Toyota springing ahead in NASCAR

Toyota Racing is living in the moment.

The manufacturer is top dog in the NASCAR Cup Series these days with a dominant start to the season. Its drivers have combined for seven wins in 11 races, and two of them, Tyler Reddick and Denny Hamlin, sit atop the championship standings. Even better, there is no lack of speed throughout the Toyota camp.

But it’s a long racing season, and Toyota has been here before. A good start doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to lead to how you want to finish.

“We’re 25% of the way through the season, and we’ll go into the Chase, and it’ll just be those 10 races that determine a champion,” Tyler Gibbs, TRD president, said. “For us, we’re pushing to get as many cars in the Chase as we can, but where does that go with the end of the season? The Chevy guys have a new car, and they’re going to continue to learn that, and we’re seeing them get better and better every week.

“We know those guys are coming. Same thing with the Penske (cars). You look at the RFK guys, the Fords in general have speed in both camps, and we’re going to see that get better as the season goes along. So, we have to continue to improve and develop and be ready for the Chase, but we have to get as many cars in first.”

Reddick started the year by making history as the first Cup Series driver to win the first three straight races. He has led the point standings since the opening weekend, and some of his rivals are starting to wonder if he might already be out of reach to compete for the regular season championship. The 23XI Racing driver has a 109-point lead over teammate and boss, Hamlin.

There are three Toyota drivers in the top 10 in the championship standings. The Chase will be the top 16 drivers at the end of the regular season, and Toyota has six of them sitting in postseason spots going into Watkins Glen.

“It’s early in the season; there is still a long way to go,” Gibbs said. “The guys are doing a great job, everyone is working hard, but there is still a long way to go.”

Reddick has won five of 11 races. Hamlin also has a win. Ty Gibbs picked up the first of his career last month.

Chevrolet, meanwhile, has three wins from two different drivers. Carson Hocevar and Chase Elliott are the two most recent winners in the series.

Ryan Blaney is the lone Ford driver with a win.

Toyota drivers have also combined for 11 stage wins.

Wallace was 23XI'sonly winner last year; now he's the only one of its trio without one, although he's not been far off either. Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

23XI Racing has been the standout with Reddick leading the way. Bubba Wallace sat in the top 10 in points early on, but is now 11th. A bad decision at Martinsville Speedway by running over Hocevar ended his day and dropped him in the standings. He’s been trying to recover ever since. Wallace was in a position to win in the first few weeks, too.

It's quite a turnaround from when Wallace’s triumph at Indianapolis last year was the organization’s only victory. It has put the team back on solid ground, back to when Reddick was a title contender in 2024. Gibbs credits the good decisions they have been making in the races and the work done the race cars.

“I think you see the partnerships that they have with us, with JGR, the way it’s all going together, and the way they are maximizing their performance,” he said. “I think you’ve seen speed in all of our cars this year, so that’s been a good thing.”

Riley Herbst has been getting attention all his own recently. After being the distant third car at 23XI Racing last year, when he was a rookie, Herbst and his team have been silencing critics in recent weeks with stronger qualifying efforts and higher finishes in the races.

“Loving it,” Gibbs said. “Last year was tough, right? He’s a rookie. He’s coming to a team that has such expectation and all the rest of that stuff, and now you’re seeing him begin to play that out. He’s had some difficulties in terms of some different stuff during the race that maybe made his results not representative of what they ultimately would be.

“We’re excited to see Riley coming along as a second-year driver in Cup.”

Not since 2019 has a Toyota driver won the Cup Series championship. In the years since, Hamlin was a distant fourth in 2020, Martin Truex Jr. and Hamlin finished behind Larson in 2021, Christopher Bell was third in 2022 and then crashed in the finale in 2023, and Reddick was a distant fourth in 2024.

The closest and biggest loss came last year. Hamlin was within three laps of his first championship when the caution flew, and the race was decided on pit road with tire strategy.

So, yes, Toyota has been in this position before, where the season seems to be theirs for the taking, only to end up empty-handed. The good news is that there is plenty of runway to keep dominating and even improving. Because, while it might not look like it, there are weaknesses in the Toyota camp.

“I would say there are, and I’m not going to share them,” Gibbs smiled. “Sorry.”