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Toyota Gazoo Racing North America NHRA Sonoma Post-Race Report – 07.30.23

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Official Release
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ASHLEY, TODD COMPLETE TOYOTA DOUBLE IN SONOMA
Justin Ashley takes back the points lead with series-leading fifth win of the season

SONOMA, Calif. (July 30, 2023) – Justin Ashley continued his incredible season as the New York-native earned his fifth win this season in just 12 events as he defeated fellow Toyota driver Antron Brown in the final round. With the victory, Ashley went back around Steve Torrence to the top of the point standings by 33 points with three races to go in the regular season.

In Funny Car, J.R. Todd earned his first victory since 2021 and first win the Toyota GR Supra as he bested Chad Green in the final round at Sonoma. Todd, who scored his first Funny Car victory at the track in 2017, continued his special history at the facility as the former world champion also owns two Top Fuel triumphs at the track.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series
Sonoma Raceway
Race 12 of 21

TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINISHING POSITIONS

NameCarFinal ResultRound-by-Round
Justin AshleyPhillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel DragsterWinnerW. 3.707 v. 3.750(D. Kalitta) W. 3.740 v. 3.761(A. Prock) W. 3.768 v. 3.793(J. Hart) W. 3.778 v. 3.787(A. Brown)
Antron BrownMatco Tools Toyota Top Fuel DragsterFinalistW. 3.744 v. 3.717(M. Salinas) W. 4.034 v. 6.321(B. Force) W. 3.794 v. 3.810(S. Torrence) L. 3.787 v. 3.778(J. Ashley)
Steve TorrenceCapco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel DragsterSemi-FinalsW. 3.751 v. 3.878(R. August Jr.) W. No Time – Mechanical v. BYE L. 3.810 v. 3.794(A. Brown)
Shawn LangdonKalitta Air Careers Toyota Top Fuel DragsterSecond RoundW. 3.755 v. 3.746(L. Pruett) L. 4.697 v. 3.793(J. Hart)
Doug KalittaMac Tools Toyota Top Fuel DragsterFirst RoundL. 3.750 v. 3.707(J. Ashley)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR FINISHING POSITIONS

NameCarFinal ResultRound-by-Round
J.R. ToddDHL Toyota GR Supra Funny CarWinnerW. 3.958 v. 3.980(B. Alexander) W. 3.985 v. 4.110 (B. Tasca III) W. 3.965 v. 3.999 (M. Hagan) W. 3.972 v. 4.039(C. Green)
Ron CappsNAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra Funny CarSemi-FinalsW. 4.602 v. No Run(T. Gibbons) W. 4.018 v. 4.577 (R. Hight) L. 4.013 v. 3.991(C. Green)
Alexis DeJoriaBandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny CarFirst RoundL. Foul – Redlight v. 3.991(P. Lee)

TOYOTA QUOTES

JUSTIN ASHLEY, Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Maynard Ashley Racing

TF Final Result: Winner

Can you talk about your race?

“It was tough. Especially in Top Fuel now, competition is so tough, and so hard. It really feels like four final rounds, every time you get up there – the margin of error is so small. Looking at the ladder and seeing as we advance all of the opponents that would come next, you’ve got to think that it is going to take a real team effort to win a race this weekend. It did. Mike Green and Tommy DeLago (crew chiefs) had an incredible raceday as they always do. We ran good in qualifying. We were better than our qualifying position showed. We had a great car on raceday.”

Could you see Antron Brown? It was a close race.

“Yeah, I couldn’t that time. Sometimes, I can see them, or I can hear them. That time – maybe because it was a final round and I was dialed in, I didn’t see him or hear him or anything. I knew it was going to be a close race no matter what. Most of the time when we line up, it is a really close race. You have to credit Antron (Brown) and his team. I didn’t know where he was. I was trying to do everything I could to stay focused on my point ahead in my lane. Happy to win such a close race and that is the way to close out a race like that, a weekend like this in Sonoma Raceway.”

J.R. TODD, DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Kalitta Motorsports

FC Final Result: Winner

Can you summarize what this win means?

“It has been a long road to get here. We started off with a brand-new combination at the beginning of the season, and it wasn’t dumb luck that we did there in Gainesville. We tested there for almost a week – preseason testing and then testing right before the race, and ran well during the race there, and then had the problems in Pomona. Todd (Smith, crew chief) said before the problems we had that it was going to take him a while to get a handle on this new tuneup, and the problems just set that back even further. We were just trying to recoup everything after Pomona, so now I feel like he and Jon-O (Jon Oberhofer, co-crew chief) are getting a good handle on things and just are fine tuning it and the car is responding, and the consistency is coming around. When you are going down the track like you are, it gives them more confidence and a better ability to tune it.”

What is your current take on the Funny Car class?

“I keep saying that I think that Funny Car is the toughest class in the sport. From the top to the bottom anyone can win, and we need to work on qualifying better. We definitely don’t do ourselves any favors going into Sunday – it seems like we are always in that seventh to 10 spot, which sets you up to be second-to-last or last pair first round, and when that happens you get the quick turnaround with these live TV deals, where if you have oil downs in front of you – that just makes it less time to service the thing. Guys like (Matt) Hagan), Robert (Hight) and (Ron) Capps – I feel like they set the bar high for everybody. They win a lot, and they make it look easy, but it is not easy. It is definitely not easy. You can go through guys like that and have a trophy at the end of the day, you have to take advantage of it, because when you go two-plus years without winning one of these things, you don’t know if it is going to happen again.”

What is it about Sonoma?

“There is no reason. It’s not like I try harder or anything like that. I’ve been fortunate to be with good teams in the past. It’s my favorite track on the tour; I say that when we’re not here, and I mean it. I love coming here. I got to share the winner’s circle with Eric Medlen here, and anytime you can come back here and win – it’s just extra special. To do it in Scott Kalitta’s car, and in Eric Medlen country, it is pretty magical. It’s definitely my favorite track on tour. I love Sonoma and Napa Valley. I love wine tasting and things like that, and to get the special trophy along with the Wally – it’s cool things like that, that makes this place special.”

What does mean to win in the Supra body?

“I was getting really mad. I was the only ones who hadn’t won in it. We did a lot of r&d and testing with it, and I feel like we got it all ironed out for (Ron) Capps to go out there and beat it with us, week-in and week-out with it. To finally break through and hold up our end, means a lot. I can’t thank Slugger (Labbe) and everybody at Toyota Gazoo Racing North America enough for giving us the parts and pieces and the help to go out and compete with these teams. It means a lot.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 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 more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th 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 24 electrified options.

