Toyota Racing
This Week in Motorsports – July 1-7, 2019
Toyota Racing On-Track this Week
· MENCS/NXS: Daytona International Speedway (Daytona Beach, Florida) – July 5-6
· NHRA: New England Dragway (Epping, New Hampshire) – July 5-7
· POWRi: Fairbury American Legion Speedway (Fairbury, Illinois) – July 6
Angell Park Speedway (Sun Prairie, Wisconsin) – July 7
NASCAR National Series – MENCS | NXS
July Sizzler… Erik Jones earned his first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) win at Daytona International Speedway during last July’s race. Jones came back from a mid-race incident to take the lead from now-teammate Martin Truex Jr. on the final lap to score the victory. The win also allowed Jones to clinch a spot in his first NASCAR playoffs.
Last Go ‘Round… Last time he was at this track, Denny Hamlin earned his second Daytona 500 win in four years back in February, taking the lead for the first time late in the event. Hamlin withstood multiple challenges in NASCAR overtime by teammates Kyle Busch and Erik Jones to claim the win. Fellow Toyota driver Matt DiBenedetto led a race-high 49 laps (of 207) in his first race with Leavine Family Racing – the most laps led by DiBenedetto in a single race in his MENCS career.
Restrictor-Plate Success… Joe Gibbs Racing driver Brandon Jones has seen recent success at the restrictor plate tracks in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) with two top-three finishes in the last four superspeedway events. Jones started the 2019 season with a third-place finish at Daytona International Speedway, and one year ago, scored a career-best second-place finish at the spring event at Talladega Superspeedway.
Daytona Truck Winner Makes Supra Debut… NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS) regular Austin Hill makes his NXS debut with Hattori Racing Enterprises (HRE) at Daytona. HRE, the same team Hill drives for in the NGOTS, returns to the Xfinity Series for the first time since 2015. The last time Hill was at Daytona, he won the NGOTS season-opener which was his first career Truck Series win. He is currently seventh in the NGOTS standings with three top-five and seven top-10 finishes.
NHRA – Top Fuel | Funny Car
Going Rounds… Antron Brown enters this weekend’s NHRA New England Nationals having won at least one round in each of the last six races. During that time, Brown has been to two semifinals and one final round, climbing from 10th to fourth in points. The three-time Top Fuel world champion looks for his second win at New England Dragway after claiming the Wally in 2016. He also earned runner-up honors last season.
Epping’s Fastest Top Fuel Driver… Doug Kalitta currently holds the title as the fastest Top Fuel driver in New England Dragway history with a record pass of 331.69 mph set in 2017. He is second in the Top Fuel point standings with just six races remaining before the start of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship.
Midget Racing – POWRi
Seavey Out Front… Logan Seavey has opened up a commanding 460-point championship lead over Tucker Klaasmeyer heading into Saturday’s POWRi event at Fairbury American Legion Speedway. Seavey looks for his fourth win in the last five races to go along with a second behind Christopher Bell in the most recent event at Lincoln Speedway.
Toyota Drivers Go for Ten… One of the most prestigious events in Midget car racing will take place this weekend with the 38th annual Pepsi Nationals at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, where Toyota drivers look to earn a 10th straight victory dating back to 2009. Tanner Carrick looks to repeat this year after a 2018 win. Other Toyota winners of the event include Zach Daum (2017, 2013), Carson Macedo (2016), Rico Abreu (2015), Christopher Bell (2014), Caleb Armstrong (2012), Tracy Hines (2010) and Josh Wise (2009). The 2011 event was rained out.
