“I’ll take it. To walk out of here with a top-five in probably our worst track on the schedule – that was really good and I’m proud of the effort on this Rheem Camry,” said Bell. “We had a lot to overcome with a bad qualifying run, and then really bad pit stall selection. There was a lot of adversity that we had to fight through, and that was a freaking blast. It was so much fun. The whole race was super intense, and everybody did a good job not to wreck more.”
- Christopher Bell
Christopher Bell, Chandler Smith and Corey Heim led Toyota with strong top-five finishes in the fall Atlanta Motor Speedway race weekend.
NASCAR
On Sunday, Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick continued their strong performances in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta. Bell finished fourth – his third straight top-five finish – to extend his advantage to the Playoff cutline to 40 points. Reddick, who continues to lead the series in top-10 finishes after a sixth-place run, is 33 points to the good.
“I have to give a huge thank you to Sam Hunt Racing – to bring me here,” said Heim. “We literally don’t have a logo on the thing, but we have a lot of people in the background that are providing a lot of support – Toyota, Sam Hunt Racing, Synergy – all of those guys get us to the race track, week-in and week-out, if we don’t have a logo on the car. Very thankful right now, and another top-five for Sam Hunt Racing – happy about that.”
- Corey Heim
Toyota currently has four drivers above the Playoff cutline with Denny Hamlin in 11th – two points to the good, while Ty Gibbs moved from 15th to 12th and is now one point above the cutline. Martin Truex Jr. was involved in an on-track incident and was unable to finish the race. He is 19 points out with two races remaining in the Round of 16.
On Saturday, Georgia natives Chandler Smith (fourth) and Corey Heim (fifth) battled for the win late in the Xfinity Series race before coming up just short of race winner Austin Hill. Smith led 28 laps (of 163), while Heim – who was in his first Xfinity Series start at a superspeedway – impressed throughout the race, earning the best finish at a superspeedway for Sam Hunt Racing, along with setting a new team-high of top-five finishes (three) scored in a single season all in just 11 starts.
GR CUP
The Toyota GR Cup competed in their next to last race weekend of the season at Barber Motorsports Park. On Saturday, Gresham Wagner continued his stellar season with his eighth win, while Toyota Development Driver Westin Workman earned his 10th career podium with a runner-up finish.
On Sunday, Spike Kohlbecker scored the victory with Workman continuing his strong performance throughout the weekend with a third-place finish.
GT4
It was another strong weekend for the GT4 teams as they competed in two races at Barber Motorsports Park. On Saturday, Smooge Racing drivers Corey Lewis and Tyler Gonzalez found themselves on the podium with a third-place finish in the Silver class. On Sunday, Lewis and Gonzalez earned back-to-back podiums with another third-place run, while KRUGSPEED drivers Lance Bergstein and Anthony Geraci won the Am division in the GR Supra.
What’s Next
NASCAR heads back to road course racing at New York’s Watkins Glen International. On Friday, September 13, the ARCA Menards Series runs at 5:00 p.m. ET on FS1, with the NASCAR Xfinity Series competing on Saturday, September 14 at 3:00 p.m. ET on USA and the NASCAR Cup Series closing the weekend on Sunday, September 15 at 3:00 p.m. ET, also on USA.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series starts its Countdown to the Championship at Maple Grove Raceway in Pennsylvania. Final eliminations are on Sunday, September 15 at 2:00 p.m. on FOX.