Toyota NASCAR Watkins Glen Advance
Week of July 31 – August 6, 2017
100 Wins for Toyota: When Kyle Busch scored his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) win of the season Sunday at Pocono Raceway it marked the 100th Cup Series victory for Toyota since joining the series in 2007. Busch was also the driver to give Toyota its first MENCS victory in March 2008 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and has registered 35 Cup wins behind the wheel of a Camry. Eleven total drivers have scored victories for Toyota, including Busch (35 wins), Denny Hamlin (27), Matt Kenseth (14), Martin Truex Jr. (eight), Carl Edwards (five), Clint Bowyer (three), Joey Logano (two), David Reutimann (two), Brian Vickers (two), Kasey Kahne (one) and Tony Stewart (one).
Weekend Sweep: The 100-win mark in the Cup Series wasn’t the only milestone moment for Toyota last weekend. Along with Busch’s MENCS Pocono victory from the pole, Toyota drivers in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) also visited victory lane to give the manufacturer a sweep of the weekend’s NASCAR events, reaching 400 wins across all three NASCAR national series. Ryan Preece was victorious from the pole in just his second start for Joe Gibbs Racing at the NXS race at Iowa Speedway while Christopher Bell earned his fourth NCWTS win of the season at Pocono Raceway a day prior to Busch’s milestone victory. Toyota drivers have earned 100 MENCS wins, 135 NXS victories and 165 Truck Series triumphs in NASCAR competition.
Watkins Glen Wins: Camry drivers have earned three MENCS victories at Watkins Glen International. Busch has claimed two Cup Series wins in Upstate New York (2008 and 2013) and most recently Hamlin crossed the finish line first last year at the 2.45-mile road course. Hamlin led the last 10 laps (of 90) of the race in his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Camry en route to his first-career NSCS road course win. Former Camry driver Marcos Ambrose recorded both Toyota’s NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) victories at the Glen in 2009 and 2010.
One of the Best at Watkins Glen: Along with his two Cup Series victories at Watkins Glen International, Busch has registered 10 top-10 finishes in 12 career starts and currently has the second-best average finish at Watkins Glen among drivers with more than one start at the track (10.1). The Las Vegas native also has the second-best average starting position at The Glen (8.0), starting from the front of the field in 2008 and 2011.
Staying Connected: You can follow Toyota Racing on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and online at www.toyotaracing.com. For media images, please visit www.toyotaracingmedia.com.
Toyota at Watkins Glen – Notes & Numbers:
The 2018 Toyota Camry will pace the races at Watkins Glen International this weekend … Four Toyota drivers are currently in the MENCS top-10 in points with five races to go before the playoffs – Martin Truex Jr. (first), Kyle Busch (fourth), Denny Hamlin (sixth) and Matt Kenseth (ninth) … Camry driver Matt Tifft is seventh in the NXS point standings … Christopher Bell currently leads the NCWTS point standings following his win at Pocono Raceway … Along with Bell, five other Tundra drivers currently rank in the NCWTS top-10, including Matt Crafton (fourth), Ben Rhodes (sixth), Ryan Truex (seventh), Grant Enfinger (eighth) and Noah Gragson (ninth) … Kyle Busch and Erik Jones will both compete in Joe Gibbs Racing Camrys in Saturday’s NXS race at Watkins Glen.
Toyota 2017 Statistics:
Series
Races
Starts (Drivers)
Wins
Stage Wins
Top 5s
Top 10s
Poles
Times Led
Laps Led
MENCS
21
181 (16)
5
26
29
59
7
148
2,935
NXS
19
133 (23)
7
8
24
34
8
67
1,044
NCWTS
12
124 (20)
7
15
29
62
6
64
1,121
