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Special Article

Nov 12 - 2019

Toyota's Title Contenders

September 21, 2019, Martin Truex Jr. led 109 (of 400) laps and drove to his second-consecutive race win and second-consecutive Richmond Raceway win Saturday evening.

Toyota's Title Contenders

It’s officially championship week for Toyota Racing in all three NASCAR national series and NHRA. While five drivers have chances to win their respective titles, it’s already been a record-breaking season for Toyota.

Already clinched
Going into this weekend, Toyota drivers and teams have clinched four driver titles and three manufacturer championships across multiple racing disciplines.

Christian Eckes scoring the driver’s championship at Kansas Speedway in October on the strength of four wins.

The championships started early for Toyota when the first manufacturer’s title of the season was clinched in July in the ARCA Menards Series as Toyota drivers won 11 of the first 14 events in 2019. Toyota drivers went on to close the season with eight straight wins with 18-year-old Toyota Racing development driver Christian Eckes scoring the driver’s championship at Kansas Speedway in October on the strength of four wins.

For the fifth straight season, CJ Greaves clinched the Lucas Oil Midwest Short Course League Pro 4 championship by closing the season in September with a win at Crandon Off-Road Raceway in Wisconsin.

Ken Gushi, who ended winless streaks with victories in 2019.

In October at the “House of Drift” – Irwindale Speedway – Toyota walked away with its sixth straight manufacturer’s championship on the strength of three victories with Formula DRIFT’s all-time wins leader, Fredric Aasbø, having another incredible season along with Ryan Tuerck and Ken Gushi, who ended winless streaks with victories in 2019.

Jesse Colwell, who won his ride with a winning performance in the Keith Kunz Motorsports Giveback Classic last year, drove his way to the POWRi championship on the strength of two victories.

In dirt racing, it was a storybook season for Jesse Colwell. Colwell, who won his ride with a winning performance in the Keith Kunz Motorsports Giveback Classic last year, drove his way to the POWRi championship on the strength of two victories.

Derek Kraus finished an outstanding season with his 11th top-five finish in 14 events on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West tour to earn the championship.

The title winning continued this past weekend at ISM Raceway in Arizona as Derek Kraus finished an outstanding season with his 11th top-five finish in 14 events on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West tour to earn the championship.

NASCAR

While Toyota drivers already have several titles already this season, so much more can be secured this weekend.

It starts on Friday as Toyota holds a nine-point lead in the manufacturer’s standings in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. Toyota is guaranteed to clinch its 11th title if a Toyota driver can finish inside the top five.

Although Toyota Playoff drivers Austin Hill and Tyler Ankrum were both eliminated in their runs for the driver’s championship on Friday, Kyle Busch Motorsports can still earn the owner’s championship with the No. 51 team. ARCA Menards Series champion Christian Eckes is scheduled to be behind the wheel as the team looks to add more hardware to an outstanding season.

Christopher Bell first Xfinity Series title after scoring a series-leading eight wins this season.

Although the manufacturer’s title is secure, Toyota looks to secure its third Cup Series driver’s title on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. For the first time in series history, Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing have three of four drivers in the Championship 4 with Martin Truex Jr.,

Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch eligible to run for the coveted title. Truex and Hamlin secured their spots with wins in the Round of 8, while Busch claimed his spot on points after season-long success. Busch (2015) and Truex (2017) are looking for their second championship and Hamlin is hoping to secure his first.

NHRA

In addition to NASCAR, the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series is back on track, and Doug Kalitta looks to secure Toyota’s fourth driver title in the past five seasons.

A Hall of Fame driver, Kalitta hopes to earn his long awaited first championship after over 20 seasons of competing. Kalitta has four runner-up finishes in the championship race and comes into the final race of the season at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California, in third – less than two rounds out of first.

Kalitta looks to follow recent Toyota champions Del Worsham (2015 – Funny Car), Antron Brown (2016 – Top Fuel) and J.R. Todd (2018 – Funny Car).

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