HAMLIN TOP TOYOTA IN 700th CAREER CUP START AT NASHVILLE
Hamlin leads five Toyota Camrys in the top-10
NASHVILLE (June 1, 2025) – Denny Hamlin had a strong run in his 700th NASCAR Cup Series start, as the Virginia-native won the first stage, led five times for 79 laps and scored the top-finish for Toyota in third. With the finish, Hamlin moved up to fourth in the point standings.
It was a solid night for Team Toyota as five Toyota Camry drivers, and all three Toyota partner teams, finished inside the top-10 – Hamlin (third), Bubba Wallace (sixth), Erik Jones (seventh), Tyler Reddick (ninth) and Christopher Bell (10th).
Toyota GAZOO Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Nashville Superspeedway
Race 14 of 36 – 399 miles, 300 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Ryan Blaney*
2nd, Carson Hocevar*
3rd, DENNY HAMLIN
4th, Joey Logano*
5th, William Bryon*
6th, BUBBA WALLACE
7th, ERIK JONES
9th, TYLER REDDICK
10th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
17th, CHASE BRISCOE
24th, RILEY HERBST
27th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
31st, TY GIBBS
37th, COREY HEIM
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Progressive Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd
What more did you need tonight?
“We just needed to be a little bit faster there at the end. The 12 (Ryan Blaney) had exceptional long run speed there – just couldn’t hang with him after about 40 laps on a set of tires. They just had a lot of speed. We were just kind of next best there with our Progressive Camry, so we just went long there to kind of gain a tire advantage just in case a caution came out – we line up right behind them if we don’t pit for tires, and then in the end, the track – just a weird thing – everyone went to the bottom, and it created a lot of dust for the middle and top grooves, and we couldn’t get off of the bottom – so everyone just kind of freight trained that last 30 laps.”
BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 Chumba Casino Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 6th
How frustrating was getting that penalty early?
“It was frustrating because I knew that we were fast. It was nice to kind of methodically work our way through the field and make passes. I’ll never understand strategy. I thought we were pitting into 12th, and they were like that is fifth and fourth in front of you, and I was like how did that happen? All-in-all, a good night for our Chumba Casino Camry. Proud to get Chumba Casino a good run – they deserve it. Brand new partner. They were actually here this weekend, all the way from Australia, so proud to do them a solid. We are going to Michigan.”
ERIK JONES, No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB
Finishing Position: 7th
Great night, can you tell us about your race?
“A great day. Ran really strong, at times a top-five car. We lost it a little bit in the end with the Dollar Tree Camry, but two good weeks, so proud of that, and hopefully more to come at Michigan.”
Where is the speed coming from?
“I think our mile-and-a-half stuff has been pretty good all year. I feel like it is a matter of we have to put it together. Today was a good day of putting it together. We didn’t have any mistakes. We had good pit stops. It just is cleaning everything up, and continuing to improve on these cars. Like at the end there, that was all we had. Our balance was pretty good, so we still need to get a little faster. We’ve done a great job. We are getting there. We are optimizing the speed. The mile-and-a-halves are our strong suit, so hoping we have more of it in Michigan. That would be a fun one to be up front again.”
COREY HEIM, No. 67 Chief’s Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 37th
What happened?
“I’m pretty sure I just kind of cleared myself across the nose of the 6 (Brad Keselowski). A little bit too desperate. We were moving forward really quick and I had a lot of confidence in my Chief’s Camry and thought I could clear him by the time I got to the wall, and just used too much race track, so sorry to those guys. It looks like I kind of ruined his day too and never want to do that. Just can’t say enough about the speed we had. I think if we didn’t start in 33rd, we could have been battling in the top-10. A lot of positives just screwed it up on my part. Huge thank you to 23XI, Toyota, Chief’s for coming on board. Definitely had a lot of fun, and looking forward to doing again.”
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.