NHRA AT SONOMA: Team Chevy Post Race Recap

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Official Release
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CHEVROLET IN NHRA
2023 DENSO NHRA SONOMA NATIONALS
SONOMA RACEWAY
SONOMA, CALIFORNIA
TEAM CHEVY RACE REPORT
JULY 30, 2023

TEAM CHEVY AND JOHN FORCE RACING FACE TRICKY TRACK IN SONOMA

  • Austin Prock and Brittany Force faced Round 2 elimination after moving from Round 1 on opposite ends of the ladder, with Prock falling to Justin Ashley and B. Force to Antron Brown.
  • In Funny Car, Robert Hight faced an early elimination by Ron Capps after defeating team owner and teammate John Force in Round 1.
  • Securing his second career Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier, Austin Prock secured the top position on the Sonoma Nationals ladder with his Friday run of 3.704 ET at 331.36 MPH.
  • Prock (Top Fuel) went provisional No. 1 qualifier Friday night after two rounds of qualifying with his pass of 3.704 ET at 331.36 MPH.

SONOMA, California (July 30, 2023) – Battling a tricky track and fluctuating water grain conditions along with tough luck, it was an early day for the Chevrolet-supported nitro teams of John Force Racing at this year’s DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.

After securing his second career Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier and first for the 2023 NHRA season, Austin Prock, driver of the Montana Brands/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster, rocketed to the top spot on the ladder with his Friday pass of 3.704 ET at 331.36 MPH holding through the end of Saturday’s qualifying sessions. While going three-for-three on No. 1 qualifiers during the three stops on NHRA’s Western Swing, (Brittany Force, Top Fuel – Denver, John Force, Funny Car – Seattle, Austin Prock, Top Fuel – Sonoma), the Sonoma Nationals looked to be a promising turnaround for the team.

Prock noted after qualifying Saturday that he’s “really proud of this team, this goes out to my Montana Brand boys. These No. 1 qualifiers are hard to come by, only my second in three years. It’s all about the race team, your crew chiefs and crew outdid everyone else out here and that’s very special. This is the first No. 1 for Chris Cunningham as a Top Fuel crew chief and he and Joe Barlam are really working well together.”

Qualifying No. 9, and on the opposite side of the Sonoma Nationals ladder, Prock’s teammate Brittany Force, driver of the Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster, secured her race day position facing Clay Millican in Round 1 with her Friday pass of 3.771 ET at 323.58 MPH. With both Prock and B. Force defeating their competitors in Round 1, both Top Fuel pilots found their days were done early in Round 2 after both faced elimination.

“We closed out the final race of the Western Swing here in Sonoma,” said B. Force. “John Force Racing swept No. 1 qualifiers, which is impressive. I was No. 1 in Denver, my dad was No. 1 in Seattle, and Austin was No. 1 here in Sonoma. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the job done today, and we weren’t able to defend the win from last year. We got beat in the second round, but we moved up one in the points to third and we have a week off to get this car figured out before we go to the next one in Topeka, Kansas.”

Unfortunately for Robert Hight, driver of the Cornwell Tools/AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car and teammate/team owner John Force, driver of the PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, who qualified No. 6 and No. 11 respectively, kicked off the Sunday race day competing against each other on either side of the Sonoma Raceway lanes. After Hight moved to Round 2, he faced off against defending Funny Car champion Ron Capps, but after smoking the tires at half-track, he also faced a premature ending to his Sonoma Nationals race day.

“There’s nothing I could have done (different racing against Ron Capps), Hight said. “The car smoked the tires. We’re still looking for consistency with this new clutch setup. This is the time of the year we always say we better have our act together because this crazy Countdown is coming up pretty quick. But, the good news is we head to Norwalk next weekend for the (Night Under Fire) match race and we’re going to do some testing during the day. We’re not giving up. This Cornwell car will be in the Winner’s Circle soon. The car is close, it’s very close.”

The Chevrolet Nitro and Pro Stock, teams next head to Topeka, Kan. for the 2023 Menards NHRA Nationals Presented by PetArmor at Heartland Motorsports Park Aug. 11-13, 2023. Broadcast of Sunday’s eliminations air live at 3 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1).

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING:

Austin Prock, driver of the Montana Brands/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster for John Force Racing:

“Definitely not the Sunday this Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team thought we’d have. We were really confident heading into today and after a good run in the first round bye we felt good. It was another wrong place at the wrong time situation, ran into it in Seattle against Brittany in the first round and again today against Justin Ashley in the quarterfinals. Would have beat anyone else that round. That’s drag racing. It’s sucks but we’ll be back at it in a week and a half and I’ll be chomping at the bit to get back in this hot rod. I’m proud of this team and the work they’re putting in, we’re due for another one, it’s coming.”

Brittany Force, driver of the Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pack Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster for John Force Racing:

“We closed out the final race of the Western Swing here in Sonoma. John Force Racing swept No. 1 qualifiers, which is impressive. I was No. 1 in Denver, my dad was No. 1 in Seattle, and Austin was No. 1 here in Sonoma. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the job done today, and we weren’t able to defend the win from last year. We got beat in the second round, but we moved up one in the points to third and we have a week off to get this car figured out before we go to the next one in Topeka, Kansas.”

On not notching a win just yet this season…

“It’s not a concern. We’re not lost. Our team knows what we’re doing, and it’s just been slow for us. We’ve made a lot of changes and we will be there for the final six.”

Robert Hight, driver of the Cornwell Tools/AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car for John Force Racing:

“It was a tough weekend. Didn’t qualify great but the track was difficult. Glad NHRA was able to get it evened out today but disappointed we weren’t able to take advantage of it. Jimmy Prock and this Cornwell Tools team are working hard. It’ll come. We just need to keep putting the work in and get that consistency. We’ve got several races before the Countdown and a lot can happen in those races. We’ll just have to see. It was a great crowd out here, this is my hometown track so it was nice to have family here, just sorry we couldn’t get the job done.”

John Force, driver of the PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car for John Force Racing:

“Never ideal to be racing Robert (Hight) in the other lane unless it’s in the finals. It’s disappointing but at least it guaranteed one of us would be in the second round. Been a challenging couple of races but we’ll be okay. Just a couple of races left until the Countdown, so we’ll move on to the next one and hope for better.”

