Toyota Hunting 200th NASCAR Cup Series Victory

After a dominant victory by Chase Briscoe and Joe Gibbs Racing in last Sunday’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Toyota GAZOO Racing is chasing an incredible milestone: a 200th victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Beginning with this weekend’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway (St. Louis), the manufacturer’s nine full-time NASCAR Cup Series competitors will be chasing after that special landmark victory.

Since the automaker’s first foray into NASCAR’s top-level in 2007, Toyota has been making their mark on the NASCAR Cup Series. During its nearly two-decade tenure in the series, Toyota has held space for many incredibly talented drivers, and several successful organizations with big name team owners.

In 2008, Joe Gibbs Racing partnered with Toyota and revolutionized the manufacturer’s program, and shortly thereafter, the victories began to flow freely – starting with the fourth event of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway (March 9, 2008).

“That’d be really nice. That’s a lot of cup wins and being the 200th winner would be really cool,” said Ty Gibbs, driver of the No. 54 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing. “With what Toyota has meant to Joe Gibbs Racing, it would be awesome if we got number 200. They’ve been such a great partner for so many years. There have been so many great drivers that have won at Toyota, but it would be great for me or any of my teammates to get number 200.”

Since then, it’s been non-stop success for the manufacturer at NASCAR’s top-level, amassing a total of 199 victories, split between 17 different drivers and five different organization. Kyle Busch (56) and Denny Hamlin (55) have combined for more than half of those victories, while Joe Gibbs Racing (165) accounts for about 83% of the brand’s Cup Series wins.

Hamlin's next victory in the NASCAR Cup Series (which would be his 59th) would tie him with Kyle Busch for the winningest driver in Toyota's time at NASCAR's top level, which would make an already special victory even more special.

"I've been part of some great milestones for Toyota. I was part of the 100th that we won at New Hampshire in 2017 and then part of the 600th win for Toyota across the three national series at Pocono in 2023," said Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing. "Milestone wins like that, they're special because you always have the souvenirs and the hats that are always lying around that reminds you of that day and the significance of it. It's a big, big deal."

Martin Truex, Jr. (32), Matt Kenseth (15), Christopher Bell (12), Carl Edwards (5), and Tyler Reddick (5) have also found a significant amount of success for the manufacturer. Clint Bowyer, Bubba Wallace, Chase Briscoe, Erik Jones, Joey Logano, David Reutimann, Brian Vickers, Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, and Tony Stewart have also been part of the manufacturer’s story in Cup.

Furniture Row Racing (16), 23XI Racing (9), Michael Waltrip Racing (7), and Red Bull Racing (2) are the four organizations, other than Joe Gibbs Racing, that have won races for Toyota. LEGACY MOTOR CLUB has yet to win for the brand but continues to make positive progress towards becoming the automaker’s sixth winning team.

For Ty Gibbs, John Hunter Nemechek, and Riley Herbst, just securing a victory in the NASCAR Cup Series (whether it is the landmark win, or not) would be monumental, as those three drivers are still chasing down their first victory at NASCAR’s top-level… that win being the 200th for Toyota would just make things more special for all involved.

Both Herbst and Nemechek recalled on other significant milestones that they accomplished with victories in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with their respective teams.

“It’d be really cool,” said Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 35 Toyota Camry XSE for 23XI Racing. “I was fortunate enough to get win number 100 for Stewart-Haas Racing and that was a cool achievement. To get 200 for Toyota would be pretty neat, as well.”

“Getting win number 200 for Toyota in the Cup Series would be huge for me,” said John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB. I think winning any race in the Cup Series is big but being able to win the 200th Xfinity race for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2023 and winning quite a few races underneath the Toyota banner and getting another milestone for them would be big.”

After spending much of his early career in the development ranks at Toyota, and then returning later on in his career, collecting a landmark victory of this caliber for the manufacturer, at the NASCAR Cup Series level would be a special feat for the Byron, Michigan-native.

“It would be special for me. I started my career out with Toyota in the Truck Series in 2013 and have been with them for most of my career,” said Erik Jones, driver of the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB. “To add to that group in the Cup Series would be pretty special. To celebrate any milestone like a 200th win is special for anybody. Would love to share that moment in Victory Lane and see everybody there. That’d be a pretty special one.”

For Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, and Tyler Reddick, collecting Toyota’s 200th NASCAR Cup Series victory would obviously be a major accomplishment, no matter what, but could also help them to formulate a deep run into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

“It would be amazing. When I think about the drivers that have been a part of Toyota’s family, all the way back to the very beginning to where it is now, and to add my name further to that history would just be a huge honor,” said Tyler Reddick, driver of the No. 45 Toyota Camry XSE for 23XI Racing. “I think of all the great people at Toyota who have helped me get to this point and it would just be a really special moment to get that win for them.”

“Oh, that’d be awesome,” said Bubba Wallace, driver of the No. 23 Toyota Camry XSE for 23XI Racing. “I think it’s special that I’ve been able to add three to that number but looking forward to the opportunity. To capture 200 for Toyota, that’s going to be a competition within ourselves.”

“It would be super special. To be that close to 200 in honestly such a short amount of time that Toyota has been in the sport, I think it says a lot about just the success that they’ve had. To be that guy that would win the milestone race would be pretty special,” said Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 19 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing. “I was the 200th different Cup Series winner ever, so it’d 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.”

Christopher Bell, driver of the No. 20 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing, is one of the few drivers to make it to the NASCAR Cup Series with a manufacturer that has developed their entire stock car racing career, having a long-term relationship with Toyota.

“That would be special,” Bell said when asked about winning Toyota’s 200th NASCAR Cup Series event. I go back to being the first winner for Toyota in a 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.”