This Week in Motorsports: August 10 – 16, 2026
NCS/NCTS: Richmond Raceway – Aug. 14-15
OFF-ROAD: Bark River International Raceway (Bark River, Wisconsin) – Aug. 14-16
PLANO, Texas (Aug. 12, 2026) – NASCAR heads back to the East Coast and Richmond Raceway in a return to the 0.75-mile short oval in Virginia with the Cup and Truck Series this weekend. Also in action is Championship Off-Road Racing, staying in the state of Wisconsin and heading to Bark River International Raceway.
NASCAR National Series – NCS/NCTS
Gibbs’ victory continues strong push … With his second victory of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season at Iowa Speedway last weekend, Ty Gibbs has now risen to second place in the Cup Series point standings as ‘The Chase’ nears. The driver of the No. 54 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has 10 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes so far this season – which includes top-10s in eight of the last 12 races and top-fives in three of the last four. Heading to Richmond Raceway this weekend, Gibbs has found victory lane at the short oval, capturing the win in the O’Reilly Series in 2022 enroute to his series championship that season.
Bell rides momentum into Richmond … Last weekend’s runner-up finish for Christopher Bell at Iowa gave him his four second-place result in the last five Cup Series races and seventh overall in 2026. The result, Bell’s ninth top-five and 10th top-10 this season, has propelled the driver of the No. 20 JGR Toyota Camry XSE to sixth in the driver point standings entering this weekend in Richmond.
Hamlin returns to home track … Chesterfield, Virginia native Denny Hamlin has excelled at Richmond over the course of his legendary career. The driver of the No. 11 JGR Toyota Camry XSE has made 37 career starts at Richmond, with five wins, 20 top-five and 25 top-10 finishes. More recently, Hamlin has 16 top-10s in the last 19 Richmond races, which includes his wins in 2016, 2022 and 2024. Hamlin enters this weekend with top-five results in four of the last five Cup Series races, dating back to Chicagoland Speedway in July.
Friesen looks to extend cutline buffer … Stewart Friesen currently holds the final provisional spot in the Truck Series’ ‘Chase’ field, holding the 10th position in the series point standings by just eight points. Through 16 races this season, Friesen has one top-five and six top-10 finishes. With just two races remaining in the regular season, he is looking to join fellow Toyota Tundra TRD Pro drivers Kaden Honeycutt and Gio Ruggiero in ‘The Chase.’
Leitz, Heim and Bell to pilot Tundra TRD Pros in Richmond … Driving the No. 1, 5 and 62 Toyota Tundra TRD Pros, respectively, this weekend at Richmond will be Nick Leitz (No. 1) and Corey Heim (No. 5) for TRICON Garage, along with Bell (No. 62) for Halmar-Friesen Racing, giving Team Toyota three additional strong shots at victory Friday night. Heim, who has three wins this season in the Truck Series, makes his seventh NCTS start of 2026 this weekend and the 96th of his decorated Truck Series career. Heim is the defending Truck Series winner at Richmond, capturing victory from pole last season where he led 75 of 250 laps. Bell makes his sixth start of the 2026 Truck Series season. The Oklahoma-native captured victory with the same team at Bristol Motor Speedway earlier this season. Leitz makes his third start of the Truck Series season and first since North Wilkesboro Speedway in July, where he finished 17th.
Championship Off-Road
Greaves looks to extend points lead … After a runner-up finish in Race 1 and victory in Race 2 in Lena, Wisconsin, last time out, CJ Greaves eyes for another prosperous weekend in Bark River, Wisconsin to extend his PRO4 category points lead. Greaves currently holds a seven-point advantage over Jimmy Henderson, with CJ’s father, Johnny Greaves, sitting fourth. CJ captured victory in Race 2 in Bark River last year, with Johnny in second.
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.
