Toyota Racing
This Week in Motorsports – March 25 – 31, 2019
Toyota Racing On-Track this Week
· MENCS/NXS/NGOTS: Texas Motor Speedway (Fort Worth, Texas) – March 29-31
· NKNPSW: Irwindale Speedway (Irwindale, California) – March 30
NASCAR National Series – MENCS | NXS | NGOTS
Toyota Takes on Texas… Toyota NASCAR drivers are set to compete at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend, which is located just 35 miles from its Texas headquarters in Plano. Toyota currently leads the manufacturer point standings in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS), NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) and NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS) on the strength of 10 wins across NASCAR’s three national series this season.
Extending the Streak… Kyle Busch continued his winning ways last weekend at Martinsville Speedway, earning his 201st NASCAR national series victory in Saturday’s NGOTS race. This season, Busch has won seven of 12 races he’s competed in across the three series and is the only driver to record top-10 results in the first six MENCS races. The 33-year-old Las Vegas native currently leads the Cup Series point standings heading to Texas where he has won three MENCS races. Busch is also set to compete in the NXS and NGOTS races this weekend and has won eight and three times, respectively, in each series at the 1.5-mile Texas track.
Keeping it Consistent… Xfinity Series regulars Christopher Bell and Brandon Jones have enjoyed a consistent start to the 2019 season. Bell is already locked into the series playoffs after winning the first race for the Toyota Supra earlier this season in Atlanta and has registered three top-10 finishes. The Norman, Oklahoma native looks for his first-career Texas NXS victory on Saturday after finishing runner-up there last spring. Jones has registered four top-10 finishes in his first five starts this year and currently sits fourth in the point standings heading into Saturday’s race at Texas where he finished sixth in the fall.
Tundra Triumphs… Tundra drivers have won six-consecutive NGOTS races, dating back to ISM Raceway in November 2018. This season, Tundras have won four-straight races with Austin Hill earning his first-career NASCAR victory at Daytona and Busch notching three-straight Truck Series wins at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway. Texas has been a good track to Toyota with Tundra drivers earning 17 NGOTS race wins since 2004 – the most of any track on the schedule for the manufacturer. Todd Gilliland looks to rebound after leading a race-high 60 laps last November before running out of fuel on the final lap, leaving him just short of his first-career NGOTS victory.
Regional Stock Car Racing – NASCAR K&N Pro Series West
West Series Returns to Irwindale… The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West (NKNPSW) returns to racing action at Irwindale Speedway on Saturday. Bill McAnally Racing driver Hailie Deegan goes into the weekend leading the NKNPSW point standings following her win at the season-opening NKNPSW race in Las Vegas. Deegan and Bill McAnally Racing teammate Brittney Zamora will make their first start at Irwindale, while Derek Kraus will look to improve on his fourth-place finish there in 2017. Kraus was also victorious earlier this year in the season-opening NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at New Smyrna Speedway.
