NEMECHEK SCORES TOYOTA’S 200TH NASCAR XFINITY SERIES WIN
The Toyota development driver scores series-best sixth victory in Kansas
KANSAS CITY (September 9, 2023) – John Hunter Nemechek earned his series-best sixth victory of the season and delivered a milestone for Toyota – 200 victories in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Joe Graf Jr. (ninth) and Kaz Grala (10th) joined Nemechek inside the top-10. For Grala and his team, Sam Hunt Racing, it is a season-best sixth top-10 run.
Nemechek will be the No. 1 seed in the Playoffs with the win. He will be joined in the Playoffs by his Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Sammy Smith.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Kansas Speedway
Race 26 of 33 – 300 miles, 200 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
2nd, Brandon Jones*
3rd, Sheldon Creed*
4th, Parker Kligerman*
5th, Austin Hill*
9th, JOE GRAF JR.
10th, KAZ GRALA
14th, CONNOR MOSACK
24th, JOEY GASE
34th, SAMMY SMITH
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 20 Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
You earned the 200th Xfinity Series win for Joe Gibbs Racing, and now you have earned the 200th Xfinity Series win for Toyota. What does that mean to you?
“With us being able to get 200 wins for Toyota on the Xfinity side is something special. I think is what makes it even more special is after my year in Cup in 2020, the opportunity I had to go Truck racing with Kyle Busch – it wouldn’t have happened without KB or Toyota, TRD. To go Xfinity Series racing, it wouldn’t have happened without Coach (Joe Gibbs), Coy (Gibbs), and a lot of others that were involved, as well as Toyota, TRD. They mean a lot to me, I’m glad to continue my relationship with them in the future. Hopefully, we can win a lot more races together.”
Can you talk about how great your race car was today?
“Our Pye Barker Toyota GR Supra was really, really good. Hats off to this whole 20 crew, Toyota, TRD, everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing. We finally got the Pye Barker colors back in victory lane. That’s really special. I have to say hello to (wife) Taylor, (daughters) Aspen and Penelope back home as well. We will celebrate when we get home. Overall, amazing day, amazing car. We came in here with a goal to get a 60-point day to try maximize Playoff points and we were able to do so. It’s a huge step going into the Playoffs. We definitely have momentum on our side. Looking forward to get started next weekend in Bristol.”
What does a win like this cap off a great week for you?
“It means a lot – but everything this week went as fast as Xfinity 10G, so I haven’t really been able to sit in, and really think about the future. I’m glad that the announcement came out, but once it came out – I haven’t thought about next year at all. It’s all about 2023 and going to win a championship for this 20 team. We set a lot of goals coming into this year and we still have a lot to achieve, so that is what we are going to do.”
KAZ GRALA, No. 26 Island Coastal Lager Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 10th
How was your race?
“Pretty good say for our Island Coastal Lager Supra. We started pretty deep in the field, but I was impressed – we were on the move pretty much immediately. We worked right up to the top-12 after the first couple of restarts, and settled in there. We were a solid probably eight-to-12th place car all day, which for us on a big track like this, is really, really solid. Proud of everybody. The pit crew did a great job. That was a lot of fun, we had this thing pretty dialed in – in the third stage. Glad we can get a top-10 finish. I feel like we needed this for momentum, we haven’t had the best luck lately, so this was a good step in the right direction.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 24 electrified options.
