This Week in Motorsports: August 26 – Sept. 1, 2025
NCS/NCTS: Darlington Raceway – Aug. 29-31
NXS/ARCA WEST: Portland International Raceway – Aug. 30
ARCA: DuQuoin State Fairgrounds – Aug. 31
NHRA: Indianapolis Raceway Park – Aug. 29-Sept. 1
FORMULA DRIFT: Utah Motorsports Campus – Aug. 28-30
PLANO, Texas (Aug. 27, 2025) – This Labor Day weekend is a busy one for Team Toyota, as Toyota teams and drivers will compete at race tracks across the nation in search of victories. NASCAR will be split from coast-to-coast, with the Cup and Truck Series kicking off their Playoffs at Darlington Raceway, while the Xfinity Series and ARCA Menards Series West heads out west to Portland International Raceway as the regular season nears its end. The ARCA Menards Series remains in the Midwest at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in Illinois. NHRA concludes its regular season at Indianapolis Raceway Park for the annual U.S. Nationals. And finally, Formula DRIFT enters the penultimate weekend of its 2025 season at Utah Motorsports Campus southwest of Salt Lake City.
NASCAR National Series – NCS/NXS/NCTS
Five Camry XSEs in Playoffs … As the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs begin this Sunday at Darlington Raceway with one of NASCAR’s crown jewels, the Southern 500 as five Toyota Camry XSEs begin their chase for a championship. Denny Hamlin (+23 points), Christopher Bell (+17 points), Chase Briscoe (+4 points) and Bubba Wallace (+2 points) begin the Playoffs above the cutline, while Tyler Reddick starts the postseason one point below the line to advance to the Round of 12.
Hamlin seeks Darlington sweep … In April, Hamlin and his Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) team used a tremendous late-race pitstop to assume the race lead and eventually drive his No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE to victory lane in the first Darlington race this season. The 44-year-old returns to “The Track Too Tough to Tame” looking for a season sweep this weekend. In his legendary career, Hamlin has five career victories at Darlington, to go along with 14 top-fives, 19 top-10s and one pole position.
Day makes GR Supra debut … Israeli driver Alon Day will pilot the No. 24 Toyota GR Supra for Sam Hunt Racing this weekend at Portland International Raceway, marking his first Xfinity Series race since Watkins Glen last season. Day has made three total starts in the Xfinity Series, as well as two in the Cup Series and one in the Truck Series, so far in his career. His best career Xfinity Series finish was a 13th-place result at Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course in 2016.
Perkins back with JGR … Australian driver Jack Perkins returns to JGR and the No. 19 Toyota GR Supra this weekend at Portland. The Melbourne, Victoria, Australia native competed in the Chicago Street Race back in July, where he started fifth but encountered some issues that resulted in a 32nd-place finish.
Heim, Honeycutt begin chase for title … Two Toyota Tundra TRD Pros of Corey Heim and Kaden Honeycutt begin their chase for the NASCAR Truck Series championship this weekend at Darlington. Off the back of seven wins and a record 65 Playoff points in the regular season, Heim begins the postseason 62 points above the cutline as the No. 1 seed. Honeycutt and his No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing team begin the Playoffs in the No. 9 spot, two points below the cutline for the Round of 8. Both drivers seek their first career wins at Darlington.
NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA Menards Series National/West
Avedisian makes ARCA debut … Toyota Development Driver Jade Avedisian makes her debut in the ARCA Menards Series this weekend at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds with Venturini Motorsports (VMS). The 18-year-old will pilot the No. 25 Toyota Camry for VMS in the first of her two ARCA starts this season. Avedisian has had a successful and barrier-breaking young career thus far, becoming the first woman to win a dirt midget race in 2022, a dirt midget championship in the Xtreme Midget Series in 2023, and a CARS TOUR race at New River All-American Speedway in March.
Annunziata takes on Portland with Nitro Motorsports … 20-year-old Thomas Annunziata is set to pilot the No. 70 Toyota Camry for Nitro Motorsports in Friday’s ARCA Menards Series West race at Portland International Raceway. The New Jersey native has made one other ARCA start this season, winning the national series race at Lime Rock Park back in June. In five total ARCA starts to date, Annunziata has three top-fives and four top-10s to go along with his Lime Rock win.
NHRA – Top Fuel/Funny Car
Langdon, Kalitta vie for regular season championship … After racing action concludes this weekend at Indianapolis Raceway Park, NHRA will award the inaugural regular season championship to the drivers with the most number of points after the first 14 races of the season in its pro categories. In Top Fuel, Kalitta Motorsports’ Shawn Langdon and Doug Kalitta are in the hunt for the category’s honor. 2013 world champion Langdon leads the points standings by 45 points entering the weekend, powered by three race victories and 27 round wins this season. 2023 world champion Kalitta has had a strong race day surge of late with two consecutive victories entering the weekend that has placed him third in the points standings, just 51 points back of Langdon.
Capps, Todd to compete in Funny Car All-Star Callout … Like their Top Fuel counterparts did earlier this season, NHRA’s Funny Car drivers will take part in the All-Star Callout this weekend in Indianapolis. The event, where competing drivers call out foes they’d like to race, offers a chance to earn additional prize money during the race weekend. By placing themselves inside the top eight of the Funny Car Callout standings, Ron Capps and J.R. Todd will be a part of the qualifying session event taking place this Sunday afternoon in hopes of taking home some extra money and bragging rights.
Formula DRIFT
Aasbø looks to close points gap … With just two races remaining in the Formula DRIFT season entering this weekend in Utah, Fredric Aasbø sits second in the PRO category points, 40 points behind the leader. The Norway native looks to have another long run in the eliminations, and potentially an event win, to close the points gap heading to the season finale in October.
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 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