Round 1 Recap:

Top Fuel:

No. 1 Austin Prock races to a run of 3.742 ET at 330.72 MPH on a bye run.
No. 9 Brittany Force defeated No. 6 Clay Millican with her pass of 3.703 ET at 334.57 MPH to Millican’s 3.786 ET at 301.07 MPH.

Funny Car:

No. 8 Robert Hight defeated No. 11 John Force with his pass of 3.904 ET at 331.53 MPH to J. Force’s 4.845 ET at 163.77 MPH after getting out of the groove and losing traction.

Round 2 Recap:

Top Fuel:

B. Force is defeated by Antron Brown after smoking the tires on her run.
A. Prock is defeated by Justin Ashley after Ashley goes 3.740 ET at 327.03 MPH to Prock’s 3.761 ET at 329.10 MPH.

Funny Car:

Hight is defeated by Ron Capps after smoking the tires at half-track to Capps’ 4.018 ET at 316.90 MPH run.

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes – Buescher Clinches Playoff Berth With Richmond Cup Victory (7.30.23)

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Official Release
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Cook Out 400| Sunday, July 30, 2023

CHRIS BUESCHER SECURES PLAYOFF BERTH WITH RICHMOND WIN

  • Chris Buescher won his first race of the season and third overall with today’s victory.
  • The win is the 139th NASCAR Cup Series triumph for car owner Jack Roush and second under the Roush Fenway Keselowski banner.
  • Today’s win is Ford’s 723rd all-time in NASCAR Cup Series competition.

Ford Finishing Results:
1st – Chris Buescher
4th – Joey Logano
5th – Ryan Preece
6th – Brad Keselowski
8th – Aric Almirola
10th – Kevin Harvick
11th – Chase Briscoe
14th – Ryan Blaney
22nd – Michael McDowell
25th – Todd Gilliland
26th – Austin Cindric
29th – Ryan Newman
31st – Harrison Burton
35th – JJ Yeley

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW – WHEN THE CAUTION CAME OUT TAKE US THROUGH YOUR EMOTIONS. “I don’t get too stirred up most of the time (laughing). I was sitting there and we had a nice easy lead going there. I was taking care of it and then shifting and about the time Scott came on the radio and said, ‘Let’s work it just like that. Keep it smooth.’ I don’t think he even got off the button and, caution.’ So, I knew it was gonna take some work to get back going, but our Fastenal Mustang was so good firing off today, so good in practice. I didn’t get the job done in qualifying. I had to pass a bunch of cars today and have some great strategy and some great pit stops. Everybody at RFK Racing who has worked so hard to get us to this point. This is awesome. I knew that last restart was gonna be tough, but I knew we had the speed in this thing.”

WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS SUMMER RACE AT RICHMOND THAT FITS YOU SO WELL? “I love it when it gets hot and slick out here. I like searching for grip. I like that line moving around and it made it fun. I felt like the spring race we were pretty decent, but didn’t have everything go our way. That was just textbook execution from everybody. We had a clean day, good strategy, good pit stops, good choices and that got us here to Victory Lane with our Fastenal Mustang. I just feel that the hot, slick weather lets us move around and chase what we need to have that speed in our race cars.”

HOW WOULD YOU EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE IN QUALIYING AND THE RACE? “It might have been me (laughing). I won’t take the credit today. That was a ton of other people working together. We had a little bit of a miss in qualifying and group choice was bad luck of the draw, but at the end of the day it put us in a tough spot to start the day and to be in victory lane that makes it even more special.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang – “I’m happy for Chris. We’re incrementally building. It was a solid day for both teams here at RFK. I’m happy for everybody that works on these teams, everybody that supports us with Fastenal and Ford and Build Subs. We led a lot of laps with both cars. Neither of our cars started up front and drove through and great job with the pit crews and just a lot to be proud of today. Of course, I want to win as a driver, but I’m just happy we’re as competitive as we are and we just want to keep building and keep getting more competitive every week.”

IS THIS A STATEMENT THAT YOU GUYS ARE MAKING PROGESS? “One win is good, but you get three or four or five and then you feel a lot better. It sure beats not having any at all, but we want to keep going. It’s nice to have one car locked in the playoffs. We need to get both cars locked in the playoffs. We have a good points gap, but we want wins and this is where we need to be.”

MICHIGAN IS NEXT WEEK. DO YOU HAVE THAT CIRCLED? “Yeah, Michigan has always been a great track for what was Roush and then Roush Fenway and hopefully it will be that way again for RFK. We know it’s not gonna be easy. There’s a lot of great competition there, but it’s nice going in there with a win under your belt.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang – “We weren’t that bad with the Shell-Pennzoil Mustang, just a little bit off from the best cars. Really couldn’t hang. If you put us at fifth, we could probably hang at fifth, but just qualifying as poorly as we did, slowly getting our way up there, a couple setbacks during the race, kind of made us hang around 7th and 10th place range for a little bit. I knew we just had to get there. Paul did a good job. Must have been a special set of tires. I don’t know, but it fired off pretty good and was able to roll the outside of two lanes there. When Denny screwed up and slid up, got me down the middle and I was like, ‘Maybe this is okay,’ and then it allowed the 8 to get back to the outside. We gave up a spot there. I saw him. I got excited. I was like, I’m also there. I need one more caution. It wasn’t fun (smiling).”

WHAT ABOUT THE FORD PERFORMANCE TODAY? “I think where our weaknesses were hidden today by the lack of grip in the racetrack. Mechanical grip seems to come in and it’s hard to put the power down as it is, so I think just where our weaknesses are were masked and I’m glad Chris was able to capitalize on it and a Ford got in Victory Lane. We need to get more of them in there, but it’s nice to see one there in Victory Lane right now.”

RYAN PREECE, No. 41 United Rentals Ford Mustang – “My confidence was I’ve seen what Chad has given here in year’s past and we talked a lot about what we were gonna need and I said, ‘Man, if you can get me to roll the center, I’ll deal with loose in,’ so that’s what he gave me today and this United Rentals Ford Mustang was pretty stout. Fifth, we lined up in that second row at the end, but we run more like this we’re gonna have more opportunities to challenge for wins.”

HOW BIG WAS THIS FOR YOUR CONFIDENCE, BUT FOR TEAM MORALE? “We all did (run well). I think that’s just a product of working hard. Sitting and twiddling your thumbs isn’t gonna get you the results that you really want. I know that from racing, so we’ve just been working hard and trying to find what I like, find what Aric likes, Kevin likes, Chase likes and I feel like we’re all trending in that direction.”

