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Toyota Racing Post-Race Report – Las Vegas – 03.07.21

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Official Release
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JOE GIBBS RACING SHOWS STRENGTH IN LAS VEGAS
All four JGR Camrys finish inside the top-eight

LAS VEGAS (March 7, 2021) – Kyle Busch (third), Denny Hamlin (fourth), Martin Truex Jr. (sixth) and Christopher Bell (seventh) all drove to top-10 finishes in their Toyota Camrys in the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Race 4 of 36 – 400.5 miles, 267 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Kyle Larson*
2nd, Brad Keselowski*
3rd, KYLE BUSCH
4th, DENNY HAMLIN
5th, Ryan Blaney*
6th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
7th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
28th, BUBBA WALLACE
36th, TIMMY HILL
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Ethel M Chocolates Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd

What were you able to learn about your mile-and-a-half program today?

“We fought hard obviously. We were a little behind the eight ball at the start of the green flag and just were super, super tight all day long. Ben (Beshore, crew chief) and the guys made awesome adjustments to and I was trying to give the best feedback I can to give them good information that they can base that off of and make the good adjustments. We improved each time. I don’t know where we missed it so far from the simulator, but that’s two weeks in a row where we’re not apples to apples. Just can’t say enough about Ethel M Chocolates, thank you guys. It’s a pleasure to have them on board here for the first time ever in anything. I remember being there as a kid, a little bit anyways, I was five so it’s a little shady. Certainly, my grandmother is smiling from above so it was really special to have that on our Camry today and say thanks to Interstate Batteries, Rowdy Energy. Ready to keep working on it and keep improving. We were just a little off on pace, overall pace, overall lap time from the fast guys.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 4th

How would you like to move forward on the mile-and-a-half program after today’s race?

“We’re close. We just have to fine tune it. We’re gathering up information right now to figure out how we can make our FedEx Camry better in the fall. This is a good start.”

Fourth-place run for Denny Hamlin here at Vegas. How was your run?

“We got it in the short rounds but not enough long run speed. I thought it was a great start for the FedEx Camry team, gathering data trying to figure out what we can do to be better when we come back here when it really counts. Overall, good start. We will see, gather all the data and I will figure out this week what we have to do.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 6th

How was your race today?

“Overall, pretty solid day all in all for the Bass Pro Shops Camry. Ran top-five or 10 pretty much all day long. Just never could quite get the balance perfect over the short and the long run. There were a few times where we were probably a third or fourth-place car at best and then towards the end, feeling pretty good. We were running fourth there after the last pit stop and then lost the balance again on the last run and dropped to sixth. Not a perfect day by any means, but decent speed and good execution and good adjustments all day for the most part. Just didn’t quite have enough to be better than we were.”

How much improvement did you feel in this race for JGR overall and what does this say about the intermediate program moving forward?

“These tracks are really tough, it’s a real big guessing game on what cars to bring and what kind of approach to take. You kind of get guessing on a lot of different things – the weather, the wind and all this kind of stuff. Overall, I think our cars were decent. We definitely have to find some more speed to run with some of those guys. I would say for us, we were probably a little bit off from where we were last weekend. Definitely some stuff to build on for all of us across the board. We’ll obviously talk about it all and figure out what we need to do to be better.”

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Craftsman Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 7th

Solid top-10 finish. How was your race today?

“It was definitely a good week to build on. I’m really happy with the turn around from last week at Homestead, another mile-and-a-half. We were significantly better this time. It’s something to build on for sure. I felt like my Craftsman Camry drove really well. We just need to dial a little bit of speed in it.”

How much improvement did you see at Vegas from your first run there in a Cup car?

“I just feel like our cars are a lot better than last year, whenever we went there, our company was just a little bit off going to Vegas and it showed. We were a lot more competitive today.”

# # #

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 38 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold 2.8 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2018.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit ToyotaNewsroom.com

Team Penske NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Report – Las Vegas

By
Official Release
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Team Penske NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Report

Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Race: Alsco Uniforms 300
Date: March 6, 2021

No. 22 Carquest Ford Mustang – Austin Cindric
Start: 2nd
Stage 1: 1st (Third Stage Win of 2021)
Stage 2: 10th
Finish: 4th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 200/200
Laps Led: 43
Point Standings (ahead of second): 1st (+21)

Notes:

