Story By: SAM MAHONEY / TOYOTA RACING – PLANO, TX – After the chaotic finishes at Talladega, NASCAR’s Cup and Xfinity Series return to their short track packages this weekend at Dover Motor Speedway.
The series will be joined by the ARCA Menards Series who will also battle on the Delaware mile-long speedway. The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series also competes in their second four-wide event of the season at zMAX Dragway, just outside of Charlotte.
NASCAR National Series – NCS | NXS
Points standings continue to sway … Sunday’s wild race at Talladega caused a shakeup in the NASCAR Cup Series points standings, including for race winner, Tyler Reddick. The 23XI Racing driver jumped three spots in the standings to fifth, while also punching his ticket to the Playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Martin Truex Jr. held his points position in second and is joined inside the top 16 of the standings by Toyota teammates: Denny Hamlin (sixth), Ty Gibbs (eighth), Bubba Wallace (11th) and Christopher Bell (13th).
Heim makes first career Cup Series start … Filling in for the injured Erik Jones, 21-year-old Corey Heim will make his first career NASCAR Cup Series start this weekend at Dover in the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB. The Georgia native will be doing double duty this weekend, also running the Xfinity Series race in the No. 26 GR Supra for Sam Hunt Racing (SHR). The Toyota Development Driver has made two previous starts in his career at Dover, including making his Xfinity Series debut one year ago.
Reddick continues hot streak … With his win on Sunday, Reddick now has five consecutive top-10 finishes, and seven in the last eight races, as he continues to climb up the series points standings. The California native returns to Dover this weekend where he also finished in the top-10 last season.
Truex brothers go for repeats … Dover 2023 was a dream weekend for the Truex brothers, Martin and Ryan, as both captured victories in back-to-back days. The two each look to repeat this weekend, with Ryan in the Xfinity Series piloting the No. 20 GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing and Martin with his No. 19 Camry XSE on Sunday in the Cup Series. A win for Martin would be the 35th of his Cup Series career and a victory for Ryan would be his second in the Xfinity Series.
Johnson makes third start of 2024 … Jimmie Johnson is back in the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE this weekend at Dover Motor Speedway. Dover has been a strong track for the seven-time series champion, where he’s accrued 11 wins, 18 top-fives and 27 top-10s in 38 previous starts at the “Monster Mile.” This weekend will also be the Hall-of-Famer’s 692nd career Cup Series start as he closes in on 700.
Toyotas stay put in Xfinity Series points … Heading to Dover, Toyota’s full-time Xfinity Series drivers held steady in the series points standings. Chandler Smith leads the standings by 14 points with shuffling of positions below him. His Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Sheldon Creed, stayed in the 10th position after a top-10 finish at Talladega last weekend.
Short track dominance to begin 2024… Like its run in the Cup Series, Toyota has had a dominant start to the 2024 Xfinity Series season on the short tracks. A Toyota GR Supra has won the first three short tracks so far, with Smith triumphant at Phoenix and Richmond, while Aric Almirola won at Martinsville. Toyota also seeks a Dover repeat following Truex’s win last season.
NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA Menards Series
Toyota seeks history-making 15th straight win … Following Jake Finch’s victory at Talladega, Toyota comes to Dover looking for its 15th consecutive win in the ARCA Menards Series, as well as its fourth straight to begin 2024. A triumph for Toyota would tie its own record of 15 straight wins, which was also previously earned in 2019 and 2020.
NHRA – Top Fuel | Funny Car
Toyotas topping NHRA points … Through four races of the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season, Toyota drivers find themselves towards the top of the points standings in both the Top Fuel and Funny Car categories. In Top Fuel, Toyota owns the top five positions with Justin Ashley (first), Shawn Langdon (second), Steve Torrence (third), Doug Kalitta (fourth) and Billy Torrence (fifth). Antron Brown sits ninth in the category standings. In Funny Car, J.R. Todd leads the GR Supra contingent in the second position, with Ron Capps in sixth and Alexis DeJoria in seventh.
Does Top Fuel win streak continue? … Following Kalitta’s dramatic victory at the Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals two weeks ago, Toyota comes to zMAX Dragway in Charlotte with five consecutive Top Fuel victories and four consecutive to start 2024. Kalitta and Toyota also return to zMAX Dragway as the reining winners, claiming victory last September on the way to his Top Fuel world championship.