Toyota Racing
This Week in Motorsports – Sept. 4-9, 2018
Toyota Racing On-Track this Week
· USAC: The Dirt Track at IMS (Speedway, Indiana) – Sept. 5-6
· ARCA: Lucas Oil Raceway (Brownsburg, Indiana) – Sept. 7
· POWRi: Jacksonville Speedway (Jacksonville, Illinois) – Sept. 7
Spoon River Speedway (Canton, Illinois) – Sept. 8
· MENCS/NXS: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Speedway, Indiana) – Sept. 8-9
NASCAR National Series – MENCS | NXS
Bragging Rights and Points… With the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) regular season coming to an end this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), the regular-season champion will be formally announced. Camry driver Kyle Busch heads into Sunday’s race 39 points ahead of the second-place driver. While the regular-season title would be nice, it’s not just for bragging rights as the regular-season champion is awarded 15 playoff points heading into the Round of 16 which is set to open at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on September 16.
It’s A Brick House… Toyota has captured a combined five wins at the Brickyard in the MENCS and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) and all by one driver – Busch. Busch swept the weekend in Indy in 2015 and 2016 and has the second-most Cup Series laps led (297) around the legendary track among active drivers. While Daniel Suárez only has one MENCS start at Indy, the 2.5-mile track has also been good to him throughout his career as the Camry driver has never finished outside the top-10 in a combine three MENCS and NXS starts there.
Welcome to Indiana Racing… Christopher Bell will make his career debut at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and he’ll pull double duty while he’s at it. Only it won’t be in the MENCS and NXS. Bell will race first in the USAC Racing Series on Wednesday and Thursday as the series makes its debut in the inaugural race at the Dirt Track at IMS – a new quarter-mile track located in Turn 3 of the speedway. Bell will then transition to the NXS where he continues to contend for the regular-season championship before turning his focus to the playoffs. Bell will be joined on Saturday by his fellow Toyota Racing teammate Brandon Jones, who in two starts at the track has never finished outside the top 10.
Indy Holds Special A Place… On a warm summer night, Jason Leffler claimed the Camry’s first NASCAR victory when he drove to victory lane at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis on July 28, 2007. It was Toyota’s 22nd NXS race since joining the series earlier that year. Since then, Toyota drivers have won 146 NXS races, captured two driver’s championships (Busch in 2009 and Suárez in 2016) and four NXS manufacturer championships (2008, 2009, 2010 and 2016).
Regional Stock Car Racing – ARCA Racing Series
Indy State of Mind… Indianapolis is the place to race this week with the ARCA Racing Series joining USAC and NASCAR, only this series will compete at Lucas Oil Raceway – approximately six miles from IMS. Since the series’ return to the 0.686-mile track in 2011, Toyota drivers have one victory (Frank Kimmel, 2012). Toyota drivers hope to add to that victory after already collecting 15 race wins this season and locking up the manufacturer’s title in July.
Midget Racing – POWRi | USAC
All Eyes on Turn 3… It’s not just NASCAR competing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend. For the first time in the track’s legendary history, the USAC Racing Series will compete in an inaugural race at The Dirt Track at IMS, located in Turn 3. Over 100 entries are expected, including 24 Toyota-powered entries. In addition to Bell running double duty, Toyota will also be represented by the most recent ARCA Racing Series winner Logan Seavey, three-time POWRi National Midget champion Zach Daum and POWRi National Midget League point leader Tucker Klaasmeyer.
Who Run the World?… Five female racers will compete in Toyota midget cars at The Dirt Track at IMS. Holly Shelton leads the way after she recorded the highest finish for a female driver on dirt placing runner-up in a July POWRi event. TRD driver development combine participants Presley Truedson, Holley Hollan and Maria Cofer will also race in the event. Cofer made her national midget racing debut in July and has earned three top-10 finishes, including a seventh-place result while Truedson is looking to better her career-best national midget finish of eighth place, earned in July.
The View from the Top… Logan Seavey and Tucker Klaasmeyer are the two winningest drivers in the midget ranks this season, having each scored six national midget feature wins in 2018. Seavey is the current points leader in USAC, while Klaasmeyer sits on top of the POWRi standings.
NHRA – Top Fuel | Funny Car
Todd Makes History… J.R. Todd drove his Toyota Camry Funny Car to victory for the second-straight year at this past weekend’s U.S. Nationals. With the win, he became the sixth driver in history to win back-to-back U.S. Nationals Funny Car events. Camry drivers have now won three of the last five U.S. Nationals.
Counting Down… Four Toyota drivers qualified for the 2018 Countdown to the Championship playoffs. In Top Fuel, Doug Kalitta placed fifth, while Antron Brown finished the regular season in sixth. Todd and Shawn Langdon both are playoff-bound in Funny Car. Todd closed out the regular season in fifth, while Langdon will start his first Funny Car Countdown from the eighth position. Brown is a three-time Top Fuel world champion (2012, 2015 and 2016), while Langdon earned the 2013 Top Fuel title.
