Hey Toyota Racing Fans,
The month of July brings with it the annual three-race NHRA Western Swing, which was swept in 2009 by Toyota-supported Top Fuel racer Antron Brown. Can he do it again in 2010? Other highlights of the upcoming month are the annual NASCAR trip to Indy, TORC off-road racing in the Upper Midwest and a USAC season in full swing.
For all the latest news in the world of Toyota Racing, be sure to bookmark ToyotaRacing.com!
COMING UP ... THE NHRA WESTERN SWING AND THE BRICKYARD 400!
An NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series tradition is the Western Swing, consisting of the NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways near Seattle on the weekend of July 9-11, the Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, on July 16-18 and the Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway near Denver, Colorado, on July 23-25.
Last year, Toyota-supported racer Antron Brown became the seventh driver in NHRA history to win all three races of the Western Swing. You can relive Antron's incredible sweep here.
Will Brown be able to duplicate his performance in 2010? Time will tell, but Toyota Racing caught up with him recently to get his thoughts on his season to date and his reflections on his historic sweep. You can read all about it here.
The month of July also brings another of NASCAR®'s crown jewels, as the Sprint Cup Series™ heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Brickyard 400 on July 25. Will this finally be the year that a Toyota driver and team will finally kiss those famous bricks?
Kyle Busch was among the drivers who participated in a tire test at the legendary 2.5-mile Indiana oval in April and thinks we're in for a great race. Of course, he's always a contender for the win in any race he enters. Busch's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Denny Hamlin, has been another consistent front-runner in Sprint Cup competition and is another threat to win the prestigious Brickyard 400.
Also on the NASCAR calendar for the month of July is the Sprint Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway on July 10; Nationwide Series™ races at Chicagoland on July 9, Gateway International Raceway on July 17, O'Reilly Raceway Park on July 24 and Iowa Speedway on July 31; and things heat up dramatically for the Camping World Truck Series™ this month with races at Iowa on July 11, Gateway on July 16, ORP on July 23 and Pocono Raceway on July 31.
Other dates for Toyota Racing fans to circle on their calendars are the weekend of July 10 and 11, when the TRAXXAS TORC Off-Road Championship Series visits Bark River International Raceway in Bark River, Michigan, and July 23-24, when TORC heads to Oshkosh Speedzone in Oshkosh, Wisconsin; and a whole slew of USAC Silver Crown, Sprint Car and Midget races in Indiana throughout the month.
ONE TO WATCH: RICK HUSEMAN
TORC Pro 4x4 points leader Rick Huseman.
(Photo credit: Ken Pamatat)
The TORC Off-Road Championship enters the heart of its season this month, and leading the Pro 4x4 point standings in his Toyota Tundra is Rick Huseman.
Huseman opened the season at Crandon, Wisconsin, last month with a second-place run and a victory on the doubleheader race weekend. He is also the subject of a new ToyotaRacing.com feature, which you can find right here.
ONE TO WATCH 2: BRIAN TYLER
Brian Tyler closes in on Silver Crown record.
(Photo credit: Ken Pamatat)
Brian Tyler has been a top USAC Silver Crown Series racer, with championships in 1996 and 1997 and 16 career victories in Silver Crown competition. He also brought Toyota its first Silver Crown victory in 2008 on the dirt at DuQuoin, Illinois.
Tyler has made 68 consecutive Silver Crown starts and is closing in on Jack Hewitt's record for most career starts in the series. It's been a long and impressive career for Tyler, who looks back on his experiences and accomplishments here.
ON THE WEB: SPONSAFIER 2
On the heels of the wildly popular inaugural "Sponsafy Your Ride" Contest, which was won by Texan Fay Knape with her "Praying for Karson" design, Toyota Racing has unveiled Sponsafier 2.
This time, the Grand Prize winner will be on hand to see his or her design showcased at the NASCAR® Sprint Cup Series™ Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on the weekend of November 7. Click here to learn more about Sponsafier 2 and to create your entry!
Also, click here for a video feature on Knape, whose entry was chosen from more than 84,000 entries!
REWIND ... BUSCH SETS NATIONWIDE RECORD, HAMLIN TAKES A PAIR OF WINS AND AN ALL-TOYOTA NHRA TOP FUEL FINAL
Denny Hamlin celebrates a victory at Michigan International Speedway.
(Photo credit: LAT)
Kyle Busch has been a force to be reckoned with for the last several years in the NASCAR® Nationwide Series™ -- as his 2009 title will attest -- and last month he etched his name into the series record books by becoming the series' all-time laps led record holder ahead of Mark Martin. Busch accomplished the feat in a dominating performance on his way to victory in the No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota Camry at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on June 26. Read all about it here.
Denny Hamlin, meanwhile, added two more victories to his 2010 NASCAR® Sprint Cup Series™ win total last month in back-to-back fashion in the No. 11 FedEx Toyota at Pocono Raceway and Michigan International Speedway. Check out video highlights from the Pocono victory here and the Michigan highlight video is available here.
Toyota-supported NHRA Top Fuel racer Larry Dixon is in the midst of a dream season thus far in 2010. Through the end of last month, Dixon had won seven races, including two victories in all-Toyota finals between him and Antron Brown at Englishtown, New Jersey, and Norwalk, Connecticut.
Check out the report on the Norwalk final here and click here to relive the Englishtown final.
Also, be sure to check out the Toyota Racing NHRA mid-season video update, which you can find right here.
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