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Toyota Camry

Motorsport

NASCAR Race 9 of 36 2025: Kyle Larson wins at Bristol with a few Gibbs Toyotas sweeping up the front row results 

by Sports Benches

Other than a dominant Kyle Larson afternoon after 500 laps at short track Bristol, not a bad day from the Toyotas up front – particularly with the Gibbs cars.

So close of going three wins in a row by Denny Hamlin when things were quiet other than just stage pauses and the odd yellow but will take 2nd. 

Then there’s Ty Gibbs (No.54) with his first Top 5 of the year in 3rd and so does James Small’s (crew chief) 19 team of Chase Briscoe after he came home 4th.

Here’s some more good Top 10-15 results by a few other Chevy cars like Trackhouse’s Ross Chastain now with 3 x Top 7s in a row in 7th & AJ Allmendinger who brought back the Top 10 for the No.16 team at Kaulig – despite being the first one lapped down with that mini 2nd group lot in 9th.

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NASCAR: Denny Hamlin wins another race for the Joe Gibbs Toyota Camrys on another week at Darlington Raceway

by Sports Benches

It’s been another amazing JGR Toyota weekend with another Denny Hamlin win for the second straight week running this time at the Throwback walls of Darlington.

Not only he was Top 3 fastest in qualifying he also took good care of the field too and with his Playoffs berth already intact, all Denny wants to do is keep on running up front every week so he can make the most out of the Championship later this year.

Here’s a few more when others survive those cut-offs of yellow flag mayhem:

One of the RFK Racing Fords goes Top 7 once again by Chris Buescher and so does the Front Row duo of Zane Smith (12th) and Todd Gilliland (14th) – glad Zane’s lifeline opportunity is going well so far.

Ty Dillon following up another solid day also in 16th with the No.10 Chevy for Kaulig Racing including ex-Erebus personnel Andrew Dickeson upstairs.

And at Legacy MC, Erik Jones finished 17th who kept battling hard all day in the 43; Although not so much from JHN in the other 42 when both customer Toyotas didn’t have the best push towards the end.

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Motorsport

From last weekend: Kyle Larson pulls off late move over Alex Bowman for the best of Hendrick at Homestead along with some late progress from Erik Jones in 15th for LMC

by Sports Benches

It was a brilliant afternoon of NASCAR Cup racing at Homestead last weekend this time during the early season swing rather than later in the year at Playoffs time headlined by a Hendrick 1-2 finish courtesy of 2021 champion Kyle Larson, who made the winning move over team-mate Alex Bowman in the 48 after Alex brushed the wall a wee bit much with only seven laps to go – how good is racing!

Gotta feel for Bubba there who wasn’t far off the lead from Bowman at the time and then he just couldn’t keep up with those two Chevys on the run home, although he finished 3rd as the leading Toyota Camrys for 23XI Racing ahead of two Gibbs cars which ain’t bad.

Meanwhile, unlucky for his best friend Ryan Blaney in the No.12 Penske Ford following a great start but then a poor Stage 3 restart coupled with a blown engine meant he couldn’t go on through the end -you gotta feel for YRB there. 

Other than the Hendrick Chevy cars being absolutely top-notch up front, it was also good seeing both RFK Ford cars finish Top 10 like the always consistent No.17 Chris Buescher (6th) and so does the statement driver Ryan Preece in the new No.60 team (9th), along with AJ Allmendinger just inside Top 7 for Kaulig Racing (Chevy).

And last but not least for LMC, yeah don’t know what went wrong when a good qualifying run didn’t quite translate into a satisfactory race result. John Hunter Nemechek had that issue from the line in 7th where he was running outside Top 20 but at least the other car in Erik Jones seems to have the better finish thanks to a series of adjustments including the DNF of Ryan Blaney and he came home in 15th.

What can LMC improve going into Martinsville?

