This Week in Motorsports: February 24 – March 2, 2025
- NCS/NXS: Circuit of the Americas – March 1-2
PLANO, Texas (Feb. 26, 2025) – NASCAR enters its first road course weekend of the 2025 season as the Cup and Xfinity Series head to the Lone Star State and Circuit of the Americas (COTA). This will be the fifth time NASCAR races on the Texas road course, and this year both series will run the shorter, 2.3-mile course compared to the 3.41 miles the sport previously ran the last four years.
NASCAR National Series – NCS/NXS
Five Toyotas in top-13 in points to start 2025 … Toyota GAZOO Racing has had a solid start to the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season as five of its nine full-time drivers currently sit inside the top-13 of the series points standings, including Tyler Reddick (third), Bubba Wallace (fifth), John Hunter Nemechek (seventh), Christopher Bell (12th) and Denny Hamlin (13th). Bell is coming off a dramatic win at Atlanta last weekend and Nemechek is one of just two drivers who hold top-10 finishes in both races so far in 2025.
Bell continues top-10 runs … With his victory Sunday in Atlanta, Bell has now secured 13 top-10 finishes in the last 17 Cup Series races, dating back to Indianapolis last July. The Oklahoma native led the Cup Series in top-five (tied at 15) and top-10 (23) finishes last season and has already added his first of such finishes this season. Bell also returns to a favorable COTA circuit this weekend, where he has top-five finishes in half of his starts, including a second-place result last season.
Reddick looks to continue COTA success … COTA is a track that ideally suits Reddick and his driving style. The 23XI Racing driver has had tremendous success at the Texas road course in its four Cup Series races, finishing inside the top-10 in each race, including his win in 2023 – his first triumph with 23XI Racing. Additionally, Reddick has started inside the top-five in all four COTA races, including on the pole position in 2021.
Heim begins part-time Xfinity Series schedule … As a part of last weekend’s announcement, Corey Heim will run select races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this season with Sam Hunt Racing that includes this weekend at COTA. The Georgia native makes his Xfinity Series debut at COTA, but was the victor in the Truck Series race a season ago. This weekend marks Heim’s 18th career Xfinity Series start, where he has three top-fives and five top-10s so far.
Herbst returns to a GR Supra … Riley Herbst will be driving the No. 19 GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) this weekend, taking on double duty this weekend along with his full-time ride with 23XI Racing in the Cup Series. This will be Herbst’s first Xfinity Series start with Toyota since 2020, as he ran one full-time and two part-time seasons with JGR from 2018-2020. Saturday will also be Herbst’s fifth career Xfinity Series start at COTA, with a career-best finish of 10th in 2023.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 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 nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In spring 2025, Toyota’s 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 31 electrified options.
For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