  • Austin Cindric rallied from a cut tire to claim a fourth-place finish Saturday afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Cindric led twice for 43 laps and scored his fourth top-five finish in four races this season. The driver of the Carquest Ford Mustang racked up his fourth top-10 finish in seven start at Las Vegas. He leads the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver standings 21 points over second place.
  • Cindric started the 200-lap event from the second position after the starting lineup was set per NASCAR rule book. He grabbed the lead on lap 2 and dominated Stage 1, only briefly losing the lead after the first restart on lap 26. He recaptured the lead on lap 29 and stayed there until the segment concluded on lap 45, winning his third stage of the season. Crew chief Brian Wilson elected to pit during the stage caution on lap 48 for four tires, fuel, and a slight adjustment to aid his loose Carquest Mustang and Cindric restarted second on lap 52.
  • Shortly after the restart, Cindric suffered a flat left-rear tire on the Carquest Ford Mustang and fell a lap down to the leaders. A timely caution on lap 57 slowed the field before Cindric could pit and he was able to limp his Mustang around the 1.5-mile oval. The defending series champion pitted without penalty for left-side tires and returned to the track. He received the free pass to put him back onto the lead lap. The driver of the No. 22 Mustang restarted 36th on lap 62 and rallied through the field during the remaining laps of the segment to score a 10th-place when Stage 2 ended on lap 90.
  • Cindric started the final stage ninth when the race went green and by lap 118, he had climbed back inside the top-five. As the long run progressed, Cindric said his Carquest Ford was loose. Wilson called his driver to pit road for a scheduled green flag stop on lap 148 for four tires, fuel, and adjustments to aid his Mustang. Cindric was scored third when the cycle of green flag stops was complete on lap 160.
  • The seventh caution was displayed on lap 173, setting up one final round of pit stops among the leaders. Cindric pitted on lap 176 for four tires, fuel, and slight adjustments. He restarted sixth and over the final 21 laps raced his way up a fourth-place finish, his fourth consecutive top-five finish of the 2021 season.
  • The NASCAR Xfinity Series is back in action at Phoenix Raceway Saturday, March 13th, for the Call 811 Before You Dig 200. Live coverage will begin at 5:30 p.m. ET on FS1. MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

Quote: “We cut a tire down when we were one of the best cars and took us the entire race to get back to fourth. We needed a hundred more miles and maybe we would have had a shot with our Carquest Ford Mustang. All good on my end, just bad luck.”

George Kurtz Wins Inaugural SRO GT America Powered by AWS Race at Sonoma Raceway in No. 04 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3

By
Official Release
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SONOMA, California – George Kurtz secured a comeback victory in the No. 04 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the inaugural race of the new SRO GT America presented by AWS series Saturday at Sonoma Raceway. The victory highlighted a strong showing of four overall and class podium finishes by Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing teams in the opening day of the 2021 SRO America Championships season on the 2.358-mile Napa Valley road course.

Starting from the pole, Kurtz built a commanding lead on the GT America field from the drop of the green flag. He was in full control of the 40-minute sprint only to be called to the pits for a drive-through penalty, just before the race’s halfway mark after officials made the delayed call that Kurtz jumped the race start.

Kurtz returned to the race in fourth place but nearly a half a lap behind the leaders. He began a charge back to the front and reclaimed the lead with less than 10 minutes remaining and went on to secure the win by 5.90 seconds.

In Saturday’s season-opening Fanatec GT World Challenge presented by AWS 90-minute race, co-drivers David Askew and Ryan Dalziel shook off a pit-lane drive-through penalty of their own to secure a second-place Pro-Am class finish in the No. 63 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Starting driver Askew hit and unintentionally spun Kurtz on the first lap of the race, and the No. 63 was soon called to the pits to serve a penalty for incident responsibility.

Askew renewed his focus after serving the penalty and turned in a series of fastest race laps before handing the No. 63 off to Dalziel at the halfway point. Quick work by the DXDT crew put Dalziel back in the race third in Pro-Am.

A late restart gave Dalziel the opportunity he needed to improve another race position. Less than two laps after the green flag, Dalziel pulled off a key pass for second place, but time ran out before he could get close enough to the leader to challenge for the Pro-Am class victory.

In addition to the Pro-Am runner-up result, the No. 63 finished fourth overall. Kurtz and co-driver Colin Braun overcame a second contact incident late in the race to secure a fourth-place Pro-Am finish.

The season-opening 60-minute Pirelli GT4 America SprintX race closed out Saturday’s schedule and produced the day’s final Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing podium finishers.

Co-drivers Kenny Murillo and Christian Szymczak battled for the overall and Silver-class victories from the drop of the green flag in the No. 72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4.

Rarely running out of the overall top three, Murillo, Szymczak and the No. 72 team led and finished second in the Silver class while also securing top-three overall honors in the 33-car field.

In the Pirelli GT4 America Am class, starting driver John Allen kept the No. 16 Capstone Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 on the lead lap and in touch with the class front runners in a solid race-opening stint.

Allen’s co-driver Kris Wilson took over at the halfway point and charged from fourth to the podium result in the race’s final 15 minutes.

Sunday’s final day of competition begins with the weekend’s second GT America race at 8:45 a.m. PST. Pirelli GT4 America closes out its weekend with a 10:55 a.m. PST start for its second one-hour race before the Fanatec World Challenge finale brings the weekend to a close with a 1:15 p.m. PST scheduled start time.

