fans while continuously pushing all boundaries on-track to create better driving cars on the road.
Toyota’s NASCAR Cup Series entries will continue to carry the Camry nameplate, while its Xfinity Series entries race in GR Supras. NHRA teams in both Top Fuel and Funny Car already race under the TGR banner as well as Toyota’s Formula DRIFT drivers competing in the GR Corolla Hatchback, GR Supra and the GR86, while GT4 drivers in IMSA and SRO field the GR Supra GT4 EVO. The Toyota GR Cup will begin its third season of the signature spec series in 2025, racing the Toyota GR86. The GR badge on these vehicles represents Toyota’s dedication to producing exciting, race-inspired vehicles.
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Toyota Tundras will continue to carry the TRD Pro badge and Toyota Off-Road Racing vehicles will continue to compete with the TRD nameplate.
The 2025 racing season officially kicks off at Daytona International Speedway, first with GR Supras taking the track in a four-hour GT4 race on Friday, January 24, 2025. The NASCAR season kicks off shortly after with the Cup Series Clash, making its debut at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on Sunday, February 2, 2025, before the regular season kicks off in Daytona from February 12 to 16, 2025.
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 47 million cars and trucks at our 12 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 13th 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 29 electrified options.
For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
