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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

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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

By
Official Release
-

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.

Stewart-Haas Racing: NXS Race Report from Road America

By
Official Release
-

STEWART-HAAS RACING
NASCAR Xfinity Series: Henry 180

Date: July 29, 2023
Event: Henry 180 (Round 20 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location: Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin (4.048-mile, 14-turn road course)
Format: 45 laps, broken into three stages (22 laps/12 laps/11 laps)
Note: Race extended four laps past its scheduled 45-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Sam Mayer of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)

SHR Race Finish:

● Riley Herbst (Started 4th / Finished 5th, Running, completed 49 of 49 laps)
● Cole Custer (Started 2nd / Finished 30th, Accident, completed 41 of 49 laps)

SHR Points:

● Cole Custer (4th with 691 points, 84 out of first)
● Riley Herbst (10th with 530 points, 245 out of first)

SHR Notes:

● Herbst earned his fifth top-five of the season and his first top-five in four career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Road America.
● This was Herbst’s third straight top-10 at Road America. He finished seventh in the past two races there in July 2021 and 2022.
● This was Herbst’s second straight top-five. He finished fourth last weekend at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.
● Herbst’s fifth-place result bettered his previous best finish at Road America – seventh, earned in July 2021 and 2022.
● Herbst finished sixth in Stage 1 to earn five bonus points.
● Custer finished second in Stage 1 to earn nine bonus points and second in Stage 2 to earn nine more bonus points.

Race Notes:

● Sam Mayer won the Henry 180 to score his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory in 72 starts. His margin over second-place Parker Kligerman was .368 of a second.

● There were eight caution periods for a total of 15 laps.
● Twenty-seven of the 37 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Austin Hill is the championship leader after Road America with an 14-point advantage over second-place John Hunter Nemechek.

Sound Bites:

“I mean, we had a winning No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang. I hate it for my guys. We got into that incident there, and it put us farther back than we hoped to be. We ran in the top-five up until then, but luckily, we were able to stay on the lead lap. I’m thankful that we were able to recover for a fifth-place finish, but it’s just hard to think about what it could’ve been. Ultimately, we had a good points day. I’m excited to head to Michigan next week to see what we can do there.” – Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang

“Overall, we had a fast No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang. The crew guys did a great job. It’s just bad luck and being in the wrong place at the wrong time as someone was missing the corner. We’ve had top-three cars the past few weeks, and we arguably had the best car today. It just hasn’t worked out for us. When you keep bringing fast cars to the racetrack though, it’ll all work out eventually. Proud of my team, and I know we’ll get it back going because we have great speed.” – Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the Michigan 250 on Saturday, Aug. 5 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. The race begins at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Toyota Gazoo Racing North America NHRA Sonoma Post-Qualifying Report – 07.29.23

By
Official Release
-

SECOND STRAIGHT TOYOTA SWEEP IN CHALLENGE RACES
Steve Torrence, Alexis DeJoria lead Toyota in qualifying action at Sonoma

SONOMA, Calif. (July 29, 2023) – Toyota drivers swept the Mission 2Fast2Tasty Challenge for the second consecutive weekend at Sonoma Raceway. Steve Torrence won on a holeshot in Top Fuel and J.R. Todd picked up the victory in Funny Car action.

Torrence was the top-qualifier for Toyota in the Top Fuel class, followed by Antron Brown in third. In Funny Car qualifying, Alexis DeJoria qualified second and Ron Capps slotted in the third spot.

