“Yeah, no doubt. Another week, another good truck with these TRICON Garage guys,” Heim said. “They do such a good job week in and week out, bringing me fast Tundra TRD Pros. Today was no short of that. I feel like it was the truck to beat today, all the way through practice and if we qualified, would’ve been right there. And of course in the race, we put it to them today. Such a good feeling when you have trucks as good as these and you can manage a race like that. It was crazy with the rain and the fuel mileage and all that stuff, but we overcame it and are here in victory lane.”
- Corey Heim
Corey Heim and his No. 11 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro dominated the “Tricky Triangle” Friday evening, leading 55 of the 70 laps on the way to his fifth Truck Series victory of 2024.
NASCAR
Corey Heim was the class of the field in the NASCAR Truck Series race at Pocono Raceway, which resulted in his fifth trip to the winner’s circle of the season, the most in the series so far in 2024, and the 10th win of his Truck Series career. Heim led 55 of the 70 laps run on Friday and swept both stages on the way to victory. The stage wins give Heim six this season, also the most in the Truck Series.
“Yeah, always. You never lose one, just run out of laps or you run out of time, right?” said Hamlin. “No, hats off to this whole Mavis Tires and Brakes team. Would've loved to give them a victory, but second is close and at least, it’s good to get back on track. We’ve had some slides over the last month-and-a-half.”
- Denny Hamlin
In Sunday afternoon’s Great American Getaway 400, Denny Hamlin drove his No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE to a second-place finish at Pocono Raceway. Hamlin started the day in fourth position and was upfront throughout the 160-lap race around the “Tricky Triangle,” finishing second in Stage 1, winning Stage 2 and leading a total of 31 laps. Though there was a bevy of late-race cautions that jumbled up the field, Hamlin was unable to catch the leader by the checkered flag, finishing just 1.3 seconds back. Sunday’s result is Hamlin’s eighth top-five of the season. Ryan Blaney was the race winner.
“Yeah, always happy with a top-five,” said Creed. “Had to battle there, the first half (of the race) was a struggle. Sat on the pole and fell really hard, just way too tight there. And then, jumped the fence and kind of free the rest of the day, but was able to capitalize on some good restarts there at the end and get myself in position and held on. I don’t know if I was a fourth-place car at the end, but just fortunate to have good restarts there at the end and kind of fall into line. Proud of everyone, going to keep working. Another top-five is great, but still searching for that first win.”
- Sheldon Creed
Joining Hamlin inside the top-10 were Camry XSE teammates Tyler Reddick (6th), Martin Truex Jr. (8th) and Bubba Wallace (10th).
On Saturday for the Xfinity Series race, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Sheldon Creed and Taylor Gray notched top-five finishes in the Pocono Mountains 225. After claiming his first pole with Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing Saturday morning, Creed fell back early in Stage 1, but managed to stay within the top-10 in the 20-lap stage and for most of the 90-lap race. A few late cautions and restart opportunities gave the driver of the No. 18 GR Supra a shot at victory, but he settled for fourth, earning him his eighth top-five of the 2024 season. Cole Custer was the race winner.
Gray claimed his second career top-five with the result. The 19-year-old Toyota Development Driver qualified fourth but had to start at the rear of the field for unapproved pre-race adjustments. Overcoming the adversity, Gray drove his No. 19 GR Supra methodically through the field to end up in fifth at the day’s end.
USAC
Three Toyota drivers combined to sweep the four-race USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series Mid-America Midget Week.
Daison Pursley kicked off the week by winning at Red Dirt Raceway in Meeker, Okla., on Tuesday and then followed that up with a victory at Mitchell County Fairgrounds in Beloit, Kansas, on Wednesday. It was Justin Grant's turn on Friday at Jefferson County Speedway in Fairbury, Nebraska, and then Ryan Timms closed out the week's activities with a win at Jefferson County on Saturday night. In addition, Cannon McIntosh earned a pair of podium finishes with a second on Friday and a third on Saturday.
Toyota drivers hold down the top three positions in the USAC championship with Pursley leading the way, followed by McIntosh and Timms as the series nears the midway point of the 2024 season.
GT4
Jack Hawksworth captured pole for Saturday’s race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and came home sixth with Jaden Conwright by the race’s end. The result marked the second-best finish for the No. 50 Supra GT4 Evo of the season.
What’s Next
It is an extremely busy weekend of racing for Team Toyota across the country.
NASCAR returns to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval with the Cup and Xfinity Series, while the Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series take on Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Action from Indianapolis kicks off on Friday, July 19 with the ARCA Menards Series race at 5:30 p.m. EST on FS1, followed by the Truck Series race at 8:30 p.m. EST also on FS1. The Xfinity Series race from Indianapolis Motor Speedway begins on Saturday, July 20 at 3:30 p.m. EST on USA Network. The weekend culminates with the Brickyard 400 on Sunday, July 21 at 2:30 p.m. EST on NBC.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing series returns after a few weekends off, traveling to Pacific Raceways just outside of Seattle, Washington. Final round coverage can be seen live on Sunday, July 21 from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. EST on FOX.
Formula DRIFT holds its first race since June, taking action in St. Louis. Final eliminations can be seen on Saturday, July 20 at 8:30 p.m. EST on FormulaD.com.
The Toyota GR Cup heads to Virginia International Raceway, its first race since May. Race 1 starts at 1:55 p.m. EST on Saturday, July 20 and race 2 begins at 12:15 p.m. EST on Sunday, July 21.