“This just speaks volumes of the kind of team we have,” said Ashley. “When I went up to them and told them my plan, the team rallied around me and we rallied together as a group. We’re one team and one family, and for them to understand my principles and having only one lap down the racetrack – I don’t think we had lane choice once today, our backs were against the wall, but Mike (Green, crew chief) and Tommy (DeLago) did an awesome job. It's not over until it’s over, that much is for sure. You just have to keep swinging, and it’s best for us to not even look at the points. If we don’t take care of our business, it’s not going to matter anyway. It’s important to enjoy it, but once we leave here our focus has to immediately shift to Vegas. No matter what, this is far, far from over. We took a major step today, but it’s going to become more and more difficult. Just like it always does, it’s going to come down to Pomona.”
- Justin Ashley
Justin Ashley took over the points lead with a race win at Texas Motorplex, while all three Toyota drivers advanced in the Round of 8 after Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race in Charlotte.
NHRA
Justin Ashley took back the Top Fuel points lead with a holeshot win in the final round at Texas Motorplex. The New York-native scored his fourth win of the season. With two races and eight rounds of racing to go, Ashley now holds over a two-round lead in the standings over fellow Toyota driver Antron Brown.
“It feels alright. It feels good – I’ll be honest,” said Bell. “Happy for this DEWALT Toyota team. We had a goal today to win the race, and that’s what we came here to do, and it was close – me and the 5 (Kyle Larson) seemed like we were pretty evenly matched once we got out to our equal spacing. I would make a bad lap, and he would pull away, and he would make a bad lap, and I would close in. Hopefully, we get a redo in Phoenix.”
- Christopher Bell
In Funny Car, Ron Capps came just short of his first win this year on Sunday, advancing to his sixth final round of the season.
NASCAR
On Sunday, Christopher Bell continued his great Playoff run with a runner-up finish to clinch his spot in the Round of 8. With the run, Bell earned his series-leading 20th top-10 finish. While Bell had an uneventful day, his Toyota teammates Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick both battled back from adversity as they were involved in a mid-race incident. Their teams both put in the work on pit road and they drove back through the field to earn top-15 finishes, which was enough to advance to the Round of 8.
“It is a testament to everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing,” said Smith. “All of the hard-working men and women that has been thrashing to make this No. 81 Wheelers Toyota group back to how we were at the start of the season. We went through a rough patch through the summer. We were hit or miss. We would show up and be really good some weeks, and others we would show up and not be great. Very, very happy with the consistency we have shown. I’m looking forward going into the next round.”
- Chandler Smith
Chandler Smith continued the recent performance surge with a fifth-place finish on Saturday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. Smith, who had already clinched his spot in the Round of 8 coming into the race, earned his sixth straight top-five finish and eighth consecutive top-10 run.
Smith led three Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas in the top-10 with strong runs by Josh Bilicki (eighth) and Aric Almirola (ninth), while Sheldon Creed was unable to advance to the Round of 8 after being involved in a mid-race incident.
POWRI
Toyota driver Cannon McIntosh wrapped up the POWRi National Midget League title with a second-place finish at Port City Raceway Saturday night, becoming just the second driver in history to win two national midget championships in the same year after clinching the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series title last weekend.
Toyota drivers swept the weekend's three races with Daison Pursley taking home top honors on Thursday, McIntosh winning on Friday and Jacob Denney leading McIntosh to the checkered flag on Saturday night.
Toyota-powered drivers have now won 19 national midget racing championships since 2013.
GT4
Tyler Hoffman had a very successful weekend at Road Atlanta with a podium run in Friday’s IMSA race, before picking up the first victory in the VP Racing Sportscar Challenge for the GR Supra GT4 in Saturday’s second race of the weekend.
What’s Next
It is time for the Round of 8 for NASCAR’s top two series. On Satuday, October 19, the NASCAR Xfinity Series takes to Las Vegas Motor Speedway at 7:00 p.m. ET on CW, while the NASCAR Cup Series competes at the same track on Sunday, October 20 at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
Formula DRIFT closes its season at the House of Drift – Irwindale Speedway. Final eliminations are on Saturday, October 19 at 9:30 p.m. ET on FormulaD.com.