This Week in Motorsports: March 2 – 8, 2026
NCS/NOAPS: Phoenix Raceway – March 6-8
ARCA: Phoenix Raceway – March 5
PLANO, Texas (March 4, 2026) – NASCAR, along with the ARCA Menards Series, head out to Phoenix Raceway for the first of two trips this season. The weekend in the desert culminates with a 312-lap race for the Cup Series on Sunday.
NASCAR National Series – NCS/NOAPS
Reddick continues historic start … After a dominating performance at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) last Sunday, Tyler Reddick earned his third consecutive victory to begin the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, becoming the first driver in series history to accomplish such a feat. The triumph also made Reddick the second driver in the Next Gen era to win three straight races, joining Toyota teammate Christopher Bell, who did such last season. Reddick’s historic start to the season now has him leading the Cup Series points standings by 70 points over 23XI Racing teammate, Bubba Wallace. Reddick has also led 112 laps through these three races, 26 more than Wallace, who sits second in that statistical category.
Toyota seeks to match win streak milestone … With Reddick’s three straight wins to start the season, Toyota now sits just one win away from matching its consecutive victory streak record of four, which it has accomplished in four separate occasions in the Cup Series. The last time Toyota captured four straight victories was in 2017 where former Toyota drivers, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch, each captured two wins in the stretch – Truex at Chicagoland Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway and Busch at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Dover Motor Speedway. The two wins Truex captured in that stretch were among his eight victories in what became his championship-winning season.
Bell seeks Phoenix spring three-peat … Bell returns to Phoenix Raceway looking for his third consecutive win in the spring race after terrific performances the last two seasons. In 2024, the Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) driver led 50 laps on the way to victory and then followed it up by leading 105 of the 312 laps last season in a dominant win. The one-mile short oval has been one of Bell’s best tracks on his Cup Series career, with three top-fives and seven top-10s, along with those two victories, in 12 previous starts.
Jones, Gray look to continue strong Phoenix runs … JGR teammates in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Brandon Jones and Taylor Gray return to Phoenix in search of continued strong runs at the short oval. Jones comes into the weekend with a top-10 finish in three of the last four Phoenix races, as well as two consecutive top-fives. He owns a total of nine top-10s and five top fives, along with a win in 2020, in 20 previous starts at Phoenix. For Gray, he earned two top-10 finishes in his first two career starts at Phoenix last season, a sixth-place result in the spring race and a seventh finishing position in the season finale back in November.
Crews looks to build on debut … After leading five laps and finishing sixth at COTA last weekend in his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut, Brent Crews comes to Phoenix Raceway looking to continue that momentum, as he once again pilots the No. 19 Toyota GR Supra for JGR. At 17-years-and-11-months-old, the Toyota Development Driver became the youngest O’Reilly Series driver to lead laps since 1998 when he was out front at COTA last Saturday. He returns to Phoenix Raceway one year after capturing victory in his only ARCA Menards Series start at the one-mile oval, where he led all 165 laps from pole position to take home the checkered flag.
NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA Menards Series
Strong entries for Toyota in Phoenix … Team Toyota will field a strong set of entries for this weekend’s ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series West race at Phoenix Raceway, as the manufacturer searches for their third consecutive ARCA win in Phoenix and seventh in the last 10 races. Max Reaves rejoins JGR and the No. 18 Toyota Camry for his first ARCA start in 2026 after capturing three victories in both the national and East series last season. Nitro Motorsports will have three Toyota Development Drivers, Thomas Annunziata, Jade Avedisian and Isabella Robusto among their six entries on Thursday night, each seeking their first win of the year.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs nearly 48,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of more than 35 million cars and trucks at our 11 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
