PLANO, Texas (July 26, 2018) – Toyota captured its third manufacturer’s championship in the ARCA Racing Series after building an insurmountable lead on the strength of 12-straight victories in the first 13 races this season.
The manufacturer secured the 2018 title as Toyota drivers opened the season with 12-consecutive victories and a runner-up finish in the 13th event. This is the second-consecutive ARCA title for Toyota, who captured the 2017 manufacturer’s championship with nine victories.
“Toyota is proud to have captured its third manufacturer’s championship in the ARCA Racing Series,” said Laura Pierce, motorsports general manager for Toyota Motor North American (TMNA). “The ARCA Racing Series provides Toyota a tremendous opportunity to connect with talented teams, drivers and race fans, while showcasing the Toyota Camry. To win 12-consecutive events in any racing series is a very challenging undertaking and we could not have done it without the dedication and hard work of all of our team partners.”
Seven Toyota drivers contributed to the 12 wins this season as Sheldon Creed and Zane Smith led the way with three victories each and currently rank first and second in the ARCA point standings, respectively. Michael Self made two visits to victory lane while Christian Eckes, Brandon Jones, Harrison Burton and Chandler Smith have each won one race.
“Driver development continues to play a key role in our motorsports program and we’re proud of the effort that all of these young drivers put forth to win 12-straight ARCA races for Toyota,” said Pierce. “We’re excited to see each of these drivers continue to develop and look forward to the remaining seven races of the 2018 ARCA season.”
Toyota first entered the ARCA Racing Series in 2007 and has since won 63 of 237 races and captured three manufacturer’s titles (2013, 2017, 2018) and two driver’s titles (2009, 2013).
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 36 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than 47,000 people (more than 37,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold more than 2.7 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2017 – and about 87 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 15 years are still on the road today.