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

TOYOTA TOP FUEL QUALIFYING POSITIONS

NameCarQualifying PositionFirst Round Opponent
Austin Prock*Montana Brand Top Fuel Dragster1st (3.704)BYE
Steve TorrenceCapco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster2nd (3.706)Ron August Jr.
Antron BrownMatco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster3rd (3.721)Mike Salinas
Shawn LangdonKalitta Air Careers Toyota Top Fuel Dragster5th (3.740)Leah Pruett
Justin AshleyPhillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster7th (3.770)Doug Kalitta
Doug KalittaMac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster8th (3.770)Justin Ashley

(*non-Toyota driver)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING POSITIONS

NameCarQualifying PositionFirst Round Opponent
Bob Tasca III*Motorcraft Ford Mustang Funny Car1st (3.938)BYE
Alexis DeJoriaBandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car2nd (3.942)Paul Lee
Ron CappsNAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra Funny Car3rd (3.942)Tim Gibbons
J.R. ToddDHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car8th (3.966)Blake Alexander

(*non-Toyota driver)

TOYOTA QUOTES

STEVE TORRENCE, Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Torrence Racing

TF Qualifying Result: 2nd

Mission Challenge Top Fuel Winner

Are things rolling along good for your team right now?

“Yeah, everything is going really well for us. The car has shown glimmers of hope throughout last year, mainly at the end of last year and this year. But the consistency is finally coming around. To win on a holeshot, that always makes you feel good as a driver. I apologized to Clay (Millican) down there at the end because I was a little bit long to getting in to stage. I’m not trying to play games and do stuff like that, so I apologized to him and said, ‘Hey, sorry I was not nearly as close as I thought I was, and it took me a while to bump in.’ But, with that being said that’s the best line that I’ve had all weekend. I’ve been pretty late on the tree, so I was just amped up. When you go up there, it’s not another round of qualifying, it’s a race win. We wanted to be eating some Tortilla chips tonight so that’s the best way to solidify that. It’s been a good season. Consistency has been on our side, now it’s just going rounds so that makes us feel good and this Capco Contractors Toyota dragster is coming around. Hopefully, we’re peaking at the right time. We’re not very far away from Indy and starting this points countdown again.”

ALEXIS DEJORIA, Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, DC Motorsports

FC Qualifying Result: 2nd

How important has the consistency of this team been this year?

“Consistent runs are always good. We were hoping to run a bit faster last night, but it just ate up the clutch. Our team is just excellent. Del (Worsham) and Nicky (Boninfante) have given me such a great car this season. We’ve had our best start to the season yet. We’re third in points and just racking them up and just missing a win. It just shows the perseverance in my team and Del Worsham and what he’s put into this car and everything we learned from last year. What to do, what not to do and lots of trials and tribulations. It’s really paid off.”

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

FC Qualifying Result: 8th

Mission Challenge Funny Car Winner

How exciting is it to pick up this Mission Challenge win today?

“Any win is a good win. I feel like we’ve let the last two slip away from us in Denver and then the final round in Seattle. It’s been a while since we’ve won anything so this is good momentum heading into race day and hopefully, we can finish it off tomorrow.”

Does this give your team good momentum?

“I hope that’s a good trend for us. Going back, Norwalk – around that time we went to the semifinals and I feel like we’ve been building momentum since then with our DHL Toyota GR Supra. Definitely have been knocking on the door of a win, but it goes to show how hard it is to win in Funny Car right now. Just when you think you’ve got it where you need it and it’s going to be your day, somebody like Tim Wilkerson jumps up and snatches it from you. Hopefully, we can ride this wave of momentum into the final again here at one of my favorite tracks here at Sonoma and win again. It would be really special to win here again in Funny Car.”

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.

Corey Heim claims 2023 Truck Series Regular Season Championship

By
Andrew Kim
-
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA - JULY 29: Corey Heim, driver of the #11 JBL Toyota, drives during the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Worldwide Express 250 at Richmond Raceway on July 29, 2023 in Richmond, Virginia. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images).

With a sixth-place finish in the Worldwide Express 250 at Richmond Raceway, Corey Heim was named the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Regular Season Championship recipient on Saturday, July 29.

The 21-year-old Heim from Marietta, Georgia, entered Saturday’s event at Richmond, the final regular-season event on the schedule, with a 42-point advantage over reigning series champion Zane Smith. Needing 19 points to clinch the regular-season title, he accomplished the feat early in a night where he rolled off the grid starting alongside pole-sitter Ty Majeski on the front row. Despite being overtaken by Ben Rhodes during the opening lap, Heim would retain third place throughout the first stage period spanning 70 laps and clinch the title with his top-three result.

