This Week in Motorsports: February 17 – 23, 2025
· NCS/NXS/NCTS: Atlanta Motor Speedway – Feb. 21-23
PLANO, Texas (Feb. 19, 2025) – After another thrilling Daytona 500 last Sunday, NASCAR’s three national series head to another drafting track in Atlanta Motor Speedway for the second race of the 2025 season.
NASCAR National Series – NCS/NXS/NCTS
Toyota goes for sixth straight Cup pole … With the pole position run by Chase Briscoe last weekend, Toyota’s first Daytona 500 pole, Camry XSE drivers will look to add a sixth straight Cup Series pole position for Toyota this weekend in Atlanta. The streak dates back to Las Vegas last October where Christopher Bell earned the top starting spot. Should Toyota claim the pole this weekend, it would be its fifth at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
LEGACY MOTOR CLUB experiences premier day at Daytona … Sunday’s Daytona 500 was significant for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, who had their best result-based weekend as a team with their three drivers finishing inside the top 12 positions – Jimmie Johnson (third), John Hunter Nemechek (fifth) and Erik Jones (12th). For Johnson and Nemechek, these results were their best as a part of LEGACY MOTOR CLUB. Heading to Atlanta this weekend, both LEGACY MOTOR CLUB full-time entries of Jones (seventh) and Nemechek (ninth) are inside the top 10 of the Cup Series points standings and look to climb up with another solid day in The Peach State.
Almirola returns to a GR Supra … In Saturday’s Xfinity Series race, Aric Almirola will pilot a Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) Toyota GR Supra, driving the No. 19. The Floridian made 14 Xfinity Series starts last season with JGR, scoring three victories, eight top-fives and nine top-10s. Almirola has made three previous starts at Atlanta in the Xfinity Series, with a career-best finish of eighth in 2011.
Jones back at home track … For the 14th time in his Xfinity Series career, Brandon Jones will race at his home track of Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Atlanta native has one career top-five and four top-10s at the mile-and-a-half drafting track. A home race victory for Jones would give Toyota its seventh Xfinity Series win at Atlanta and first since Ty Gibbs in 2022.
Heim seeks to continue winning ways at home track … Like Jones in the Xfinity Series, Corey Heim is also back at his home track of Atlanta Motor Speedway. The 22-year-old, coming off a win last weekend at Daytona, looks to capture his 13th career Truck Series triumph this weekend and second at Atlanta to couple his 2022 victory. Heim also enters the weekend with eight top-10 finishes in the last nine Truck Series races.
Breidinger, Ruggiero, Sawalich make Atlanta debuts … Toni Briedinger, Gio Ruggiero and William Sawalich head to Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend, each making their debuts at the mile-and-a-half. All three drivers are coming off another drafting track in Daytona last weekend, where rookie Ruggiero claimed a second-place finish in his first career Trucks start and for Sawalich, his fourth career Truck Series top-10 finish. And like last weekend, Sawalich will once again do double duty on Saturday, running the Truck Series race before driving the No. 18 GR Supra for JGR in the Xfinity Series later that afternoon.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 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 nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In spring 2025, Toyota’s 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 31 electrified options.
For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