All three Sunday races livestream for free on the SRO GT World YouTube channel. The weekend schedule of events, live timing and scoring, session reports and one-stop video viewing are available at gt-world-challenge-america.com.

George Kurtz, Driver – No. 04 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “It was a great race. We had good pace all weekend and we had a big gap. I thought it was a good, clean start, but we got the drive-through penalty, which is like an eternity at Sonoma. It’s unfortunate, but I just put my head down and clicked off lap after lap. I needed the traffic to cooperate with the guys up front, and with a couple of laps left, we got a good pass into Turn Nine and that was it. We drove away from them. It felt good, but I didn’t really need to win it twice. Our Mercedes-AMG GT3 has been good. It’s great being with DXDT and all the cars this year.”

David Askew, Driver – No. 63 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “It’s awesome for the team to get this podium. Second place is just fantastic. I tangled with my teammate early on, which is the cardinal sin of motorsports. I feel bad about that, but I just put my head back into it and concentrated on the driving after the drive-through penalty. That made the difference, so when I gave the car to Ryan, he could go out and do what he does so well. We’ve been working hard with the pit crews. Kudos to them, they’ve worked hard too, and they are getting the results. It’s all the attention to detail. It’s the little things that make the difference, and that’s what we were all about today.”

Ryan Dalziel, Driver – No. 63 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “It was an unfortunate first lap. I haven’t really seen what happened. It’s racing, it’s really bad when it’s your teammate, but when David got back out there, he was lapping anywhere from a second to two seconds a lap faster than the other Pro-Am cars. It was probably the best drive he has had in a couple of years. It gave me a good starting point for my stint, I had a nice battle for second, which was pretty fun. Fantastic points for the No. 63 car, and this is a good track for the Mercedes-AMG GT3. It’s my third year with the team and for sure our best first weekend start so far. We’re looking to build on that tomorrow.”

Kenny Murillo, Driver – No. 72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “Coming into the event, our expectations were high because the last time we were here in 2019 we won and had two podiums. We wanted to repeat that. I’m really proud of the team. Murillo racing did an awesome job giving us a great Mercedes-AMG GT4. It was just on rails. I can’t thank them enough just to be here and be in the paddock, and to get a good result is the cherry on top. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow so we can hopefully improve, but the same result would be ok as well.”

Christian Szymczak, Driver – No. 72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “It’s awesome. I remembered how fun it was to drive with Kenny and this team. It was great that we and the Mercedes-AMG GT4 held up as well as we did to fight for second place overall. I’m really happy with that, and I feel like we did it as well as we could. It’s going to be different tomorrow because I’m starting. That’s obviously going to change it up a little bit. We’ve got to practice our pit in and pit out and make sure we get a good out lap and in lap. I think that’s going to be the key. We almost got second place in the pits today, so it’s possible to gain positions like that.”

Podium Finish for Round 3 Racing in Dramatic Barber Endurance Race

By
Official Release
-

Leeds, Ala. (6 March 2021) – After two days of highs and lows, Round 3 Racing (R3R) kicked off the World Racing League (WRL) race weekend at Barber Motorsports Park by taking a GP2 class podium finish on Saturday.

The nine-hour race opened the double-header weekend that will feature 16 hours of endurance racing at the Alabama road course.

The No. 601 Team Cooper Tires Porsche Boxster of Mike Gilbert, Mo Dadkhah and Loni Unser led the trio of Porsche entries, finishing third in the GP2 class. The No. 604 Sentinel Porsche Boxster was close behind, finishing fifth with Christian Maloof, Michele Abbate and James Candelaria behind the wheel.

The podium close to the first day of racing capped a dramatic build up to the race event. In Friday’s opening practice session, the No. 604 Sentinel entry began to smoke. After a thorough inspection, the team decided that the issue required a new motor.

As the crew got to work, bad luck struck as the No. 601 Team Cooper Tires Porsche Boxster was plagued by the same issue. Utilizing all the backup resources at the track, the R3R team was forced to take the No. 601 to Atlanta for an overnight engine change.

With just one hour to spare, the team hustle was rewarded as the No. 601 made it back to the track to take the green flag with Mike Gilbert behind the wheel.

Gilbert pushed the Boxster to the top of the running order in the opening corners of the first lap. Keeping the car in the top two spots, Gilbert clocked a flying lap of 1:42.884-minutes on Lap 38 before handing the car over to Loni Unser on Lap 57.

Unser showed skill beyond her 23-years of age as she kept her eyes ahead during her three-and-a-half hour stint. A race marked by yellow flag conditions saw Unser navigate six of the 14 caution periods. Keeping the car clean was critical to keep the Porsche Boxster pit stop strategy intact, as Dadkhah swapped positions with Unser on Lap 147. Control of the No. 601 to the checkered flag was up to race starter Gilbert as he got back into the car in fourth. Careful maneuvering saw Gilbert break into the top three where he set the team’s fastest lap of the race on Lap 255 and secured the podium finish to close the Cinderella story day.