After clinching the regular-season title, Heim proceeded to lead nine laps in the second stage amid more battles involving ThorSport Racing’s Majeski and Rhodes before he recorded another top-three result and additional stage points at the second stage’s conclusion. At the start of the final stage period, Heim fell back to fourth as Carson Hocevar, the eventual winner of the event, joined the battle at the front. By then, Majeski was sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road. After pitting under green with select others with less than 40 laps remaining, Heim found himself mired outside of the top 10, but he was able to methodically cycle his way back into the top 10 before finishing the event in sixth place, which marked his 13th top-10 result in 15 regular-season starts. The result was enough for him to remain in first place in the regular-season standings by 51 points over Ty Majeski and 55 over Zane Smith, both of whom finished second and third, respectively.

With his accomplishment, Heim became the seventh different competitor to win a Craftsman Truck Series Regular Season Championship title, joining a list that includes Christopher Bell, Johnny Sauter, Grant Enfinger, Austin Hill, John Hunter Nemechek and Zane Smith. By capturing this year’s regular-season title, Heim was awarded the top seed to start the 2023 Truck Series Playoffs with 2,030 points and 30 Playoff points and enters as one of 10 competitors who will embark on a seven-race stretch to battle for the 2023 Truck Series title, beginning at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in Brownsburg, Indiana, on August 11.

“Yeah, tough night tonight, for sure,” Heim said on FS1. “Definitely not letting [the finish] overshadow the phenomenal regular season we had as a team. We came from a long way to start the year. I feel like we needed a lot the first couple of weeks, but made so much progress within our TRICON Garage team with Toyota Racing. Our Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, throughout the year, was really good. [Tonight’s] JBL Tundra TRD Pro needed some work tonight, but definitely, just a lot of progress made. Just super proud of everyone that’s involved.”

Heim is campaigning in his first full-time season in the Truck Series a year after competing in 16 of 23 events in 2022 for Kyle Busch Motorsports, where he notched his first two career victories in the series and claimed the Rookie-of-the-Year title. Piloting the No. 11 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for TRICON Garage, a team that was rebranded from David Gilliland Racing prior to this season, and led by former championship-winning crew chief Scott Zipadelli, Heim commenced this season with an eighth-place result in the series’ rain-shortened opener at Daytona International Speedway in February. Six races and three additional top-10 results later, the Georgian notched his first victory of the season and the first for TRICON at Martinsville Speedway in April after sweeping both stages and fending off former owner Kyle Busch to retain the lead when the event was shortened 76 laps of its scheduled distance due to precipitation.

After finishing in the runner-up spot at Kansas Speedway before finishing eighth at Darlington Raceway in eighth, both occurring after the Martinsville victory, Heim assumed the lead in the series standings for the first time in his career. Despite being absent for the series’ event at World Wide Technology Raceway in June due to an illness, where he was granted a waiver to still make this year’s Playoffs, he managed to remain in the points lead and he responded back with vengeance in early July by notching his second victory of the season at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where he led a race-high 30 of 67-scheduled laps. Prior to Richmond, Heim was coming off a runner-up result at Pocono Raceway after being overtaken by Kyle Busch on the final lap.

Through 34 career starts in the Truck Series, Heim has achieved four victories, five poles, 13 top-five results, 23 top-10 results, 479 laps led and an average-finishing result of 11.3. His current average-finishing result of this season is 7.1 on the strength of his two race victories, five stage victories, three poles, seven top-five results and 13 top-10 results.

In addition to his full-time Truck campaign, Heim has made his first three career starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Sam Hunt Racing, where his best on-track result is a 10th-place finish at Darlington in May. He is also a nine-time race winner in the ARCA Menards Series, with two of his victories occurring in back-to-back series season openers at Daytona in 2021 and 2022.

Corey Heim’s pursuit for his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship commences at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on August 11. The event’s coverage is scheduled to commence at 9 p.m. ET on FS1.

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