Five Camry Drivers Advance to 10-Race Cup Series Playoffs
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 23, 2025) – Erik Jones led Toyota with a fifth-place result in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night.
With the regular season coming to a close, five Toyota drivers secured their spot in the 10-race NCS Playoffs, which begins next Sunday at Darlington Raceway. Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace all earned Playoff spots with wins during the regular season while Tyler Reddick clinched a Playoff berth on points in Saturday night’s race.
Jones and LEGACY MOTOR CLUB teammate John Hunter Nemechek both led the field during the 400-mile event with Nemechek going on to finish 17th. Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ty Gibbs was also in the mix and earned a top 10 finish with an eighth-place result.
Toyota GAZOO Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Daytona International Speedway
Race 26 of 36 – 400 miles, 160 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Ryan Blaney*
2nd, Daniel Suarez*
3rd, Justin Haley*
4th, Cole Custer*
5th, ERIK JONES
8th, TY GIBBS
13th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
17th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
21st, TYLER REDDICK
23rd, CHASE BRISCOE
25th, DENNY HAMLIN
37th, BUBBA WALLACE
40th, RILEY HERBST
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
ERIK JONES, No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB
Finishing Position: 5th
What could you have done differently to have a different outcome tonight?
“We were really good with the 7 (Justin Haley) and switched there on the restart and started working with the 5 (Kyle Larson). He was shoving really aggressive, and I got pretty out of shape and that was kind of it. I don’t know. I hate that it ended the way that it did. We put ourselves in a good spot and everything was going right to kind of the plan, and we just got out of shape. Glad it’s in one piece and we finished, but unfortunately fifth tonight doesn’t do much for us.”
Were you happy with your Toyota Camry tonight?
“We were good. I thought we had a lot of speed and drivability, pushed well and be pushed well but everybody gets shoving hard and the 5 (Kyle Larson) was shoving us super hard probably getting shoved from behind and just got me really out of shape. I’m glad we could hang onto it and at least finish, but just disappointed. Put ourselves in a great spot and executed well all day right to our plan and it just didn’t work out.”
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 13th
What is your expectation heading into the Playoffs?
“I’m looking forward to it. I’ve been looking forward to the Playoffs for a long time and just ready to put the pressure on and go to the Southern 500. It’s one of my favorite races of the year and I’m excited.”
TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 McDonald’s Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 21st
How much damage did your car have after the early incident?
“It was pretty destroyed. That was all my doing there at the start of the race. They bailed me out of it. It just seems like all year long we’ve been having to bail each other out of mistakes and bad choices.”
How do you feel going forward into the Playoffs and will the team need to reset?
“Yeah, but we have no Playoff points so it’s a negative reset. I don’t know. We’ll certainly need to be on top of it every round. We’re capable of it, we just haven’t done it.”
Which race are you looking most forward to in the Playoffs?
“Darlington has always been a really good race track for us and for myself as a driver. I feel like pretty much every time we’ve been there, we’ve been able to lead laps and contend and in the top-five. I think it will be very important to go in there and perform at the level we’ve been able to in the past.”
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 23rd
How was your race tonight?
“Obviously, not the finish that we wanted. We were upfront and in the mix at times. Just I feel like I didn’t do a great job of making decisions and got myself hung up a couple times. I need to go back and look at that and try to learn from it. I’m looking forward to going back racing next week at Darlington where you’re slipping and sliding around. Obviously, got to start our Playoffs on the right foot. I’m looking forward to it and see what we can do with this Bass Pro Shops Toyota.”
Are you looking forward to the Playoffs?
“Yeah, for sure. Outside of the last two weeks results, I feel like we’ve been one of the strongest cars week in and week out. Just got to go and execute the Playoffs. I know our speed will be there. It’s just a matter of putting it all together. If we do that, I think we’re as capable as anybody. We’ve got an uphill battle obviously with our points position, but I feel confident.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 King’s Hawaiian Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 25th
How frustrating of a night was it for you?
“Just couldn’t get the car fixed and it seemed like it got worse every time we tried to fix it. Not a good day for our King’s Hawaiian team. Now, we go and we reset and we race hard.”
Are you confident heading into the Playoffs with four wins this season?
“When we don’t crash, we’re up towards the front. Just here at Daytona for whatever reason, just have not seen the checkered in about 10 years – ever since the Next Gen car. Just unfortunate, wrong place wrong time but you’ll have that.”
BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 Columbia Sportswear Company Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 37th
Did you have any indication that you were three-wide there?
“I need to see a replay. Everything was happening pretty quick there. The hit from the 5 (Kyle Larson) shoved me down there and it was like I got shoved up by the 22 (Joey Logano) and the 12 (Ryan Blaney) moved up. He was trying to just move up and take the lane. But, oh well. I hate it. 20th or 22nd to the lead in a short amount of time. A huge shoutout to my crew on the 23 Columbia Toyota Camry. I hate it for Columbia. They came down here and I couldn’t get them a good result, so I hate that. I’ll take the blame for it, unfortunately. Just a crap deal. Everything was going too good too early to be all true, so something was bound to happen. I hate that for everyone involved in it but hopefully we can get the 45 (Tyler Reddick) in. All in all, we’re locked in, and we’ll get focused for Darlington.”
What did you see after seeing the replay?
“I still need to go back and watch it. Just kind of all came together in a blink of an eye and so I’ll take the blame for it. Unfortunately, a bunch of cars got tore up. I hate that our Toyota Camry got destroyed. The Columbia car looked so good and was fast. Got up to the lead fairly quick so I thought we were playing all of our cards right. But just in the blink of an eye, which is what happens here at Daytona, it can be all taken away from you. It is what it is. We’ll rerack, take Sunday off and go focus on Darlington.”
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