“Total team effort today,” said Heim. “We actually struggled a little bit yesterday and worked overnight on it. I just have to say this pit crew has redeemed themselves from last week. I felt like we could have won the race and admittedly they made some mistakes, but they redeemed themselves today and that is what it is all about. Total team effort on this 11 crew. Super thankful for TRICON Garage, Toyota Racing, Safelite – that was awesome.”
- Corey Heim
Corey Heim claimed a victory in St. Louis, Doug Kalitta in Epping, New Hampshire, and William Sawalich in Portland, Oregon, as Toyota earned victories across the country this weekend.
NASCAR
Corey Heim continued his impressive Truck Series run with his fourth win of the season in the Toyota 200 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. Heim led the most laps for the fifth consecutive Truck Series race and remained undefeated at Gateway, also claiming victory in 2022. It was his ninth career Truck Series win. Stewart Friesen (eighth) continued his recent performance surge with his third straight top-10, while both Tanner and Taylor Gray continue to hold down Playoff spots with four races remaining in the regular season.
“We had a top-five car – we didn’t have the best today, but the Yahoo Camry was in the mix, and was able to capitalize on some others misfortune there,” said Hamlin. “We were going to have a top-five day regardless, but proud of the team. They did a great job on pit road – Chris (Gabehart, crew chief) and the team brought a great car, just wasn’t quite enough.”
- Denny Hamlin
In Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, Denny Hamlin (second) and Tyler Reddick (fourth) led Toyota with top-five finishes in St. Louis. With his fifth straight top-five, Hamlin retains the points lead, while Toyota takes over the manufacturer’s championship lead for the first time this season.
Christopher Bell had the dominant car for the second straight race, as he led a race-high 60 laps, before he experienced mechanical issues battling for the win in the closing laps. He was able to salvage a seventh-place finish.
“We rolled off the truck pretty good,” said Jones. “Obviously, practice is so short, but we got a good feel. Our car wasn’t the best for qualifying, a single-lap run, but we felt comfortable that we had a good car in the long run, and it proved its case in the race. Started mid-pack and gradually worked out way up the field every stage to inside the top-10 for the final stage. For the last two restarts, it was all about going full attack. Again, I’m still learning how to aggressive to be. It’s been an experience, it’s great to get a full race’s experience in, and even better, to be in the top-five. Just thank you to the team and Toyota for helping me prepare for the weekend. And Synergy for being in the car. Looking forward to Sonoma in a few days' time.”
- Ed Jones
Ed Jones was impressive in his second career NASCAR Xfinity Series race as he drove the second Sam Hunt Racing entry to a fifth-place finish at Portland International Raceway to lead Toyota. All six GR Supras were impressive throughout the race, including at one point holding down six of the top-eight spot in the running order, but Jones was the only Toyota driver to claim a clean finish. Shane van Gisbergen was the winner.
“It’s incredible,” said Kalitta. “We had a tribute to my cousin, Scott, yesterday and this was definitely true to him. Connie (Kalitta, team owner), Alan (Johnson, crew chief), Mac (Savage, assistant crew chief), the whole Mac Tools, Toyota, Revchem team. We’ve been digging hard. I’m just making sure I don’t screw up, up there. They give me such a good car. Awesome weekend and super excited!”
- Doug Kalitta
NHRA
Doug Kalitta scored his long-awaited first win at New England Dragway on Sunday – extending Toyota’s streak of seven straight Top Fuel wins to begin the season, and eight overall dating back to Kalitta’s win at Pomona last November. Kalitta has now won on every track on the NHRA tour. In Funny Car, J.R. Todd continued his strong performance with a semi-final finish. John Force was the race winner.
FORMULA DRIFT
Ryan Tuerck led Toyota with an opening round win in Orlando. Conor Shanahan won the event.
ARCA WEST
After working on road course skills throughout the off-season, William Sawalich’s work paid off as he won his first ARCA West road course win at Portland International Raceway. Isabella Robusto also continued to impress with a third-place finish.
XTREME MIDGET
Toyota drivers swept a pair of Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series events, co-sanctioned by POWRi, this weekend. Cannon McIntosh kicked off the week's racing with a Thursday victory at Doe Run (Mo.) Raceway, where he would lead the final 25 laps to record his fifth win of the season and the 39th national midget feature triumph of his career. On Friday at Coles County Speedway in Mattoon, Illinois, rookie Ashton Torgerson collected his fourth win of the season. At the midway point of the 2024 Xtreme season, McIntosh holds a comfortable 145-point lead over teammate Ryan Timms.
What’s Next
NASCAR heads to Sonoma Raceway for the annual Toyota/Save Mart 350 race weekend. On Friday, June 7, the ARCA Menards Series West competes at 6:30 p.m. ET on FloRacing. The NASCAR Xfinity Series is on-track on Saturday, June 8 at 8:00 p.m. ET on FS1, with the Toyota/Save Mart 350 closing the weekend on Sunday, June 9 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series is also on-track for the second straight weekend, this time at Tennessee’s Bristol Dragway. Final eliminations are on Sunday, June 9 at 7:00 pm. ET on FS1.