“This was an unbelievable day and it’s all about the crew,” said Gilbert. “Brad (McCall) and Buz (McCall) found and bought a motor last minute. AJ, Brian and Dusty drove three hours to Road Atlanta to put it in overnight, they got back here last minute to prep the car but got us on the grid with two minutes to spare. By turn five on the first lap, we were in first place. This is all about the hard work of the Round 3 Racing crew. There is absolutely nothing we could do without them. Racing doesn’t matter if you don’t have a car that’s on the track, those guys are amazing.”

The comeback story continued for the No. 604 Sentinel Porsche Boxster. A clean race and carefully executed pit stops kept the Porsche entry in contention heading into the final sprint of the race. Maloof, Abbate, and Candelaria raced to a fifth place finish to open the weekend.

“The Sentinel car was really a pleasure to drive,” said Maloof. “We had to do our practice during the race but the car was confidence-instilling which allowed me to push the car harder as the race went on. Thankfully, I was able to find about eight seconds between the first lap of the day and the end, even as the tires went off the car was just so stable and so consistent. The R3R crew put together a phenomenal car in such little time.”

The No. 702 Hagerty Porsche Cayman entry of Sarah Montgomery, Brad and Buz McCall had a strong start as Montgomery made quick progress through the GTO field to gain two positions in the first lap. Montgomery continued to fight with her competitors making her way up to sixth place before bringing the No. 702 Porsche to pitlane. After filling the car with fuel, a battery malfunction forced Montgomery to return to the track six laps down. Maximizing the remainder of her stint, Montgomery laid down quick laps before handing over the car to the experienced Buz McCall.
Just as McCall was settling into race pace, the No. 702 Hagerty machine made contact with the barrier at the exit of Turn 14. The incident caused terminal damage to the Porsche, ending it’s weekend early.

“I came up behind a competitor at the exit of Turn 14 and I was being patient so I could pass them down the front straight but all of a sudden the car stepped out from under me making a quick turn to the right where I was just a passenger,” said McCall. “I don’t think anything broke in the car, but I wasn’t on the brakes or shifting and I didn’t hit anything so it is kind of a mystery what caused it. I certainly didn’t have enough time to react but I did have enough time to close my eyes..I feel terrible for Sarah (Montgomery) and Brad (McCall). It is not a very good start to our season but this could be repaired, and we’ll get ready for the next race.”

The Porsche Boxsters will complete the weekend in the World Racing League Barber 7 Hour race Sunday, March 7th with the green flag at 8AM CT. The Round 3 Racing entries will feature live in-car streaming during the endurance race with the No. 601 Team Cooper Tires Porsche Boxster stream available at https://youtu.be/XJ7QPVXGYE8.

Luke Lambert to call 300th Cup race as crew chief at Las Vegas

By
Andrew Kim
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Photo by Matt Hazlett/Getty Images.

A significant milestone start is in the making for Luke Lambert, crew chief for Chris Buescher and the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Mustang team in the NASCAR Cup Series. By participating in this Sunday’s Cup event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Lambert will call his 300th event atop the pit box in NASCAR’s premier series.

A native of Mount Airy, North Carolina, Lambert grew up as a race fan and briefly competed in go-karts before attending North Carolina State University. During his college education, he worked as a driver and mechanic as part of the university’s Wolfpack Motorsports program.

Following his graduation from NC State University in 2005, Lambert joined Richard Childress Racing. He started as a mechanical engineer before assuming the eventual role as race engineer, where he was a part of RCR’s No. 31 Chevrolet team driven by veteran Jeff Burton.

Midway through the 2011 NASCAR Cup Series season, Lambert was named crew chief for Burton and RCR’s No. 31 Chevrolet team, where he replaced veteran Todd Berrier. Lambert’s debut as a crew chief occurred at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, where Burton finished 35th following an engine failure.

Lambert remained as Burton’s crew chief for the final 17 Cup races of the 2011 season. Together, they achieved a best on-track result of second place at Talladega Superspeedway in October, two top-five results, five top-10 results and a 20th-place result in the final standings.

After spending the 2012 season in the Xfinity Series, where he guided veteran Elliott Sadler to four victories and a runner-up result in the final standings, Lambert returned to the Cup Series in 2013 and reunited with Burton as his crew chief. Working with Burton in all but two of the 36-race schedule, the combo achieved a best on-track result of third place at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July, two top-five results, four top-10 results and another 20th-place result in the final standings.