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang – “It was a strong day. I don’t know that we had anything for the 17 or the 6. They were really good, but I could maintain and after about 55 laps I think we were arguably the best car on the racetrack from that point on. The first run it went 70 laps and from like lap 50 to 70 I passed a ton of cars and unfortunately in those next few stages the runs aren’t as long. They’re only 45-50 laps when you break them up into three and I didn’t have enough of a long run to pass a lot of cars like I did previous. I’m frustrated that I bottomed out getting on to the apron coming to pit road under the green flag there and kind of took off in a four-wheel slide and barely clipped the orange box there with my right side tires. I’m frustrated. That’s a silly mistake. You can’t make those mistakes, but, all in all, it was a great day. I had a great Smithfield Ford Mustang. I’m really proud of our guys. We’ve been bringing some really good race cars to the racetrack lately, so we’ll see. We’ve got a few more here to try and get one.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang – “Overall, it was a decent day. Our qualifying effort hurt us more than I thought it was going to. I thought our car was really good on a long run, but just could never get the track position to go with it. It seemed like toward the end of the run we would be better than a lot of guys, but were never better enough to pass them. Overall, I thought our car was good, but just needed a little bit more speed to finish it off. With how our last couple of months have gone it’s definitely nice to have another solid run. It seems like all the short tracks we can always run good, it’s just the big tracks that we kind of struggle on so hopefully we can apply something we learned today for Michigan and move on.”

Toyota Racing – NCS Richmond Post-Race Report – 07.30.23

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Official Release
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HAMLIN FINISHES RUNNER-UP IN HOME RACE
Hamlin moves up to second in the standings with second consecutive podium result

RICHMOND, Va. (July 30, 2023) – Denny Hamlin earned a runner-up finish at his home track in Richmond, Virginia on Sunday afternoon to lead Toyota. With the finish, Hamlin moved up to second in the point standings, 39 points behind his teammate Martin Truex Jr. All six Toyota Camry TRD’s finished inside the top-20 today.

Bubba Wallace (12th) extended his points advantage above the Playoff cutline to 54 points, while Ty Gibbs (15th) closed to 18 points behind the final spot as he moved up to 17th in the standings.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Richmond Raceway
Race 22 of 36 – 300 miles, 400 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Chris Buescher*
2nd, DENNY HAMLIN
3rd, Kyle Busch*
4th, Joey Logano*
5th, Ryan Preece*
7th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
12th, BUBBA WALLACE
15th, TY GIBBS
16th, TYLER REDDICK
20th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Mavis Tires & Brakes Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

Can you take us through your day and the last laps?

“The whole last couple laps were not good on my end. I got a bad restart. I spun them coming to the green. Kyle (Busch) actually gave me a really good push down the front straightaway to get me going. I got great run through (turns) one and two. I just needed to be beside him. I had to recover too much ground from what I lost on the front stretch. Almost got to the outside, and then on turn four, almost got to the outside again, and then in turn one, I was like I’m just going to ship it in there and try to get to the outside one more time and I just carried way too much speed and locked up the left front tires. Happy for Chris (Buescher) that team really deserved it too. It was going to be luck for us to get a caution to get a second chance to go at him there. They deserved it. RFK, hats off to them. I know how hard they’ve worked to get to this point. Proud of them, and proud of this whole Mavis Toyota team to get to this second-place finish.”

It did look like there may have been some contact with you and Kyle Larson after he got come fresh tires. Can you give us your take on that?

“I think he was having a frustrating day. I understand that it’s all good.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 7th

You were on a different strategy all day. How hard was it to keep track of that in the seat?

“It was tough – honestly, the whole day was tough. This place is never easy, but I felt like as loose as we were all day, that was a handful. It was so on edge. It was really, really difficult to drive and make two laps the same. We just really had to battle. Good job by the guys to do what they did to come up with that strategy. I was flipping out because I didn’t know what was going on. I couldn’t hear James (Small, crew chief) again on the radio. Just really a hard fought, battle of a day for our Bass Pro Shops Camry. I thought we were probably going to run fifth there without the caution. We were just so bad on the short runs today, for whatever reason, just luckily only lost two spots there at the end. All-in-all, a decent day, but man, it was tough.”

How difficult was this race physically?

“It was tough. It was definitely really, really hot. It felt longer than 400 laps. I’ll be honest, when we got to the end of stage two – I thought there was no way. I thought that was the checkered flag (laughter). It just felt really, really long. My face felt hot because the helmet blower, it sucks cool air from the outside – and it just felt like a hair dryer. My cheek feels like its sunburned. It’s very, very hot, but it is what it is. We hung on. My shoulder hurts more than anything just from how loose I was all day. I’ll work that out, but the heat wasn’t too bad other than on my face.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 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 more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th 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 24 electrified options.

CHEVROLET NCS AT RICHMOND 2: Post-Race Report

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Official Release
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NASCAR CUP SERIES
RICHMOND RACEWAY
COOK OUT 400
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
JULY 30, 2023

Richard Childress Racing Teammates Lead Chevrolet with Top-10 Finishes at Richmond

 TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER

3rd Kyle Busch, No. 8 X World Wallet Camaro ZL1
9th Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Camaro ZL1

TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER

  1. Chris Buescher (Ford)
  2. Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
  3. Kyle Busch (Chevrolet)
  4. Joey Logano (Ford)
  5. Ryan Preece (Ford)

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Michigan International Speedway with the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday, August , at 2:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

 
STAGE ONE:

· Kyle Busch, the winningest NASCAR Cup Series driver at Richmond Raceway, led the field to the green in today’s Cook Out 400 – Busch’s tenth top-10 start of the 2023 season.

· Leading the Bowtie brigade from the third position at the midway point of Stage One – Busch reported to the No. 8 X World Wallet Camaro ZL1 team that he’s fighting loose conditions all the way through turns one and two, with tight conditions while rolling the center through turns three and four.

· With Stage One running caution free, Chase Elliott maintained a top-10 running position through the race’s first 70 laps – leading Chevrolet to the green-white checkered flag from the fourth position.

· Team Chevy Stage One: Top-10

4th Chase Elliott, No. 9 UniFirst Camaro ZL1

7th William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1

STAGE TWO:

· Following a top-five finish in Stage One, crew chief Alan Gustafson called Elliott down pit road for the team’s first stop of the day for four tires and fuel. The No. 9 UniFirst Camaro ZL1 was the fourth car off pit road for the start of Stage Two.