So six races out of 36, LMC has the raw pace as seen in practice and qualifying with back-to-back Top 10s which wasn’t bad for a start. But when it comes the race day form, it seems they are sometimes going all over the place inconsistently from up front to the middle of the field.

One thing they’re good at though is their ability to finish races strong – as long as they steer clear out of the crashed and mechanically defunct cars, they are all good to finish whatever track position they can take towards the checkered flag. Other than that, JHN is 18th and Erik is 23rd in Drivers’ Points so another Top 10-15 run or better is the way to go.

It is still a work in progress as said when Jimmie Johnson made a host of off-season changes and right now, they are currently on the up with still a long way to before the No.42 and No.43 Toyotas can start fighting consistently with the front-runners.

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NASCAR today’s result: Josh Berry another first time winner who just gifted Wood Brothers Racing’s 101st Cup win and a mixed afternoon in LV from Legacy Motor Club

by Sports Benches

It’s good to see another Wood Brothers race win in the space of just over six months from their centurion Cup victory and hats off to hard-worker Josh Berry with his first Cup win. 

Didn’t know there was another first timer making the big rounds at WBR just like Harrison Burton last year at Daytona & don’t forget Young Ryan Blaney too back in June 2017 at Pocono.

For Legacy MC, kinda of a mixed day with John Hunter Nemechek on another Top 20 afternoon (20th) & Erik Jones 27th.

Erik was off to a flyer thanks to his unreal qualifying run from 5th but then a lot of yellows + his own spin ruined his momentum while JHN effective on the long runs as always & able to keep his car clean that benefitted his track position – wish he had good qualifying car though that can change everything.

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NASCAR today’s result: Christopher Bell goes three-in-a row after he defeated Gibbs team-mate Denny Hamlin at the white flag plus more coming from Legacy Motor Club

by Sports Benches

A bit unlucky there from the No.11 Denny Hamlin but good to see him finish 2nd and how good was Christopher Bell in the No.20 Gibbs Camry once again with another Toyota race win after three races out of four minus the Daytona 500.

Still early days with 2nd chances on the line by everyone else before Bell would want to pull off a Phoenix Raceway clean sweep alongside that championship trophy he long wanted come November for the C’ship 4 finale but so far, so good.

And yes, the same goes to fellow Toyota customer Cup team Legacy MC with a lot to reflect on.

JHN was excellent on the long runs as always like it was last weekend at COTA where he finished in 14th with the exact same difficult circumstances he had to do from the back once again – imagine how serious he could be and the best of this LMC’s on-track results is yet to come.

Erik Jones, meanwhile, may not have been able to hold down a top-half spot especially with a series of yellows holding him back ahead of restarts but not a bad second half session though to sign off at the 43 office in 18th.

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NASCAR today’s result: Another dominant Toyota weekend by Christopher Bell courtesy of a sensational race-winning move with six laps to go along with an P22 finish of a tough weekend from John Hunter Nemechek at Legacy MC

by Sports Benches

Here’s another Toyota race winning weekend and what a sensational drive Christopher Bell has pulled off against both Chevys in William Byron and Kyle Busch right there & never looked back on his second race win of the new year with 6 laps to go on the final stretch at COTA.

Looks like he’s the early favourite tipped to be the next first-time champion at the No.20 Gibbs Camry even though there’s a whole lot of other races to get through after three weeks of 36 or 37 if you count the All-Star non-points weekend.

And yes for Legacy Motor Club, it may not have been the best weekend, especially when racing on a road course & also in qualifying where they rolled off at the back. But at least both cars came home all in one piece with #43 Erik Jones in 27th while #42 John Hunter Nemechek benefitted some yellows to gain some track position there & he finished 22nd – imagine what could happen if JHN started  a bit further afield with a fighting chance.

Still lots of time though as he’s been happy with the team’s good progress as of late with first two races being Top 10 & sure he will make it three out of four before he’ll be running after a Top 5 very soon.

