This Week in Motorsports: August 19 – 25, 2024
NCS/NXS: Daytona International Speedway – Aug. 23-24
NCTS/ARCA: The Milwaukee Mile – Aug. 25
PLANO, Texas (Aug. 21, 2024) – It’s a busy weekend for Team Toyota in NASCAR, with the Cup and Xfinity Series at Daytona International Speedway, while the Truck and ARCA Menards Series head to The Milwaukee Mile. The Truck Series race Sunday afternoon begins the series’ 2024 Playoffs.
NASCAR National Series – NCS | NXS | NCTS
Reddick assumes points lead … With the monumental win for Tyler Reddick and 23XI Racing at Michigan last weekend, he has now taken over the Cup Series regular season points lead for the first time in his career and for his team. His car co-owner and Toyota teammate, Denny Hamlin, moved up to third in the points after a top-10 finish Monday afternoon. They’re joined inside the provisional playoff field by Christopher Bell (seventh), Martin Truex Jr. (eighth) and Ty Gibbs (10th). Bubba Wallace, Reddick’s 23XI teammate, sits just one point outside the Playoffs with two races remaining in the regular season.
Reddick top-10 streak rolls on … Following his triumph last weekend, Reddick also kept his top-10 streak alive, now in seven straight races and has scored 10 in the last 11 events, giving him 17 top-10s on the season, the most in the Cup Series. In those seven consecutive races, the driver of the No. 45 Camry XSE has been inside the top six finishing positions, specifically. Another top-10 this weekend would be Reddick’s third such finish at Daytona International Speedway, with the other two top-10s coming in the summer race (fifth in 2021 and second in 2022).
Nemechek looks for another strong Daytona run … John Hunter Nemechek has only made three Cup Series starts at the “World Center of Racing,” but has an impressive resume on the 2.5-oval so far in his career. The driver of the No. 42 Camry XSE for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB has finished inside the top-11 in all three of his previous starts at Daytona, including a seventh-place finish at the Daytona 500 back in February.
Xfinity Series points battles heat up … With just five races remaining in the regular season for the Xfinity Series, the series point standings continue to tighten. Chandler Smith remained in fourth position after last weekend’s race in Michigan, while his teammate, Sheldon Creed moved up to seventh with his second-place finish after winning his second pole of the season.
Creed seeks another Daytona top-five … Daytona International Speedway has proven to be a strong circuit for Creed. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has finished in the runner-up spot his last two starts in Daytona, coming close to his long-awaited first career win. Creed has also finished inside the top-10 in half of his starts at Daytona and has three consecutive top-10 finishes entering this weekend after his runner-up in Michigan.
Heim, Gray begin championship quests … With this weekend beginning the 2024 NASCAR Truck Series Playoffs, two Tundra TRD Pro drivers begin their chase for the championship – Corey Heim and Taylor Gray. Heim has had a stellar season to date, with five wins, 10 top-fives and 12 top-10s as he begins the Playoffs as the No. 1 seed. Gray has also had a solid year, beginning the Playoffs as the No. 8 seed. Including this weekend, the two have three races to keep themselves inside the top eight of the standings before the next cutoff race at Kansas.
Thompson doing double duty … TRICON Garage’s Dean Thompson will be doing double duty in Milwaukee this weekend, piloting the No. 5 Tundra TRD Pro for TRICON Garage in the Truck Series event, along with a Toyota Camry for Venturini Motorsports in the ARCA Menards Series race. This will be Thompson’s fourth ARCA start this season, where he’s finished inside the top-10 in all three starts to date.
NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA Menards Series
Sawalich’s win streak continues … William Sawalich and his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team continued their dominance in the ARCA Menards Series last weekend at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, winning his third consecutive race and fifth in the last six. Sawalich has finished inside the top-five in all but one of his starts so far this season and returns to The Milwaukee Mile looking to repeat his win from pole a season ago. Like Thompson, Sawalich will also be doing double duty this weekend, piloting the No. 1 Tundra TRD Pro for TRICON Garage in the Truck Series race.
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 47 million cars and trucks at our 12 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 13th 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 29 electrified options.
For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
