Toyota drivers earned several strong finishes at Talladega, while scoring the 600th national midget win in Kokomo, Indiana.
NASCAR
Tyler Reddick overcame multiple incidents and a battered Toyota Camry to score a top-15 finish to lead Toyota at Talladega. Reddick, who announced his contract renewal on Sunday, has now finished in the top-15 in every race this season.
“We able to overcome problems that we had throughout the day,” said Reddick. “The second cut tire, I thought was going to be the end of our day, but thankfully we hit it somewhat true enough that all it did was bend stuff, not break it. It was just the day we needed to have with the adversity we had along the way. Bummed we didn’t get ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK and Toyota to victory lane today, but all-in-all, I think we did gain more ground on those around us in points, so to wreck and be able to accomplish that is a good deal.”
- Tyler Reddick
All nine Toyota drivers were either involved in incidents or had pit road penalties throughout Sunday’s race. Carson Hocevar was the race winner.
Brent Crews made it through the carnage and delivered a career-best runner-up finish on Saturday in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Talladega. In the 18-year-old’s first superspeedway start, Crews charged from the back of the lead pack in the closing laps to earn his third straight top-five finish. Dean Thompson also had a stellar day, scoring points in both stages before finishing sixth. Brandon Jones (eighth) put three Supras in the top-10. Corey Day was the race winner.
“It was a lot of fun, and not driving with my eyes closed was easy, but trying to pick a lane – it’s impossible out there, but it is a lot of fun,” said Crews. “The whole 19 team – the 19 Mobil 1 Toyota GR Supra was as fast it could be. I learned a lot there at the end. We had damage and was able to go up there and build runs and to wind up second was super cool. Happy to be here, thanking the Good Lord for keeping us safe today. It was pretty hectic out there, but I had a lot of fun.”
- Brent Crews
ARCA
Isabella Robusto nearly earned her first career ARCA Menards Series win as she led coming to the white flag before finishing fourth at Talladega. Her teammate, Gus Dean, led Toyota with a third-place run, while Gio Ruggiero claimed his third top-five in as many starts this season in fifth. Andy Jankowiak won the race.
SPRINT CAR
In a Friday-Saturday doubleheader at Knoxville Raceway, Toyota’s Buddy Kofoid scored top-10 finishes against a field of over 600 participants. On Friday, Kofoid picked up one spot from qualifying to finish eighth, while he bested that by two spots on Saturday. Brad Sweet (Friday) and David Gravel (Saturday) were the race winners.
USAC NATIONAL MIDGET
Justin Grant drove to victory in the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Championship season-opener at Kokomo Speedway to give Toyota its 600th national midget feature win on Saturday. Grant led a Toyota 1-2-3 finish with Zach Wigal finishing second and Jacob Denney placing third.
Denney would dominate Sunday's Kokomo feature event, taking the lead on lap three and leading the final 28 laps with Keith Kunz Motorsports teammate Gavin Miller placing second to give Toyota a one-two finish. Overall, six Toyota drivers earned top-10 finishes on the night.
WHAT’S NEXT
NASCAR heads to Toyota’s home state – Texas – for a tripleheader at Texas Motor Speedway. On Friday, May 1, the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series returns to action at 8:00 p.m. ET on FS1, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series follows on Saturday, May 2 at 3:30 p.m. ET on CW, while the NASCAR Cup Series closes the weekend on Sunday, May 3 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
The ARCA Menards Series East and West are both in action on Saturday, May 2. The East Series competes at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway at 9:00 p.m. ET, with the West Series following from Shasta Speedway at 11:30 p.m. ET. Both races are on FloRacing.
