This Week in Motorsports: October 13-19, 2025
NCS/NXS/NCTS: Talladega Superspeedway – Oct. 17-19
GR CUP: Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Oct. 15-19
FORMULA DRIFT: Long Beach – Oct. 17-18
PLANO, Texas (Oct. 15, 2025) – NASCAR’s three national series head to the high banks of Talladega Superspeedway for the second race of the Round of 8, with Toyota drivers in the thick of championship battles. The GR Cup Series concludes its 2025 season on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Formula DRIFT also hits its season finale this weekend, returning to Long Beach for the “Shoreline Showdown.”
NASCAR National Series – NCS/NXS/NCTS
Toyota drivers on right side of the cutline heading to Talladega … With just two races remaining in the Round of 8, Toyota’s three remaining Cup Series Playoff drivers are in favorable spots entering this weekend at Talladega. With his win on Sunday in Las Vegas, Denny Hamlin has locked himself into the Championship 4 for the fifth time in his career, and it’s his first shot at the Cup Series title since 2021. For Toyota, it continues the streak of being the only OEM to have at least one driver in the Championship 4 every year in the current points system. Hamlin’s Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) teammates Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe earned top-five finishes in Las Vegas to get themselves above the cutline, sitting 20 and 15 points to the good, respectively.
Hamlin makes history … The win by Hamlin at Las Vegas Motor Speedway marked the 60th of his historic career, tying him with Kevin Harvick for 10th on the all-time Cup Series win list. The victory was also his 57th with Toyota, making him the manufacturer’s winningest Cup Series driver. The 44-year-old has six victories on the season, the most wins he’s had in a season since 2020 when he captured seven. His most in a single year was eight in 2010.
Bell continues top-10 streak … Bell’s third-place finish at Las Vegas extended his top-10 streak to six consecutive, dating back to World Wide Technology Raceway in September. This was also Bell’s third straight third-place result.
Toyota GR Supras continue in title fight … With the win by Aric Almirola last weekend in Las Vegas, the No. 19 JGR Xfinity Series team has locked themselves into the owners’ Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway in three weeks. It’ll be the second consecutive season Almirola will contend for the owners’ title with JGR after last season in the No. 20 entry. In the drivers’ standings, the No. 20 team and Brandon Jones head to Talladega eight points below the cutline, seeking a big points day going into Martinsville or even a win at Talladega to lock themselves into the title race.
Tundra TRD Pro drivers fight on in Playoffs … After a week off, the Truck Series is back in action at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend. With his win last time out at the Charlotte ROVAL, which broke the record for most wins in a single season (10), Corey Heim is already clinched into the Truck Series Championship 4 – the third consecutive season he’ll contend for the title. His Toyota Tundra TRD Pro teammate Kaden Honeycutt has some work to do to join Heim in the title race, entering Talladega four points below the cutline in what will be his third career start on the 2.66-mile superspeedway.
Holmes to pilot No. 1 Tundra TRD Pro … Truck Series veteran Bret Holmes will be behind the wheel of the No. 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for TRICON Garage this weekend in Talladega. The Alabama native has made 56 career Truck Series starts, four of which have come at Talladega Superspeedway, with a career-best finish of third in 2022.
GR Cup
Legends Cup championship to be decided … While the Am class championship has already been clinched by Toyota Development Driver Westin Workman, the inaugural GR Cup Series Legends Cup presented by WWEX Group championship still needs to be decided in this weekend’s season finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Italian Livio Galanti enters the two-race event with a 20-point lead in the Legends Cup points standings as he looks to take home the coveted title by the weekend’s end.
Formula DRIFT
Toyota nearing Auto Cup title … This weekend in Southern California, Toyota looks to add another chapter to its Formula DRIFT history as it pursues its 10th Auto Cup awarded to the series’ top manufacturer. The title would be the second consecutive and fourth in five seasons for Toyota, off the back of strong performances throughout the 2025 season by drivers Fredric Aasbø, Jhonattan Castro, Ken Gushi and Ryan Tuerck.
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.
