This Week in Motorsports: Oct. 6-12, 2025
NCS/NXS: Las Vegas Motor Speedway – Oct. 10-12
NHRA: Texas Motorplex – Oct. 10-12
ARCA WEST: The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – Oct. 10
PLANO, Texas (Oct. 8, 2025) – The Round of 8 begins for the Cup and Xfinity Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in one of the most pivotal race weekends of the NASCAR season. The ARCA Menards Series West joins the two national series in Las Vegas, taking on the 3/8th-mile ‘Bullring’ on Friday night. NHRA begins the back half of the Countdown to the Championship at Texas Motorplex for the Texas Fall Nationals as championship battles across categories thicken.
NASCAR National Series – NCS/NXS
Joe Gibbs Racing trio continue title push … Three Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) drivers – Denny Hamlin,Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe – remain in contention for the Cup Series championship with the Playoffs now down to eight drivers. Hamlin begins the Round of 8 as the top seed, eight points above the cutline, while Bell (fifth) and Briscoe (seventh) begin the round under the cutline, four and 14 points below, respectively. A win for either Hamlin or Bell will punch their tickets to another Championship 4 appearance in their careers, while Briscoe seeks his first.
Bell continues strong surge … With a third-place finish at the Charlotte ROVAL last weekend, Bell now has five consecutive top-10 finishes, as well as two straight third-place results. The driver of the No. 20 Toyota Camry XSE for JGR heads back to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend after finishing second in each of the last two fall races. Bell looks to break through Sunday night and lock himself into the title race with a victory.
Toyota still alive for Xfinity Series championships … In the Xfinity Series, Team Toyota has two opportunities to bring home a championship trophy with the series now onto the Round of 8. Brandon Jones remains alive in the drivers’ championship, beginning the round in the third position, four points above the cutline. In the owners’ championship, JGR has two teams remaining with the No. 20 team of Jones as well as the No. 19 team with the victory by Aric Almirola at Bristol in September. The No. 20 team starts the round in fourth, while the No. 19 team begins in seventh.
Bayne to pilot No. 24 GR Supra … Trevor Bayne will step into the No. 24 Toyota GR Supra for Sam Hunt Racing this Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his first Xfinity Series start since Texas Motor Speedway in 2023 with JGR. This weekend will be Bayne’s 55th career Xfinity Series start with Toyota. Las Vegas Motor Speedway has also been a place of success for Bayne in the Xfinity Series, where he’s finished inside the top-10 in all six previous starts at the mile-and-a-half oval.
NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA Menards Series West
Avedisian makes pavement debut … In this weekend’s ARCA Menards Series West race at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Toyota Development Driver Jade Avedisian will pilot the No. 25 Toyota Camry for Venturini Motorsports. This is Avedisian’s second ARCA start this season, with her series debut coming on the dirt at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in August. Friday night’s 150-lap event in Las Vegas is also the first pavement start in ARCA for the California native.
NHRA – Top Fuel/Funny Car
Toyota leads Top Fuel points halfway through Countdown … After his victory at World Wide Technology Raceway two weeks ago, Doug Kalitta extended his Top Fuel points lead to 86 points with just three races remaining in the Countdown to the Championship. Behind Kalitta in the title fight is Justin Ashley in second, followed by Shawn Langdon in third. Antron Brown sits seventh in the Top Fuel points with Steve Torrence in eighth. In Funny Car, Ron Capps enters this weekend at Texas Motorplex fourth in the point standings, while J.R. Todd is in 12th.
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.