Lambert remained at RCR and as crew chief for the No. 31 Chevrolet team in 2014, but he was paired with veteran Ryan Newman when Burton scaled back as a part-time competitor. While Lambert and Newman did not record a single victory throughout the 2014 Cup season, they were one of the most consistent teams on the track as they achieved five top-five results and 16 top-10 results throughout the entire season. In addition to making the Playoffs, they made it all the way to the Championship Round, where Newman went on to finish in a career-best second place in the final standings. 

Lambert returned for a third full-time season in the Cup Series as crew chief for RCR’s No. 31 Chevrolet team with Newman remaining at the team. In late March 2015, Lambert was suspended for six races and fined $125,000 as a result of NASCAR discovering illegal modifications made to the tires on Newman’s car at Auto Club Speedway, which also cost Newman and RCR 75 driver/owner points. Despite the early suspension, Lambert and Newman went on to achieve a pair of season-best third-place results, five top-five results and nine top-10 results. While Newman made the Playoffs, he was eliminated from title contention following the Round of 12 and went on to finish 11th in the final standings. By the time the 2015 season concluded, Lambert also surpassed 100 starts in the Cup Series.

In 2016, Lambert and Newman only achieved a season-best result of third place at Kentucky Speedway in July, two top-five results, 10 top-10 results and an 18th-place result in the final standings after missing the Playoffs.

On March 19, 2017, at Phoenix Raceway, a late caution enabled Lambert to make a decisive pit strategy call to keep Newman out on the track with the race lead on old tires. During an overtime attempt, the strategic call paid off as Newman held off Kyle Larson to win and deliver the first NASCAR Cup career victory for Lambert. In addition, the Phoenix victory snapped a 127-race winless drought for Newman and a 112-race winless drought for Richard Childress Racing.

In total, Lambert and Newman achieved one victory, seven top-five results and 13 top-10 results in 2017. They made the Playoffs for the third time in four seasons, but were eliminated following the Round of 16 and settled in 16th place in the final standings.

Following the 2018 Cup season, where Lambert and Newman achieved nine top-10 results and a final points result of 17th place, Newman departed RCR for Roush Fenway Racing while Lambert was paired with Daniel Hemric, who was assigned to drive RCR’s No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in 2019. By then, Lambert had also surpassed 200 starts in the Cup Series.

Participating in all but one of the 36-race schedule in 2019, Lambert and Hemric achieved a pole, one top-five result, two top-10 results and a 25th-place result in the final standings. In addition, Hemric was able to achieve the 2019 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title.

For the 2020 season, Lambert departed RCR and joined Roush Fenway Racing to serve as crew chief for Chris Buescher and the No. 17 Ford Mustang team in the Cup Series. In their first race together, Buescher recorded a strong third-place result in the season-opening Daytona 500. They, however, went on to record an additional top-five result and an additional seven top-10 results before concluding the season in 21st place in the final standings.

This season, Lambert and Buescher have achieved results of 31st, 11th and 19th through the first three Cup scheduled races. They are ranked in 15th place in the regular-season standings.

Through 299 previous appearances in the Cup Series, Lambert has achieved one victory, one pole, 26 top-five results and 80 top-10 career results.

Catch Lambert’s milestone start in the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 7, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

Allmendinger nabs a win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

By
Michelle Lippold
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AJ Allmendinger celebrates after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 300 at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 06, 2021. Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images

The NASCAR Xfinity Series held their event today at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Alsco Uniforms 300. Throughout the race, it seemed as if there were several cars that were capable of dominating and winning the race however only one driver got it done. AJ Allmendinger, driving his No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, took advantage of a late-stage caution to get the lead and stay there taking the checkered flag.

Allmendinger stated after the race, “First off, it’s great to have you all back in the grandstands, that’s the most important thing. Without you and all of you at home we can’t do this, thank you so much for showing up and packing this place.” He continued, “I’m just emotional, this could be the last win, I don’t know. I hope not, I think we can do a lot more.”

Daniel Hemric brought his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 home in second place, also having a great race.

Hemric said, “First off, I’m so proud of the rebound of my pit crew this week.” Adding, “You hate to give one away like that but you know we wanted to have more speed to lead laps and win stages and we did that today. I lined up the shot there I just got beat. Congratulations to A.J.”

Brandon Jones didn’t have the win but came in at a respectable third in his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota.

Stage 1

Stage 1 would only have one caution for the spinning car of Stefan Parsons. Hemric and Austin Cindric had really strong cars. Cindric led a good majority of the stage but, had to make a last-lap pass to win it which he did.

Stage 2

Stage 2 was rather chaotic at times having three cautions. Cindric cut a tire but was saved from losing a lap when the caution came out for Riley Herbst and Ty Dillon when they got together. Hemric dominated this stage and went on to win it with ease.

Stage 3

The Final Stage saw several great battles on the track, Hemric, Allmendinger, B.Jones, and Cindric were swapping the lead but it would be Allmendinger bringing home the prize. He took the lead with 62 laps to go and pretty much never looked back.

