Story By: SAM MAHONEY / TOYOTA RACING – PLANO, TX – NASCAR is back in the Lone Star State at Texas Motor Speedway with all three national series competing on the 1.5-mile oval. NHRA finishes up its west coast swing at Las Vegas for the first four-wide nationals of the season.
NASCAR National Series – NCS | NXS | NCTS
Six of eight Camry drivers within top 16 in points … Through eight races of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, six of Toyota’s eight full-time drivers are inside the top 16 of the series points heading to Texas. Martin Truex Jr. has been leading the Toyota contingent for most of the season so far, currently second in the standings trailing Kyle Larson by 14 points. He is joined by Denny Hamlin (third), Ty Gibbs (seventh), Tyler Reddick (ninth), Christopher Bell (11th) and Bubba Wallace (12th).
Jimmie Johnson back in action … Seven-time Cup Series champion, Jimmie Johnson, will make his second start of 2024 in the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB this weekend. Johnson made his lone appearance of the season so far at the Daytona 500, where he finished 28th. Sunday will be the 691st start of Johnson’s legendary career and his 36th at Texas Motor Speedway, where he’s accrued seven wins, 16 top-fives and 22 top-10s.
Nemechek seeks another Texas win … Texas Motor Speedway has been good to John Hunter Nemechek over the past few seasons while the North Carolina native made his way back up the NASCAR ladder to the Cup Series. Nemechek enters the weekend with three wins in his last five Texas Motor Speedway starts across NASCAR’s three national series, with Xfinity Series victories in 2021 and 2023, along with a Truck Series win in 2021.
Bell happy to return to Texas … Texas has also been a favorable track for Bell of late as the Oklahoma native seeks more solid runs to firm up his playoff position. Bell has three top-fives in the last four races at Texas Motor Speedway, while also entering the weekend with five top-10 finishes so far this season.
Smith extends points lead … After another top-five finish last weekend, his sixth in the first seven races of 2024, Chandler Smith extended his Xfinity Series points lead to 35 going into Texas. His Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Sheldon Creed, moved up one spot to the 10th position after compiling solid stage points at Martinsville.
Truex back in GR Supra … Veteran Ryan Truex is back behind the wheel of a GR Supra this weekend in the Xfinity Series, piloting the No. 20 for Joe Gibbs Racing. Truex started the first two races of 2024 in the No. 19 GR Supra, where he last finished ninth at Atlanta in February.
Toyota aims to continue Texas dominance … Entering the weekend, Toyota has captured victory at Texas Motor Speedway in seven of its last 10 Xfinity Series races. Nemechek provided the most recent wins in a GR Supra, including last spring.
Toyota drivers in the thick of playoff race … Coming to Texas, Toyota Tundra TRD Pro drivers continue to find themselves towards the top of the Truck Series points standings. Corey Heim is leading Toyota drivers, currently tied for second in the points standings and seven points behind the top spot. Taylor Gray sits fifth after another top-10 finish at Martinsville last weekend. His brother, Tanner Gray, sits just outside the top-10 of the points standings in the 11th position.
Wright makes 2024 Truck debut … Full-time ARCA Menards Series driver, Kris Wright, will make his season debut in the Trucks Series this weekend with TRICON Garage in the No. 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. Wright pilots the No. 15 Toyota Camry for Venturini Motorsports in ARCA. Wright has made 45 career Truck Series starts with 12th as his best career finish (Daytona 2021 and Texas 2023).
Friesen seeks another strong Texas run … Truck Series veteran, Stewart Friesen, has been consistently strong at Texas Motor Speedway over the course of his career. The Canadian has top-10 finishes in more than half of his starts at Texas, including a victory in 2022, the third of his career.
NHRA – Top Fuel | Funny Car
Toyota seeks five consecutive wins … After the victories by Justin Ashley (postponed Winternationals from Pomona) and Shawn Langdon at Firebird Motorsports Park, Toyota has four consecutive wins in Top Fuel heading to Las Vegas this weekend. The streak started with Doug Kalitta’s victory at Pomona last fall where he also captured his first career championship.
Brown seeks Las Vegas Four-Wide repeat … Multi-time world champion, Antron Brown, returns to the Four-Wide Nationals as the defending race winner. Another triumph for Brown in the event would be his fifth career Las Vegas spring race win and his 75th overall victory in NHRA competition.