This Week in Motorsports: March 10 – 16, 2025
· NCS/NXS/NCTS: Las Vegas Motor Speedway – March 14-16
PLANO, Texas (March 12, 2025) – The NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series continue their stint out west as both series head to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend for their first of two visits this season. Also, the NASCAR Truck Series returns to action on Friday night in Las Vegas after two weekends off, followed by the Xfinity Series on Saturday and Cup Series Sunday afternoon at the 1.5-mile oval.
NASCAR National Series – NCS/NXS/NCTS
Seven Camrys inside Cup Series top-20 … Four races into the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, the Toyota Camry XSE drivers are moving their way towards the top of the series points standings. Christopher Bell leads the Toyota contingent in second position, with Tyler Reddick right behind him in third. After his runner-up result last weekend in Phoenix, Denny Hamlin is now in seventh with Bubba Wallace (12th), John Hunter Nemechek (13th), Erik Jones (19th) and Chase Briscoe (20th) all inside the top-20 in the standings.
Bell goes for historic fourth straight win … With his triumph at Phoenix Raceway, Bell became the first driver in the Next Gen era to win three consecutive Cup Series races. He now chases another place in history, seeking to become the ninth driver in history to win four straight races and the first since Jimmie Johnson in 2007. Luckily for Bell, Las Vegas Motor Speedway is next on the calendar, where the Oklahoma native has three top-fives in the last four races there – including a runner-up finish and near victory last fall.
Hamlin back at favorable Las Vegas … Coming off his best result so far in 2025, Hamlin returns to Las Vegas Motor Speedway where he’s garnered success over the last several years. The driver of the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has three consecutive top-10s at Las Vegas and seven in the last nine races, including a win in the fall of 2021. In 26 career starts, Hamlin has 14 top-10 finishes at Las Vegas.
Jones looks to add to Las Vegas success … Like Hamlin in the Cup Series, Brandon Jones has had a successful run in the Xfinity Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in recent years. The driver of the No. 20 Toyota GR Supra for JGR has 11 top-10 finishes in 16 career starts, including eight of 10 starts in his previous four year run with JGR. Jones is also coming off a third-place finish at Phoenix last weekend, his best so far of 2025.
Gray eager to continue early season success … Taylor Gray is off to a strong start just four races into his Xfinity Series rookie campaign. The 19-year-old driver of the No. 54 GR Supra for JGR has three top-10 finishes so far this season, including a seventh-place result two weeks ago at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) and a sixth-place finish last weekend in Phoenix Raceway. He makes his second Xfinity Series start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend.
Heim, Friesen look to add to Las Vegas achievements … As the Truck Series returns to action, Corey Heim and Stewart Friesen are back at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where they have had successful runs of late. Heim, winner of the season-opener at Daytona, has top-five finishes in both of his starts at Las Vegas, including a third-place result last year. Friesen – who is coming off a runner-up result at Atlanta in February – has seven top-10s in 13 career Las Vegas starts, along with five top-fives.
About Toyota
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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.
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