· Running in the top-five through the first-half of Stage Two, Elliott brought his Camaro ZL1 to pit road on lap 121 for four tires, fuel and an adjustment while trying to manage his rear tires.

· Differing strategies among the leaders as the race reached the second-half of Stage Two, some teams opted to split the stage into a two-stop pit strategy.

· Continuing to lead Chevrolet from the tenth position, the second green-flag pit cycle of Stage Two began with Elliott returning to pit road on lap 174 for another set of four tires, fuel and an adjustment.

· Falling out of the top-10 after continuing to battle loose conditions on his No. 8 X World Wallet Camaro ZL1, crew chief Randall Burnett continued to go to work on Busch’s Camaro ZL1. After a set of adjustments during the two-stop, green-flag pit cycle, Busch returned to the top-10 in the closing laps of Stage Two.

· Busch worked his way up into the sixth position to lead Chevrolet to the end of Stage Two.

· Happy with the last two adjustments made to his Camaro ZL1, Busch hit pit road for a scheduled stop under the stage break – taking four tires and fuel; lining up in the sixth position to start the final stage.

FINAL STAGE / POST-RACE NOTES:

· Taking the green flag with 140 laps remaining, Busch remained steady between the sixth- and seventh- positions when another round of green-flag pit stops began. Busch brought his Camaro ZL1 to pit road on for a scheduled stop – cycling back into the top-10 with 100 laps to go.

· Busch’s Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Dillon entered the top-10 as the team prepared for its final scheduled green-flag pit stop of the race. Dillon reported the air pressure adjustment made on his Camaro ZL1 on the previous pit stop was starting to come to him, but was still fighting tight driving conditions when he hit pit road with 62 laps to go.

· With 25 laps to go, Busch continued to climb the leaderboard to the fourth position – holding onto the position until the race’s only natural caution fell with 10 laps remaining.

· With the field coming down pit road under caution, the No. 8 X World Wallet Camaro ZL1 pit crew powered off a fast four-tire and fuel stop – picking up one spot during the race off pit road. At the choose cone, Busch elected to take the outside lane of row two to take the green flag with three laps to go.

· In the final sprint to the checkered flag, Busch led Chevrolet with a third-place finish in his No. 8 X World Wallet Camaro ZL1 – his 19th career NASCAR Cup Series top-five finish at Richmond Raceway.

· With 22 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series races complete, Chevrolet continues to lead the series in wins (12), top-fives (49), top-10s (93), stage wins (18) and laps led (2,344).

 
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 X WORLD WALLET CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 3rd

Busch on his third-place finish at Richmond Raceway:

“We certainly fought hard on the long runs. It was after about lap 50 that we really dropped off and fell off. But the first 50 laps, we could hang on and do OK. Really appreciate the No. 8 Chevy team, X World Wallet, Netspend, Chevrolet. We just had a really good day on pit road and just a solid effort. We needed something like this to be solid on the short-tracks and to kind of get our momentum back heading in the right direction. Happy with what we’ve got right here.

Thank you to RCR, ECR especially. I ran the heck out of this engine today. I think I spent most of the race in fourth gear, where about everybody else was fifth gear. It just helped me the way I was driving and it got us a good, third-place finish.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS CLUB CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 9th

Dillon on his top-10 finish at Richmond Raceway:

“It was a solid race for us all day. We weren’t that great in the beginning and we just kind of tuned on it. We got really good at the end of Stage Two and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevy was pretty solid. I want to thank all of our partners. Last week was tough – I feel like that should have been two top-10’s in a row, but we’ll take it. We’ve had a rough year all-in-all, but to get a top-10 here at Richmond (Raceway), it means the world.”

At one point, you thought maybe they went the wrong way on adjustments and your crew chief Keith (Rodden) said – Hey, I told you it would come back, right?

“Yeah, it just didn’t fire-off like it had when we got the track position we needed. In the middle of the run, it would really go, but by that time, it was kind of over. I don’t know if the track tightened up for us a little bit as we went. We’d hit it in the middle, but by the end, I was really proud of that last restart. It was a good one.”

 
 

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

GMG Racing Scores Three Top-Five Class Finishes in IMSA Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America Competition at Road America

By
Official Release
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ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin (July 30, 2023) – GMG Racing and team drivers Kyle Washington and Todd Parriott turned in three top-five results in class during the pair of IMSA Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America races at Road America, part of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race weekend. Washington drove the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and Parriott competed in the No. 89 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in the Carrera Cup Pro-Am class.

After racing in street course events at the Grand Prix of Long Beach and Grand Prix of Miami, the freshly repaved 4.048-mile Road America road course marked the first permanent, natural terrain road course starts of the season for GMG Racing within Carrera Cup competition. As such, Washington and Parriott spent Thursday’s two practice sessions and Friday’s single qualifying session gaining valuable laps and experience on the new surface and improved their lap times by several seconds from session-to-session.

“In any type of competition, or sport, when you play against the best it elevates your game,” said James Sofronas, GMG Racing Principal and Founder. “Returning to Porsche Carrera Cup after a few races away, you know you’re going to be pushed.”

In Friday’s opening round of the weekend, Washington and Parriott rolled off from seventh and eighth in Pro-Am. Parriott recovered quickly after another competitor turned him around at the first corner. Washington used heads-up driving to gain three positions from seventh to fourth by the end of the second lap, passing another car and snaking through an incident at the Kink.

That incident brought out a red flag that lasted more than 20 minutes of the 40-minute sprint race and led to a restart. Washington lost a spot after the restart after going off at Turn 6 of the 14-turn track, but still secured his second top-five finish of the season in fifth place. Parriott secured a season-best result of sixth place. Both drivers delivered consistent lap time improvement in the three-lap sprint to the finish.

Washington described his viewpoint as he navigated the incident in front of him on Friday, drawing on the experience gained from similar driving to get up to a podium in Miami.

“It looked chaotic, but I carved my way through it, trying to avoid where the debris was littered all over the track,” Washington said. “Even during the red flag, I was planning how to go from fourth to third. While I was off at Turn 6, I learned from the great GMG Racing team and from the data I saw later, I was in the wrong gear. It was a good learning experience for Saturday and when we come back here in a few weeks.”

