March 1, 2017
New Camry Comes to Atlanta… The new 2018 Toyota Camry comes to Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS) this weekend seeking its first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) points win. The new MENCS Toyota race car debuted in Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway, where Denny Hamlin claimed the new Camry’s first win in a Can-Am Duel qualifying race. Now the Toyota teams will take the new Camry to its first contest on an intermediate track in Atlanta, where Toyota has three MENCS victories (2008, 2012-13). Toyota unveiled its new MENCS Camry race car at the North America International Auto Show in January with the race car now competing on the track months before the 2018 Toyota Camry production model hits showrooms.
Toyota’s 10th Includes an Atlanta Moment… The 2017 season marks the Camry’s 10th anniversary competing in the MENCS and NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS). Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS) holds one of Toyota’s most memorable NASCAR milestones with Camry driver Kyle Busch claiming Toyota’s first-ever MENCS points victory when he took the checkered flag at the 1.54-mile track in March 2008. The triumph was the first of 95 MENCS wins for Toyota. The manufacturer also has 128 victories in the NXS over 10 seasons.
Team Owner’s Georgia Roots… Red Horse Racing team owner Tom DeLoach is a native of Statesboro, Georgia and a graduate of Georgia Tech (GT) in Atlanta. DeLoach attended Tech before embarking on a career in the oil industry that led to a marketing role with Mobil. While with Mobil, the GT alum (ChE ’69) developed a passion for racing and eventually purchased NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) team, Red Horse Racing where he has accumulated 16 wins as an owner. DeLoach currently fields two full-time Tundras in the NCWTS for Timothy Peters, who finished fourth in the series’ 2016 playoffs, and Brett Moffitt, who captured his first victory at Michigan last season. DeLoach also serves as the non-executive chairman of the board of Asbury Automotive, a Duluth, Georgia company.
When Last at Atlanta… Camry driver Busch was the top-finishing Toyota with a third-place result when the MENCS last visited Atlanta in March, while Carl Edwards (fifth) and Martin Truex Jr. (seventh) also tallied top-10 results. One day earlier, Busch claimed his and Toyota’s first NXS triumph on the high-banked speedway – giving the Toyota driver seven total wins at the track (two MENCS, one NXS and four NCWTS). Tundra drivers Cameron Hayley and Timothy Peters were the top-Toyota finishers in the NCWTS race in second and third, respectively.
Staying Connected… You can follow Toyota Racing on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter by using #ToyotaNation and online at www.toyotaracing.com. For media images, please visit www.toyotaracingmedia.com.
Toyota at Atlanta: Notes & Numbers:
Camry driver Kyle Busch has two victories at AMS in the MENCS (2008, 2013) and Denny Hamlin has one (2012) … Hamlin will make his 400th career MENCS start at Atlanta this weekend … Among active MENCS drivers with more than one start on the 1.54-mile track, Camry driver Matt Kenseth has the third-highest average finish (12.2) … Busch will perform triple duty at Atlanta, piloting the No. 18 Camry (MENCS), No. 18 Camry (NXS) and No. 51 Tundra (NCWTS) … Matt Tifft will run his first NXS contest at Atlanta in the No. 19 Camry … Tundra drivers have five NCWTS triumphs at Atlanta (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2015), with Matt Crafton being the most-recent winner in 2015 … Atlanta is the only track on the NASCAR schedule where Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) is yet to win a NCWTS event … Noah Gragson will contest his first NCWTS race in Atlanta in the No. 18 Tundra for KBM.
Toyota 2017 Statistics:
| Series | Races | Starts (Drivers) | Wins | Tops-5s | Tops-10s | Poles | Times Led | Laps Led |
| Cup | 1 | 10 (10) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 20 |
| XFINITY | 1 | 8 (8) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Truck | 1 | 13 (13) | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 31 |