Hemric, B. Jones, Cindric and Noah Gragson would round out the top five. Michael Annett, Josh Berry, Justin Haley, Harrison Burton, and Jeb Burton finished sixth through 10, respectively.

Cindric leads in the Xfinity Series points standings with 191 points, second is Hemric with 170 points, third is Brandon Jones with 140 points, fourth is Ross Chastain with 133 points, and rounding out the top five is Justin Haley with 128 points.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads next to Phoenix Raceway on March 13.

Toyota Racing NXS Post-Race Recap — Las Vegas 3.6.21

By
Official Release
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HEMRIC, JONES CONTINUE STRONG STARTS IN LAS VEGAS
Daniel Hemric, Brandon Jones score their third consecutive top-five finishes

LAS VEGAS (March 6, 2021) – Daniel Hemric (second) and Brandon Jones (third) drove their Toyota Supras to top-five finishes in the Alsco Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday evening.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Race 4 of 33 – 300 miles, 200 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, AJ Allmendinger*
2nd, DANIEL HEMRIC
3rd, BRANDON JONES
4th, Austin Cindric*
5th, Noah Gragson*
9th, HARRISON BURTON
13h, SANTINO FERRUCCI
26th, JESSE LITTLE
28th, CHAD FINCHUM
31st, TY DILLON
36th, STEFAN PARSONS
37th, TIMMY HILL
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

DANIEL HEMRIC, No. 18 Poppy Bank Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd

You were so close again. How was your race today?

“First off, so proud of the rebound for my pit crew this week. I’m so proud of everyone on this Poppy Bank Toyota Supra. The JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) Supras were so fast. You hate to have one get away like that, but we wanted to come here and lead laps and win stages and we did that today. We wound up with a shot and just got beat. Congratulations to AJ (Allmendinger) — just got beat.”

How strong was your race car today?

“This was probably, there’s no probably about it, this was the best Poppy Bank Toyota Supra we’ve had all year. We’ve had good finishes, but by far the most speed we’ve had. We come here to win these races for sure. Disappointed to have one get away like that and get beat, but AJ (Allmendinger) did an incredible job. Felt like our cars were fairly equal. I would be a little better than him on one part of the run and he would be better than me at one part of the run. I just took off on the splitter there on the last couple short runs. I’ll tell you, we came a long way. Dave (Rogers, crew chief) wasn’t very thrilled and I wasn’t very thrilled last week after we left Homestead, but we did the right things this week. Close and if we keep doing that, we’ll win plenty this year.”

BRANDON JONES, No. 19 Menards/Turtle Wax Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd

Where would you have wanted to be better in today’s race?

“I think we’re bringing incredible Supras to the race track every week and it’s showing. This is the most consistent that we’ve started out a year with a lot of top-fives already to kick it off. It’s a ton of momentum to keep leading into these mile-and-a-halves. We all know how well this car runs in Phoenix so I’m looking forward to getting back to that race track next week. I think I was missing a little bit of both front turn and rear grip. I’m so good on those restarts and the 16 (AJ Allmendinger), he just threw a huge block and kind of upset our air a little bit. All in all, this was a fabulous weekend. Got good stage points and a good ending position. On to our best track.”

HARRISON BURTON, No. 20 DEX Imaging Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 9th

Can you talk about what happened between yourself and Austin Cindric?

“Not really, I don’t know. I made a block that I thought I had plenty of time on and apparently not. I don’t know, it’s hard to say. I literally just got out of the car. I would like to see it. It happened so fast and I don’t really know. Just really disappointing because we had so many issues and fought through them and got to where I thought we were a third-place car at the end. Then just had an unfortunate deal there. I’ll look at it and see, I’m not real sure what happened. I do know that I’m proud of our team for working really hard and getting better as the race went on.”

SANTINO FERRUCCI, No. 26 HydraVes Technologies Toyota Supra, Sam Hunt Racing
Finishing Position: 13th

Great finish today, Santino. How was the race as a whole?

“We rolled out of the trailer and took the green and we started really strong, but then we started to get really loose, like super-duper scary loose and we just held on to it until the end of stage one. Andrew (Abbott, crew chief) on the box just put like six turns of wedge into the thing, completely reset the balance of the car for stage two and we just turned into a rocket ship. The HydraVes Supra was so quick, so, so quick and we just held on, ran our race to stage three and finished out strong racing some JR Motorsports cars.”

Two races down headed into Phoenix this weekend, what did you learn today that you can translate over to that track?

“You just learn that these races are so long. It doesn’t really matter what happens in stage one or two. It’s just important to keep the car clean and to listen and work with everybody and get it set right. Once you get it set right, you can come from anywhere to do well. I think our communication as a team, as a whole, from Homestead to Vegas was just miles different. I’m just looking forward to more of that.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands plus our 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota has created a tremendous value chain and directly employs more than 47,000 in North America. The company has contributed world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama that begins production in 2021.

