This Week in Motorsports: August 3 – 9, 2026
NCS/NOAPS/ARCA: Iowa Speedway – Aug. 7-9
ARCA WEST: Portland International Raceway – Aug. 8
PLANO, Texas (Aug. 5, 2026) – NASCAR returns to action with the Cup and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series taking on the 0.875-mile short oval of Iowa Speedway, just outside of Des Moines. They will be joined by the ARCA Menards Series, creating three days of high-intensity short track racing.
The ARCA Menards Series West is also in action this weekend, road course racing at Portland International Raceway.
NASCAR National Series – NCS/NOAPS
Camry XSE drivers zero in on ‘The Chase’ … With four races remaining in the Cup Series regular season, Toyota drivers are all around the battle for the postseason. Leading the way for Team Toyota – and in the series point standings – is Denny Hamlin, who leads Tyler Reddick by 84 points entering this weekend. Those two, along with Ty Gibbs (fourth), are already locked into ‘The Chase.’ Also in the provisional field are Chase Briscoe(seventh), Christopher Bell (10th) and Bubba Wallace (14th). Just outside ‘The Chase’ field is Erik Jones, sitting 18th and 44 points out of the 16th position.
Bell, Briscoe look to continue strong pushes … Both Bell and Briscoe arrive in Iowa this weekend on similar hot streaks. Both Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) drivers have finished inside the top-five in four of the last five races, with Bell coming home second in Indianapolis two weeks ago and Briscoe finishing fourth in his home race. In this span, Bell has three runner-up finishes in the last four races, while Briscoe has a win at Chicagoland Speedway. Both make their third career Cup Series starts at Iowa Speedway this weekend, a track where both have captured victory in the O’Reilly Series before.
GR Supra drivers look to make up ground in points … Ahead of this weekend in Iowa, Toyota drivers across the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (NOAPS) are fighting for their place in the postseason field. Brandon Jones is the lead GR Supra driver, sitting sixth in the point standings and is locked into ‘The Chase.’ His JGR teammates Brent Crews (11th) and Taylor Gray (12th) currently round out the provisional postseason field, while William Sawalich is outside looking in, sitting in 13th, just seven points back of Gray.
JGR GR Supra drivers look to continue momentum … Like their counterparts in the Cup Series, a few JGR drivers in the NOAPS are riding momentum going into Iowa this weekend. Crews has five top-10 finishes in the last seven races after coming home sixth two weeks ago in Indianapolis. Jones has 13 top-10s in the last 18 races after finishing ninth in Indianapolis, and Sawalich has consecutive top-fives after placing fifth two weeks ago.
NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA Menards Series + West
Another strong lineup for Toyota … For this weekend’s national series race at Iowa, Toyota brings another strong lineup as it eyes win number 10 on the 2026 season. Max Reaves once again pilots the No. 18 Toyota Camry for JGR, seeking his third national series win of the season. For Nitro Motorsports, Jade Avedisian will pilot the No. 15, Jake Bollman continues in the No. 20, Gavan Boschele is back in the No. 25, Isabella Robustois racing in the No. 55 and Thomas Annunziata is in the No. 70. Entering this weekend, Bollman leads Annunziata by a mere three points in the series championship standings with seven races remaining this season.
Lovell, Corry take on Portland … Out west at Portland International Raceway, Nitro Motorsports brings a few strong Toyota Camrys in search of a second consecutive victory in the series. Mia Lovell will drive the No. 15 Toyota Camry this weekend, coming off a runner-up finish at Sonoma Raceway last time out – her second consecutive top-three finish and fifth consecutive top-10, while Sam Corry returns to the No. 25 Toyota Camry. Corry is coming off his first career pole and victory at Sonoma in June. This will be Corry’s third West Series start of the season.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs approximately 48,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of more than 36 million cars and trucks at our 11 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.