Saturday’s second round started with cooler temperatures and more incident evasion. Parriott leapt from sixth on the grid to fourth ahead of Washington in fifth as several cars ran into problems on the opening lap. Trouble struck both drivers in Turn 14 with 15 minutes remaining in the race, forcing them into the pits for repairs. Parriott was able to resume on course and continue on to a season-best fourth place finish, with Washington able to bank a second consecutive top-five result for the weekend, and third of the season.

For Parriott, finishing both races and continuing his methodical development in his first-year racing with GMG Racing was key as he makes gains throughout the season.

“All the class drivers are fast, from top young drivers at the front of the field to our Pro-Am class competitors and down to the Am class drivers,” Sofronas said. “There’s a lot to aspire to when you race here and it helps these guys really focus, so we’re thankful to bring home these top-five results.”

Part of the GMG Racing plan at Road America in Carrera Cup competition was to gain additional knowledge ahead of the SRO America weekend held at the same track August 18 – 20, 2023. Specific details regarding GMG Racing entries fielded across multiple SRO America race series follow in the near future.

About GMG Racing: Founded in 2001, GMG Racing quickly established itself as North America’s premier performance tuning facility. What began as a small 1,200 sq. ft. shop, maintaining two race cars, has grown into a 30,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art performance tuning, racing and service facility located in Santa Ana, California in Orange County and with a trackside motorsports facility at 28,000 sq. ft. currently being built at The Thermal Club. The staff, attention to detail, and passion are what make GMG the choice of professionals and enthusiasts worldwide. GMG, in its early years, was located directly across the street from Porsche Motorsport North America (PMNA). This close proximity allowed GMG to build a strong relationship with the legendary racing brand which has helped us support our customers to the highest level possible. From club racing to Sebring, Daytona and Spa, GMG can take you as far as you want to go. More information can be found at www.gmgracing.com.

Carson Hocevar Earns Win No. 3 of the Season in the Worldwide Express 250 at Richmond Raceway

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Official Release
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RICHMOND, Va. (July 30, 2023) – Carson Hocevar earned his third victory of the season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, crossing the finish line first in the Worldwide Express 250 at Richmond Raceway after a late-race pass.

“It’s so special to be able to win the Worldwide Express 250 in the Worldwide Express Chevrolet,” said Hocevar. “Their support means so much to me and to Niece Motorsports. To be able to celebrate with them and their carrier partners in Victory Lane is so special. Historically, Richmond has not been our best track, so to be able to come here and win is a huge deal for our team and Al Niece. I’m looking forward to carrying this momentum into the Playoffs. I feel like we’ve shown that we can contend at every type of track this season.”

The win comes in Hocevar’s 70th NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start. It marks Hocevar’s third win of the 2023 season; his other two wins coming at Texas Motor Speedway and Nashville Superspeedway. It is the seventh win for Niece Motorsports in only its seventh full-time season.

Hocevar is the first driver to win three races this season. With the win, Hocevar will enter round one of the Playoffs third in the driver point standings, only nine points out of first.

“I’m so proud of everyone at this organization,” said Niece Motorsports General Manager Cody Efaw. “Carson drove a great race, Phil [Gould] made a great pit call, and the whole team built a great truck. We really wanted to win that Worldwide Express 250 trophy – it meant the world to be able to celebrate with them all in Victory Lane. We’re happy to get Al [Niece] another win this season. We’re excited to get the Playoffs started at IRP in a couple of weeks.”

After posting the third fastest lap in practice on Friday, Hocevar qualified his No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet in 17th for the 250-lap race at Richmond Raceway. A flat tire during pace laps forced Hocevar down pit road before the drop of the green flag, putting Hocevar shotgun on the field to start the race.

The young driver methodically worked his way through the field, taking the lead for the first time on Lap 150, and pacing the field for the next 60 laps. Crew Chief Phil Gould called Hocevar down pit road for a green flag pit stop to put fresh tires on the No. 42 Chevrolet Silverado – a call that would ultimately win the race, as Hocevar passed the leader on older tires with just a handful of laps remaining.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will return to action on Friday, August 11 at Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP).

The TSport 200 at IRP will air live on FS1, The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Aug. 11 at 9:00 p.m. ET.

About Niece Motorsports:
Niece Motorsports is owned by United States Marine Corps Veteran Al Niece. In 2023, Niece Motorsports enters its eighth season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Niece also owns Niece Equipment, which has for over 40 years provided clients with reliable products at competitive prices. Niece Equipment’s reputation is built on service, integrity and dependability. The company provides water and fuel/lube trucks that are engineered with quality and durability in mind for the construction and mining industry. Follow the team on Facebook and Instagram @NieceMotorsports as well as Twitter @NieceMotorsport.

About Worldwide Express:
The WWEX group of brands, which comprises Worldwide Express, Unishippers and GlobalTranz, offers full-service logistics expertise to more than 115,000 customers across the country. With access to industry-leading small package, truckload, less-than-truckload and managed transportation solutions, its customers benefit from enhanced visibility and value for their supply chains. The company is the second-largest privately held freight brokerage and largest non-retail UPS Authorized Reseller® in the U.S., with an annual systemwide revenue nearing $5 billion through a network of company-owned, franchise and agent locations. A highly selective carrier portfolio, proprietary technology, unique data assets and business intelligence capabilities provide clients with unmatched options and flexibility to meet their shipping needs. The WWEX Racing initiative was borne of a desire to address the complex but underserved logistic needs of the performance motorsports industry, using the unique combination of capabilities offered by the three brands’ combined 80+ years of insight. To learn more about the WWEX Racing program, visit www.wwexracing.com. For media inquiries, contact racing@wwex.com.

GMS Racing NCTS Race Recap: Richmond Raceway

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Official Release
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Grant Enfinger, No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST

START: 13TH
FINISH: 9TH
POINTS: 5TH

Grant Enfinger and the No. 23 Champion Power Equipment team have officially advanced to the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series playoffs and will fight for the series championship.

Post-Race Quote: “Yeah, I’m proud of this GMS Racing Champion Power Equipment No. 23 all year long, and man, they put in the effort tonight too. We just had a terrible performance, and there’s no way around it. We struggled with the handling yesterday, and I felt like we were going to make some big swings and was optimistic about today, but just never really had it. We weren’t really good on a short run, we weren’t really good on a long run. The best we could have happen would just be something to happen to where we could take advantage of the strategy.

Just not a great performance for us, but I’m not letting it take away from the rest of our season at this point. These guys have worked harder than anybody out here; there’s been so much effort put in this truck. We’ve made some good calls, we’ve made some bad calls, but we’ve done it as a team. The playoffs start in a couple of weeks at IRP, we won there last year and there’s no reason why we can’t do it again.”