Through its Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.

Ford Performance NASCAR: Cindric Keeps Top 5 Streak Alive with 4th-Place Run in Las Vegas

By
Official Release
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Ford Performance Post-Race Recap
NASCAR XFINITY Series – Alsco Uniforms 300
Las Vegas Motor Speedway | Saturday, March 6, 2021

FORD FINISHING RESULTS:
4th — Austin Cindric
38th — Ryan Sieg
40th — Riley Herbst

FORD PERFORMANCE QUOTES

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 22 Carquest Auto Parts Ford Mustang — WHAT HAPPENED WITH YOU AND HARRISON BURTON? “He just threw a block on the frontstretch and at that part of the racetrack the cars really unloaded. I was just driving hard. At the end of the day, it was probably pretty avoidable on both parties, but obviously he was able to keep it off the wall and get a top 10. Either way, that wasn’t really the catalyst for my day. We cut a tire down when we were one of the best cars and it took us the entire race to get back to fourth, so we needed 100 more miles and maybe we would have had a shot with our Carquest Ford Mustang. All good on my end, just bad luck.”

RILEY HERBST, No. 98 South Point Ford Mustang — “It just sucks. People spin in front of you. It’s happened probably the last three weeks where people have started wrecking in front of me and there’s no place for me to go, so something has got to change. This is an absolute shame.”

THIS IS YOUR HOMETOWN. HOW MUCH WERE YOU REALLY WANTING TO PERFORM HERE TODAY? “Not just that, I just wanted to get a good race. Last week we got fenced. The week before people wrecked in front of us just like this week and it’s just a shame. I just want to run a full race without somebody wrecking in front of me.”

Our Motorsports Looks to Tackle Sin City with Tyler Reddick and Brett Moffitt

By
Official Release
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Our Motorsports announced earlier this week that they have acquired the No.23 for the rest of the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season. The team will be adding the No.23 alongside the No.02 effort which Brett Moffitt is entered in for the entirety of the 2021 season. 

This weekend, Tyler Reddick steps into the No.23 Chevy with a returning sponsor for Our Motorsports with Quartz Hill Records highlighting Ben Gallaher’s new single – “Every Small Town”. Tyler will be starting from the 40th starting position Saturday in his Quartz Hill Records / Ben Gallaher Chevy.

Meanwhile, Brett Moffitt and the No.02 Our Motorsports Chevy will start from the seventh starting position this Saturday in the Alsco Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The No.02 team enters the weekend fifth in owners’ points standings.

Driver Brett Moffit: 

“Three races in, it’s been really cool to see how far our team has come. We’re competing with major teams and competing for wins every week. Now that we’re really getting into the heat of the season, we look forward to the challenge of getting into a rhythm and doing it every week. If we keep bringing cars like we have to the first three races of the season, we’ll get our weekend on the top of the results, and I can’t wait for the entire Our Motorsports team to be rewarded for all their hard work.” 

Past Results at Las Vegas for Our Motorsports: 

Last year, Moffit piloted the No.02 for both races in Las Vegas. The team earned a 15th place finish in the spring race and a 14th place finish in the fall.

Tune in: 

The NASCAR Xfinity Series and Our Motorsports take on Sin City Saturday for the Alsco Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Fans can catch the action on FS1, MRN/Sirius XM NASCAR, and other local radio affiliates at 4:30pm and by following Our Motorsports on social media. 

Toyota Racing NCWTS Post-Race Recap — Las Vegas 3.5.21

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Official Release
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JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK SCORES FIRST TOYOTA WIN
Toyota sweeps the top-five finishers in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS (March 5, 2021) – John Hunter Nemechek scored his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) victory for Kyle Busch Motorsports and Toyota on Friday evening at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as he becomes the 36th different driver to win in a Tundra. It is the seventh career Truck Series victory for Nemechek. For the fourth time in Toyota history, Nemechek led a Tundra sweep of the top-five finishing positions in this evening’s race (World Wide Technology Raceway – April 2006, Talladega Superspeedway – October 2009, Las Vegas Motor Speedway – September 2014).

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Race 3 of 23 – 134 Laps, 201 Miles

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
2nd, KYLE BUSCH
3rd, AUSTIN HILL
4th, STEWART FRIESEN
5th, MATT CRAFTON
9th, CHRISTIAN ECKES
10th, BEN RHODES
15th, JOHNNY SAUTER
17th, DANNY BOHN
19th, CHANDLER SMITH
24th, BJ MCLEOD
32nd, DEREK KRAUS

TOYOTA QUOTES

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 1st

You won the race and beat the boss. How was that finish for you?

