This Week in Motorsports: May 11-17, 2020
· NCS: Darlington Raceway (Darlington, South Carolina) – May 17
PLANO, Texas (May 13, 2020) – The NASCAR Cup Series returns to the track for the first time since early March with Sunday’s race at Darlington Raceway.
NASCAR National Series – NCS
Jones is Darlington’s Most Recent Winner… Erik Jones returns to Darlington Raceway as the most recent NASCAR Cup Series winner at the legendary track. Jones led the final 41 laps in last September’s Southern 500 to score his second NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) win and clinch a spot in the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Hamlin is Playoff Clinched… The 2020 season began with a big moment for Denny Hamlin as the Toyota driver earned his third Daytona 500 win in the last five seasons. With the victory, Hamlin is one of only three drivers to have clinched a spot in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. At Darlington, Hamlin also has a stellar record with two NASCAR Cup Series wins, including victories in the Southern 500 in 2017 and 2010.
Toyota Strong at Darlington… Hamlin and Jones’ recent success are a part of a stellar run of victories for Toyota at Darlington Raceway as the manufacturer has scored wins in five of the last seven events at the South Carolina track. The 2017 Cup Series Champion Martin Truex Jr. earned his first Southern 500 win in 2016, while former Toyota drivers Carl Edwards (2015) and Matt Kenseth (2013) have also tamed the Lady in Black. Kyle Busch also has a Darlington Raceway win – Toyota’s first at the historic track – in 2008.
First Darlington Cup Start for Bell… Rookie Christopher Bell makes his Darlington Cup Series debut on Sunday. Bell has competed at the track twice in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS), earning his track-best finish of fourth last fall.
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.
