This Week in Motorsports: October 5-11, 2026
NCS/NOAPS/NCTS: Charlotte Motor Speedway – October 9-11
PLANO, Texas (October 7, 2026) – TOYOTA RACING finishes up the stretch of intermediate track races with a home race for all of Toyota’s race teams – Charlotte Motor Speedway.
NASCAR National Series – NCS/NOAPS/NCTS
Briscoe plans to add another intermediate win… Chase Briscoe earned his second win of the season – and second on an intermediate track – with his dominating performance on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Indiana-native led 175 of 267 laps to add to his win at Chicagoland Speedway in July. Briscoe is looking for his first win at Charlotte but did win the pole for the 600-mile race in 2025, and led 34 laps there earlier this year.
Bell looks to add another Charlotte victory…Christopher Bell remains in the points picture after battling through no power-steering for the final 100 laps at Las Vegas. Charlotte is the perfect place to rebound. Bell won at Charlotte in 2024 and is riding a streak of three straight top-10 finishes there. He led 44 laps and was battling for the win before the rain came back in May before settling for second.
Toyota six of the top 10… Denny Hamlin and Bell lead six Toyota drivers in the top-10 in the championship battle. Hamlin continues to lead the Toyota contingent in second, with Bell one spot behind in third. Briscoe moved up to sixth after his Vegas win, with Tyler Reddick and Ty Gibbs in close pursuit. Bubba Wallace continues to hold down 10th overall.
Toyota closes in on manufacturer crown… After Briscoe won the 16th race for Toyota on Sunday, Team Toyota continues to close in on the manufacturers title as Toyota holds more than a three-race advantage over Chevrolet with five races remaining. Toyota is searching for its first Cup Series manufacturer title since 2019, and fourth overall.
Taylor Gray plans to extend top-10 streak… Taylor Gray has started the Chase with four consecutive top-10 finishes, including a fifth-place run at Las Vegas on Saturday. Gray is one of two Chase drivers to finish top-10 in every post-season race so far. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is a former pole winner at Charlotte Motor Speedway and is looking for his first top-10 finish there.
Double-duty for Crews… Toyota Development Driver Brent Crews will make two starts this weekend as he runs both the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota GR Supra, and the No. 1 TRICON Garage Tundra. Crews has been on a strong run recently in both series. On the O’Reilly side, Crews has three top-five finishes in the last four races. Despite four less starts than all of his competitors, his 11 top-five finishes are tied for third-best amongst all drivers. On the truck side, he is coming off a third-place finish in Kansas – his best-ever oval run in Truck competition.
Honeycutt looks to extend points lead… Toyota Development Driver Kaden Honeycutt has had a stellar start to the Chase. The Texan is coming off his first intermediate win – a dominating performance at Kansas Speedway – and comes to another intermediate track looking to extend his 37-point lead in the standings. Honeycutt finished a track best second in May but is three-for-three with top-10 finishes at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Currey back behind the wheel… Bayley Currey showed no rust as he climbed behind the wheel of the No. 5 TRICON Garage Tundra in Bristol, as he finished a career-best second last month. Currey, whose usual job is the Truck Chief of the No. 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, gets another shot at the victory this weekend in Charlotte. In five starts at the track, the Texas-native has a best finish of 13th.
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 approximately 48,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of more than 36 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.
