This Week in Motorsports: Sept. 15-21, 2025
NCS/NCTS: New Hampshire Motor Speedway – Sept. 19-21
ARCA: Salem Speedway – Sept. 20
NHRA: zMAX Dragway – Sept. 19-21
PLANO, Texas (Sept. 17, 2025) – NASCAR continues the Cup Series and Truck Series Playoffs in their annual visit to New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend. Saturday marks the cutoff race for the Truck Series’ Round of 10, while Sunday is the beginning of the Cup Series’ Round of 12. The ARCA Menards Series remains in action at Salem Speedway in southeast Indiana on Saturday. NHRA continues its Countdown to the Championship at zMAX Dragway outside of Charlotte in another four-wide national event.
NASCAR National Series – NCS/NCTS
Toyota Camry XSEs begin Round of 12 … All five Playoff drivers from Team Toyota advanced to the Cup Series Round of 12 and continue their chase for a championship at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend. Denny Hamlin leads the Camry XSE contingent, and the point standings as well, beginning the round 26 points above the cutline. He’s followed by Christopher Bell, who sits fourth and is coming off his win at Bristol and is 20 points above the cut – then Chase Briscoe in sixth (+10 points to the cutline) and Bubba Wallace in eighth (+1 point to the cutline). Tyler Reddick enters the round 12th in the standings, three points below the cutline.
Toyota’s dominant start to the Playoffs … Bell’s triumph at Bristol last Saturday night completed a Toyota Camry XSE sweep of the opening round of the Cup Series Playoffs, following wins by Briscoe in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway and Hamlin at World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway). Toyota drivers led nearly 79 percent of the laps in the opening round and now have 12 wins in the Cup Series season, tied for the most in the series, with the help of Hamlin (five wins), Bell (four wins), Briscoe (two wins) and Wallace (one win).
Bell seeks New Hampshire repeat … This weekend, Bell returns to one of his favorite tracks on the NASCAR circuit at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) driver will look to repeat on Sunday, having won twice at the 1.058-mile oval in his Cup Series career, in 2022 and 2024. Bell also holds a perfect record in his Xfinity Series career at New Hampshire, going four-for-four, including a sweep last year.
Honeycutt looks to advance in Playoffs … Leading into Saturday afternoon’s cutoff race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Kaden Honeycutt has an 18-point advantage above the cutline as he looks to advance to the Round of 8 in his first career Truck Series Playoff appearance. The driver of the No. 52 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro has found success on short ovals over the course of this season and seeks to replicate that this weekend to continue his fight for a championship.
NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA Menards Series National
Reaves back in JGR Camry … For the sixth time this season in national ARCA Menards Series competition, Max Reaves will pilot the No. 18 Toyota Camry for JGR, taking on Salem Speedway this weekend. The 15-year-old has had a stellar start to his young career, with two wins (Elko and Madison) and has finished inside the top-10 in all five of his previous starts.
NHRA – Top Fuel/Funny Car
Toyota drivers shake up points after Maple Grove … After the Countdown to the Championship opener at Maple Grove last weekend, Toyota drivers made gains in the Top Fuel and Funny Car points standings heading to zMAX Dragway this weekend. 2023 Top Fuel world champion Doug Kalitta vaulted to the points lead after a final round appearance at Maple Grove, holding an 18-point advantage over second place. His teammate Shawn Langdon sits third, followed by Justin Ashley in fourth, Steve Torrence in seventh and Antron Brown in eighth for Team Toyota. In Funny Car, Ron Capps advanced to the semifinals at Maple Grove and moved into third in the points, just 29 points behind the leader and only four points behind second. His Toyota GR Supra Funny Car teammate, J.R. Todd, enters Charlotte seventh in the standings.
Toyota seeks zMAX Dragway five-peat … zMAX Dragway has been a successful ground for Team Toyota of late, as its drivers look to earn a fifth consecutive race victory at the North Carolina dragstrip. On his way to the 2023 Top Fuel world title, Kalitta began the streak in September 2023, followed by Ashley in April 2024, Brown in September 2024 and then Langdon this past April in the 1,000th Top Fuel race. A win by any of the Toyota racers in Top Fuel or Funny Car would be monumental as the Countdown to the Championship continues on with just five races remaining in the season.
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 32 electrified options.
For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