“I just can’t thank everyone at Toyota, Jack Irving (TRD), Kyle Busch, Uncle Eric (Phillips, crew chief) for this opportunity. It means a lot to me. Mobil 1 on board, coming back to the Truck Series, that was the plan, that was the goal. We came into this year with the hashtag here for wins and we are here for wins. I definitely think experience paid off tonight. We did an amazing job. I can’t thank Fire Alarm Services, ROMCO, all of our partners for all of there help. Thank you fans for being here. It’s awesome to have you guys back. I can’t wait to go celebrate.”

Once you were clear, what were you thinking?

“He was faster than me in stage two, so I really didn’t know. It was all about using our truck to the best we could possibly do, wrapping the bottom and taking the dirty air away. He had to run up and it created more lap time for him. Overall, it was an awesome victory. I wish my wife Taylor was here. Thank you for all of the support, my family, everyone involved. She had to stay home because we are about to be on baby watch. It’s awesome.”

What does it mean to get your first Truck Series win driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports?

“It’s an awesome day. The goal here for us was to come here and win. We’ve been close the last two weeks and we have fast race trucks. I can’t thank everyone enough – Jack Irving (TRD) from Toyota, Mobil 1, Fire Alarm Services, Kyle (Busch, team owner) for giving me this opportunity. The opportunity to come here and race in the Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports is an amazing opportunity and we’re capitalizing on that. We want to be the dominant one this year and we want to win as many races as we can. It’s awesome to get it kicked off here in Vegas and beat the boss.”

How crazy were the restarts during the race?

“They definitely were. Overall, it was an amazing day. Our restarts were on point all day. Just a lot of fun and that’s all we can ask for. We’re here to have fun, we’re here for wins and we’re doing it.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 51 Cessna Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 2nd

What was missing at the end of the race to contend with John Hunter Nemechek?

“We just didn’t have enough in our Cessna Tundra. They were a little bit better than us so not sure what differences they had. I was just really tight and really rough over the bumps, trying to get through the bumps. Looking at the splitter wear, it was really rough on the splitter and wearing through it. We were battling some little things, but overall our truck was still fast. It was cool to come home one-two.”

Having your team truck win, does that help take away the sting of not winning yourself?

“Certainly, it does. Anytime you finish second to a team truck, you know how good the equipment is and it’s nice to see the equipment getting full potential and running up front. I’m exciting to have John Hunter (Nemechek) this year. When we had the opportunity to talk last year and to bring him in and to have Eric Phillips (crew chief) back on board, that was going to be a winning combination I felt like and here we are already reaping the benefits. I hate I finished second obviously, I want to win, but as a team owner, I get paid the same whether they win or I win and it’s nothing so I’m all good.”

AUSTIN HILL, No. 16 Ibaraki Toyopet Toyota Tundra, Hattori Racing Enterprises
Finishing Position: 3rd

What was missing to contend with the Kyle Busch Motorsports Tundras tonight?

“You can see right there, our left front (tire) is corded really bad. We had a good night. We finally got on the right track. Those first two races didn’t go the way we wanted them to so this is a good way to bounce back, but it always stings a little bit when you come to a place that you’ve had success at and you don’t get the job done. Scott (Zipadelli, crew chief) and everybody back at the shop, they did a really good job bringing a really fast Toyota Tundra. All in all, we just came up short tonight. We just got too tight when the tires started cording and started chattering the left front. Can’t thank everybody at Ibraraki Toyopet enough for coming on board. Everything that all these guys do in Japan for us is a really big deal with everything going on. It’s really cool to see that. We’ll bounce back and go to Atlanta, a place that we’ve had some good runs at as well and see if we can get the job done there as well.”

STEWART FRIESEN, No. 52 Halmar International Toyota Tundra, Halmar-Friesen Racing
Finishing Position: 4th

What was missing at the end of the race for your team?

“We just lacked a little grip on the restarts. It was good and great night for the Halmar International group. Halmar has been awesome behind us and one of the best sponsors in the business. Thanks to Chris Larson and everybody at Halmar International, everybody at TRD (Toyota Racing Development) for the help. We were close with our Tundra. We’re back in the top-five racing. From where this team was a year ago to where we are is really awesome. Got some momentum, good points day and just lacked a little grip on the restarts.”

MATT CRAFTON, No. 88 Menards/Slim Jim Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 5th

Can you take us through your race tonight?

“Just the restarts killed me to be totally honest. I could get to the 16 (Austin Hill) there at the end. I could get to his bumper and I could push him for a second and then he would get out on me. We just didn’t have the two lap run speed that we needed. We needed some long green flag runs and I think we would have been a lot better off. This Menards Toyota Tundra, not too terrible. Just keep working on it. Atlanta, we’re going over there in a couple weeks and that’s my favorite race track that we go to on the circuit so really, really looking forward to that one.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold nearly 2.8 million cars and trucks (nearly 2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2019.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.

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