Toyota chasing milestone 200th Cup Series win at WWTR

Toyota Gazoo Racing heads into this weekend's race at World Wide Technology Raceway in St. Louis in pursuit of its 200th victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Chase Briscoe scored the 199th victory at Darlington Raceway in the Southern 500, which was the opening race in the Cup Series playoffs. The victory advances Briscoe and his Joe Gibbs Racing team into the second round of the postseason. It was the second win for Briscoe in a Toyota.

“It would be super-special,” said Briscoe of trying to score the 200th victory as well. “To be that close to 200 in honestly such a short amount of time that Toyota’s been in the sport, I think says a lot about just the success that they’ve had. To be the guy that would win the milestone race would be pretty special. I was the 200th different Cup Series winner ever, so it would be pretty cool to be the 200th Toyota winner as well.

“Anytime you can be that guy that brings a milestone to a manufacturer, it’s a really big deal, and to be able to be the one that wins the 200th race for Toyota would be pretty special.”

Victory smoke for Toyota started with Kyle Busch at Atlanta in 2008. Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Toyota began its NASCAR Cup Series tenure in 2007. But it was the alignment with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2008 that changed their trajectory. The organization is responsible for 165 of the 199 victories.

Kyle Busch scored Toyota its first win in 2008 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Busch also scored the 100th win, which came at Pocono Raceway in 2017. No longer a Toyota driver, having moved to Richard Childress Racing in 2023, Busch, however, still leads the way with 56 victories for the manufacturer.

Denny Hamlin is second on the list. Hamlin has 55 victories for Toyota.

“I’ve been part of some great milestones for Toyota,” Hamlin said. “I was part of the 100th that (Joe Gibbs Racing) won at New Hampshire in 2017 and then part of the 600th win for Toyota across the three national series at Pocono in 2023. Milestone wins like that they’re special because you always have the souvenirs and the hats that are always lying around that remind you of that day and the significance of it. It’s a big, big deal.”

Toyota has won 10 races in the Cup Series this season. Briscoe, Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Bubba Wallace are the drivers who have done so for the manufacturer.

“That would be special,” said Bell of trying to be the driver to score the 200th win. “I got back to being the first winner for Toyota in the GR Supra in the Xfinity Series, and I was fortunate enough to get the 200th Joe Gibbs Racing Cup Series win at Martinsville in 2022. Those super-high importance races always mean a lot.”

Toyota victories by driver:

1. Kyle Busch: 56

2. Denny Hamlin: 55

3. Martin Truex Jr.: 32

4. Matt Kenseth: 15

5. Christopher Bell: 12

6. Carl Edwards: 5

7. Tyler Reddick: 5

8. Clint Bowyer: 3

9. Bubba Wallace: 3

10. Chase Briscoe: 2

11. Erik Jones: 2

12. Joey Logano: 2

13. David Reutimann: 2

14. Brian Vickers: 2

15. Kurt Busch: 1

16. Kasey Kahne: 1

17. Tony Stewart: 1

Toyota victories by organization:

1. Joe Gibbs Racing: 165

2. Furniture Row Racing: 16

3. 23XI Racing: 9

4. Michael Waltrip Racing 7

5. Red Bull Racing: 2

There are nine Toyota drivers entered in Sunday’s race at World Wide Technology Raceway.