Toyota Racing
Weekly Results – June 11 -17, 2018
Toyota Racing On-Track Last Week
· NXS/NCWTS: Iowa Speedway (Newton) – June 16-17
· NHRA: Bristol Dragway (Bristol, Tennessee) – June 15-17
· NKNPSE: New Jersey Motorsports Park (Millville) – June 16
· ARCA Racing Series: Madison International Speedway (Oregon, Wisconsin) – June 15
· Lucas Oil Midwest Short Course League: Crandon International Raceway (Crandon, Wisconsin) – June 15-17
Le Mans Triumph Tops Toyota Winning Weekend
Toyota drivers combined to win four races over the weekend with victories in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series(NCWTS), Lucas Oil Midwest Short Course League (LOMSCL) and ARCA Racing Series in the United States and the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours in France.
NASCAR – NXS | NCWTS
Toyota Drivers Capture Top-Four in Trucks
In an Xfinity Series (NXS) and NCWTS double-header weekend at Iowa Speedway, Tundra driver Brett Moffitt captured his second win this season on Saturday. The Grimes, Iowa native headlined a Toyota top four with Noah Gragson (second), Harrison Burton (third) and David Gilliland (fourth) close behind.
“This is everything,” said Moffitt after the race. “Being in my home state and on father’s day weekend – my dad has done everything for me in my career and been my rock my whole life. To be here in victory lane with the Destiny Homes Smart Series Toyota and everything they’ve done for us all year. Man, Noah (Gragson) was fast there at the end. It was hard holding him off, but everyone at Toyota does such a great job for us and a lot of strong Toyota finishes tonight.”
Moffitt led 76 laps (of 200) en route to the home track victory, holding off a hard-charging Gragson on the final lap. Gragson continues to remain second in the Truck Series point standings while Moffitt is third.
It was also a series of firsts for two young Tundra drivers as seventeen-year-old Burton opened the day with his first-career Truck Series pole award and ARCA Racing Series regular Christian Eckes made his series debut.
In the Xfinity Series, Christopher Bell was the highest-finishing Camry on Sunday. Bell challenged race winner Justin Allgaier several times in the final stage of the race, closing to within a tenth of a second before eventually finishing second.
“I just needed to be in front of him (Justin Allgaier),” said Bell. “Our Rheem Camry was really good. It was really good on the bottom both corners, but I just didn’t have enough to clear him. He could just kind of ride that outside there outside my door.”
Bell’s Toyota teammates Brandon Jones (fifth) and Riley Herbst (sixth) also earned top-10 finishes with Herbst making his series debut.
NXS at Iowa
Toyota Top-10 Finishers
1st, Justin Allgaier*
2nd, Christopher Bell
5th, Brandon Jones
6th, Riley Herbst
*Non-Toyota driver
NCWTS at Iowa
Toyota Top-10 Finishers
1st, Brett Moffitt
2nd, Noah Gragson
3rd, Harrison Burton
4th, David Gilliland
8th, Christian Eckes
NXS Driver Standings
Toyotas in the Top 20
5th, Christopher Bell 471 pts
7th, Brandon Jones 431 pts
NCWTS Driver Standings
Toyotas in the Top 20
2nd, Noah Gragson 348 pts
3rd, Brett Moffitt 334 pts
17th, Todd Gilliland 155 pts
20th, Spencer Davis 126 pts
NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series – Top Fuel | Funny Car
J.R. Todd advances to fifth semi-final in eight races
J.R. Todd drove his Toyota Camry to the Funny Car semi-finals to lead Toyota in NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing action at Bristol Dragway on Sunday. Todd has advanced to the semi-finals in five of the last eight races, including two victories.
“In the semis, I just dropped a hole right after I hit the gas and you’re a sitting duck at that point,” said Todd. “It’s good to be going rounds and earning points in our DHL Camry, but it would be nice to be going even more rounds and earning more points on the cars in front of us.”
In Top Fuel, Antron Brown and Doug Kalitta advanced to the second round before being eliminated. Brown ran the quickest pass of the day on the Tennessee track with a 3.897-second run in the first round before overpowering the track in the second round as track temperatures soared past 140 degrees.
“This is the hottest race track we’ve raced on so far this year,” said Brown. “We made the necessary changes to slow it down, but the track was still really hot. With that said, we made it down there and we were just a little bit too fast.”
The Mello Yello Drag Racing Series closes out its four-week stretch next weekend at the Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio on June 22-24.
NHRA at Bristol
Top Toyota Top Fuel Finishers
1st, Tony Schumacher*
Doug Kalitta: Second round
Antron Brown: Second round
*Non-Toyota driver
NHRA at Bristol
Top Toyota Funny Car Finishers
1st, Ron Capps*
J.R. Todd: Semi-finals
*Non-Toyota driver
Top Fuel Driver Standings
Toyotas in the Top 10
4th, Doug Kalitta 717 pts
6th, Antron Brown 588 pts
Funny Car Driver Standings
Toyotas in the Top 10
4th, J.R. Todd 694 pts
8th, Cruz Pedregon 508 pts
Regional Stock Car Racing – NASCAR K&N Pro Series | ARCA Racing Series
Chandler Smith extends Toyota’s nine-race win streak
Fifteen-year-old Chandler Smith won his first ARCA Racing Series race at Wisconsin’s Madison International Speedway on Friday, extending Toyota’s nine-race win streak. Smith led 75 laps (of 200) to earn his first-career win.
“We just had a little luck on our side,” said Smith. “I am really blessed with the group of guys I have behind me. Venturini Motorsports gave me a heck of a Toyota Camry tonight.”
Toyota drivers finished in the top-four with Zane Smith (second), Sheldon Creed (third) and Chase Purdy (four) closing out the race behind Smith.
In NASCAR K&N Pro Series East action, Toyota driver Ernie Francis Jr. started from the pole at New Jersey Raceway Park on Saturday. Francis paced the field for six laps (of 55) before eventual winner Will Rodgers took the lead.
Francis went on to log a runner-up finish as Anthony Alfredo also posted a Toyota top-five finish.
Off Road Racing – Lucas Oil Midwest Short Course League
Father’s Day win for Johnny Greaves
In a Father’s Day showdown at Wisconsin’s Crandon International Raceway, father-son duo Johnny and CJ Greaves logged a 1-2 Toyota finish. Defending race winner Johnny Greaves came out on top in the LOMSCL, outdueling his son, CJ in the season-opener.
FIA World Endurance Championship – Le Mans 24 Hours
Toyota Takes First Le Mans Victory
Toyota claimed its first-ever victory in the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours as Toyota Gazoo Racing claimed a 1-2 finish at Circuit de la Sarthe in France on Sunday. The No. 8 TS050 HYBRID started from the pole position and shared the lead with their sister car, the No. 7 entry for the majority of the 388 lap race.
It was the company’s 20th attempt at the Le Mans win, with six previous podiums before bringing home the top honors in in the world’s most-storied sports car race.