Rajah Caruth, No. 24 Camp Cultivation Chevrolet Silverado RST

START: 16TH
FINISH: 19TH
POINTS: 18TH

Post-Race Quote: “We had a relatively clean and quiet night with our Camp Cultivation Chevy Silverado. We didn’t get the win that we needed to make it into the playoffs, but we’re going to some places that I’m confident we can go and run up front and contend for a win at for the rest of the year. We still gained some good spots for the points and I’m really proud of my group for not giving up on me and just doing a great job. We’ve got some really good opportunities to have some strong runs the rest of the season, and there’s no other group of guys that I’d rather do it with.”

Daniel Dye, No. 43 Bull & Boar Barbecue Shop / LiftedTrucksForSale.com Chevrolet Silverado RST

START: 17TH
FINISH: 21ST
POINTS: 17TH

Post-Race Quote: “Rough night here in Richmond, we struggled with the handling of our No. 43 truck until the last run. I made a mistake coming to pit road that cost us some spots in the finishing order. I’m thankful to have had the support of Bull & Boar Barbecue Shop, LiftedTrucksForSale.com, GMS Racing, Team Chevy, and the rest of our partners. Overall, it was just a rough night but we’ve got to put it behind us and move on to the next race at IRP.”

ABOUT GMS RACING:

GMS Racing competes full-time in the NASCAR Truck Series operating the No. 23, No. 24, and No. 43 Chevrolet Silverado RSTs for drivers Grant Enfinger, Rajah Caruth, and Daniel Dye. Since the team was formed in 2012, GMS Racing has won five titles across multiple series, including the 2016 and 2020 NASCAR Truck Series championship, the 2015 ARCA Racing Series championship, as well as the 2019 & 2020 ARCA East championships. GMS has grown to occupy several buildings located in Statesville, N.C. including operations for GMS Fabrication. The GMS Racing campus also houses operations for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, a team that competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, follow GMS Racing on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes – NCTS Richmond 2 Post-Race Quotes (7.29.23)

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Official Release
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Worldwide Express 250 | Saturday, July 29, 2023

Ford Finishing Results:

2nd – Ty Majeski

3rd – Zane Smith

7th – Matt Crafton

12th – Ben Rhodes

15th – Hailie Deegan

20th – Conner Jones

32nd – Christian Rose

33rd – Derek Lemke

36th – Josh Reaume

TY MAJESKI, No. 98 Road Ranger F-150 – “I had a dominant truck, obviously. You have trucks like this and it hurts not to win with them. A couple of mistakes cost us – the speeding penalty. We were still probably gonna win the race and, boy, I didn’t think they’d get there by pitting like that with 40 to go. I thought at the time that Joe made the right call. Our truck was so much faster than everybody else. Hindsight is always 20/20, obviously maybe should have pitted, but without that speeding penalty we win it staying out, too. I’m disappointed. We’ve got to clean up the mistakes and be better, but the good news is we have fast trucks heading into the playoffs.”

WHAT WERE YOU FEELING THE LAST COUPLE OF LAPS? “You can’t do anything. You’re obviously on 100-and-whatever-lap tires and he’s on 40. You just don’t have a chance. I felt like our pace was gonna be OK, but once guys on new tires, there were so many of them, they kept passing me and getting me off the bottom. I was just losing too much lap time to maintain the lead there, so it’s disappointing, but we should be good at IRP?”

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU HAD A TRUCK OR CAR AS GOOD AS THAT? “I don’t know that I ever. I was multiple tenths on the field anytime I wanted it. It was a crazy fast Road Ranger Ford F-150. I don’t know what to say. I’m just incredibly disappointed. I should have been in victory lane tonight.”

DOES IT STING MORE BECAUSE OF HOW FAST THE TRACK WAS? “For sure. It’s hard to get trucks like that. It’s not easy. Everyone’s got the same stuff. Everyone’s got good equipment. These guys are good at what they do. NASCAR’s got us in the box rules-wise. Everybody is so close nowadays and to have a truck like that and not win with it, it’s uncalled for. I’ve got to be better.”

WERE YOU JUST PUSHING TOO MUCH? “Just a little bit. It was honestly just on entry into my pit box, the section right before my pit box. I was just trying to get it all to maintain the lead. In hindsight, I didn’t really need to do that. We were so much better than everybody. It was a silly penalty.”

BEN RHODES, No. 99 Campers Inn RV Ford F-150 – “I had that commitment line violation and I think I slid my right-rear tire over the orange box and that will do it. That will ruin a race. It happened. I didn’t think I clipped it. I thought i was close, but I didn’t think I clipped it, but, sure enough, I did. At the end of the race I heard we had really good speed, enough to compete for the win so that’s unfortunate. They were trying to save and keep me out there to save laps for the end on newer tires and I think the strategy could have worked had I not made that mistake. I don’t know. You have to go back and do the math on lap times. It’s just unfortunate because it was a good truck and a good run and if that didn’t happen, there could have been a chance we could have gotten third in the regular season, which would have helped immensely with some bonus points going into the playoffs.”

THE COMMITMENT LINE GOT THREE GUYS TONIGHT. WHAT MAKES IT SO HARD? “It’s just the old tires. You’re slipping and sliding so much. I was modulating the brake pedal on entry and as I touched the brakes the rear slides out and you’re just kind of playing with that all the way through the corner, and then exit on really old tires you’re barely getting to wide-open at the flag stand. The front was hooked up coming to pit road, the rear not so much and as I was sliding up the track trying to catch it, that right-rear just snagged it. That’s not good. I hate it. We had Campers Inn here and had a really good run going and came up short because of this. I think we could have at least been a good nine or 10 spots better. That’s on me.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL GOING INTO THE PLAYOFFS? “Good. IRP is coming up next. We had a really fast truck there last year and also made a mistake and also had to come from the back and finished second in that one, so I’ll know what not to do at that racetrack. I know exactly what we need to focus on. We’ve got a good notebook. The next round, I think, is a really good strong point for us.”

MATT CRAFTON, No. 88 Ideal Door/Menards Ford F-150 – “The first and second run we were pretty good and then I just got a terrible brake vibration and it made me so loose in that I couldn’t charge the corner anymore. That was our strong suit early and that last half of the race I couldn’t charge the corner at all. I got really free in and then I had my head firmly in my butt on one of the restarts. We picked the outside and I was in first gear when I was supposed to be in second gear and just about the time I cleaned the tires up before the restart zone they took off and I went from sixth to eighth. I really messed up on that one. I take all of that on the chin right there, but I wouldn’t want to be a crew chief with all the long green flag runs and when to pit and when not to pit, and then if you come down pit road too early and get two or three laps down, you’re caught with your pants down at that point and it makes for a long night. We were just at that point where we had to try to race the 2. In hindsight, maybe we should have came just a few laps earlier. That’s easy to say now and then we might have leapfrogged the 2 and the 25, but I’m really looking forward to the rest of the races. We go to a lot of racetracks where you actually have to use two feet and not just run around all wide-open. This 88 has been pretty good when we have some fall off.”

WHAT SEPARATES THIS YEAR’S PLAYOFFS FROM THE PAST? “Nothing. We’ve got a good group of guys right now. I’ve got a crew chief who actually lives in Ohio. I think the last five years I haven’t had a crew chief in-house since Junior left in 2018 and he commuted back and forth. The other crew chiefs commuted back and forth from North Carolina, so I’m ecstatic to have Jeriod. Jeriod is doing a really good job. We stunk at Pocono, but that’s probably part of me because I hate the place, and we stunk in Nashville, but that’s just me. I’ll take all of that on the chin, but we’re a lot better than we were last year going into the playoffs. We’ve got some new trucks we’ve built and we keep making them better.”

ZANE SMITH, No. 38 Boot Barn Ford F-150 – WHAT DID YOU HIT ON AFTER THAT FIRST STAGE? “Simply just tightening our Boot Barn Ford up. It was really, really bad in the first stage and did not think we were gonna be able to fix it here at least. Chris Lawson and everyone at FRM proved me wrong, so we just really never gave up and unfortunately gave up a lot of points through those stages, but, all in all, it was a solid finish. I’m happy with that strategy we did. That was really our only shot was probably hoping for a late-race caution, come back down pit road again and get some more tires and go at it on a short run. That was really our only shot. I’m happy with our finish and to carry this momentum to the playoffs.”

HOW WOULD YOU ASSESS YOUR TEAM THIS YEAR GOING INTO THE PLAYOFFS VERSUS LAST YEAR? “To be honest, last year we hardly had any adversity and this year I feel like our race team is in a great position it’s just a lot of ups and downs. We just need to do the small things a little bit better and focus on our end result a little bit more, instead of so focused on those stage wins. Yes, they are extremely important, but I’m happy where our race team is. Unfortunately, I’ve had some torn up trucks throughout the process, which sucks for everyone at FRM, but we win together and we lose together. Unfortunately, we’re not leaving Richmond with the trophy, but I feel like this has been a track we’ve struggled at, so, all in all, a top three is good for us and some good momentum to carry into the playoffs.”

Toyota Racing – NCTS Richmond Post-Race Report – 07.29.23

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Official Release
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HEIM CLAIMS REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP
Corey Heim continues his incredible streak with his ninth straight top-10 finish

RICHMOND, Va. (July 29, 2023) – Corey Heim earned the regular season championship in his first full-time season in the NASCAR Truck Series after the completion of the first stage this evening in Richmond. The Toyota development driver is the first driver in NASCAR history to earn a regular season title despite missing a race (Gateway, illness) and earning a Playoff waiver. Heim, the reigning Truck Series Rookie of the Year, leads the series in top-10 finishes and average finish. Heim has an impressive 13 top-10 finishes in 15 starts this year. The Georgia-native will be the no. 1 seed in the Playoffs and goes into the playoff opener at Indianapolis Raceway Park on a streak of nine consecutive top-10 finishes.

Heim also led Toyota this evening with a sixth-place run, while his teammate William Sawalich started a career-best third and earned his second top-10 finish in just his third start.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Richmond Raceway
Race 16 of 23 – 250 Laps, 187.5 Miles

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, Carson Hocevar*

2nd, Ty Majeski*

3rd, Zane Smith*

4th, Jake Garcia*

5th, Matt Mills*

6th, COREY HEIM

10th, WILLIAM SAWALICH

13th, TYLER ANKRUM

14th, TAYLOR GRAY

16th, TANNER GRAY

23rd, TIMMY HILL

25th, DEAN THOMPSON

27th, STEWART FRIESEN

30th, RYAN VARGAS

*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

COREY HEIM, No. 11 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage

Finishing Position: 6th

Regular season champion. What does that mean to you and this team?

“Yeah, it really means a lot. With TRICON Garage and Toyota Racing, we’ve come such a long way from the beginning of the year. I really felt like we had a lot of progress to make in the first four or five weeks and we’ve really been improving ever since. Tonight, it was a rough night at Richmond. It is kind of a unique race track. On the normal tracks, we’ve been really consistent. Still a good finish for us, but definitely want to do better leading into the Playoffs.”

Who are you leaning on with your first Playoff run?

“For sure, (crew chief) Scott Zipadelli. He has Playoff experience with a lot of different drivers and he’s won a championship. Just learning what that is like – it’s really my first time competing in a Playoff format, so leaning on him and leaning on my crew who is also full of experience, along with a lot of people in the shop. Once again, just hats off to everyone at TRICON Garage, Toyota Racing, JBL and Safelite.”

Does being the regular season champion make you one of the favorites to be the champion in Phoenix?

“I would certainly say so. We’ve been about the most consistent these last two or three months. If we can carry that into the Playoffs, we will be tough to beat. Definitely have to improve on tonight, but it’s a different track – unique. We’ve got a couple more short tracks coming up and I think we will be good.”

WILLIAM SAWALICH, No. 1 Starkey/Soundgear Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage

Finishing Position: 10th

Third Truck Series start, and second top-10. Can you take us through your run tonight?

“We were really strong in the long run. We had really fast Soundgear Toyota Tundra. Everything we did was good. I think I executed well for myself. I learned a few things here and there. That long run in the end kind of killed us there with trucks passing us, and that ended up a net loss of time. I did the best I could trying to gain as much time and ended up in the top-10 there.”

STEWART FRIESEN, No. 52 Halmar International Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Halmar Friesen Racing

Finishing Position: 27th

Can you take us through your run tonight and what you can look forward to for the rest of the season?

“I don’t know. Thanks to Halmar – like I said earlier – for sticking with us, and thanks to Ferris Mowers for being on-board this season. Looking forward to going to Milwaukee and representing them. We brought a dull knife to a gun fight tonight.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 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 more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th 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 24 electrified options.

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