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NASCAR today’s result: Another Top 10 run by Legacy Motor Club this time from John Hunter Nemechek in the No.42 on what has been a top Toyota afternoon at Atlanta

by Sports Benches

Fantastic to hear another Legacy Motor Club Top 10 run of 2025 this time at Atlanta Motor Speedway (Race 2/36) by John Hunter Nemechek – who endured a decent No.42 Toyota Camry all afternoon from 22nd to staying right in between Top 10-15 for the most part even though there were multiple yellows where he had the chance at one stage up front – and there goes his solid result for crew chief Travis Mack & his crew on pit road and garage.

Yes, the real test does begin other than the unpredictable restrictor plate races like Daytona 500 last week as he’s 100% right post-race. It goes to show how competitive this can be when going after the regular front-runners for race wins that isn’t Daytona or Talladega but they are getting there though race after race.

You can see how the 77 Spire’s Carson Hocevar was oh so close there particularly at the final restart after he finished 2nd as sure he can go one better sooner rather than later that can mean anything including the Playoffs later this year.

Although unlucky for Erik Jones there in the other Legacy No.43 Camry when he was taken into the wall midway through Stage 2 – wasn’t a team-mate crash though as this was committed by the No.17 Chris Buescher from Ford’s RFK Racing.

But still not a bad weekend to keep themselves through the field from LMC and also Team Toyota in general with Christopher Bell being the 2nd early winner of 2025 for the No.20 Gibbs camp.

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NASCAR Today’s Results: Jimmie Johnson Carvana-led 84 team finishes third at the 2025 Daytona 500 with John Hunter Nemechek 5th & Erik Jones 12th that caps off a stunning new season start for JJ’s Legacy Motor Club

by Sports Benches

It was awesome to see Legacy Motor Club begin their 2025 campaign with a bang in their 2nd year using Toyota engines off the back of their huge off-season change of crew and even minority investment thanks to the man of the hour himself Jimmie Johnson.

He still has something to offer whose patience paid off after he came home third even though he races part-time these days, John Hunter Nemechek had a solid Top 5 car all day long other than the late yellows but happy though with 5th & Erik Jones not far off down in 12th – fortunately he was okay.

This is still a team in progress when things will take time but surely they will be more than ready to sweep Top 10-15z every weekend including an odd Playoffs run in possible – time will tell with JJ calling the shots now himself in majority charge.

Plus, happy to see Jimmie’s former team Hendrick celebrating this year’s Daytona 500 win in none other than William Byron.

And shoutout to ex-player Aaron Woods who stopped by at Daytona the other day to promote NRL/Rugby League with the new season opener soon in Las Vegas.

There won’t be a NASCAR race though on the same weekend unlike last year but will they will be back in the middle of March.

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Thoughts on Legacy Motor Club’s huge minor ownership change with Tom Wagner now onboard with Jimmie Johnson running the show more often as majority owner

by Sports Benches

Still a long way to go when it comes to their results following a slow 2024 racing Toyotas for the first time, but Legacy Motor Club certainly made a lot of steps up lately mainly off-track including an ownership change now, with Tom Wagner’s Knighthead Capital just got onboard (who owns Birmingham City) with Maury Gallagher stepping back & 7 x champion Jimmie Johnson running the show more often as majority owner.

Yes, chopping and changing things can be hard especially being team owner rather than full-time racer but at the same time, it looks promising for both the 42 and 43 cars to deliver this year. If they can really be battling Top 10-15 every week plus a win or two, we could see LMC expand into a 3rd full-time car after all – as long as the price is right and they’re content using their own built cars with a Toyota PU.

Whichever one asset they would want to go with expansion, time will tell especially when the charter system has now updated a little for at least another seven years.

But hey, the fresh investment is here for Jimmie Johnson’s team to turn things around thanks to Tom & who knows if the legendary 43 or even 42 turns up in victory lane someday? Watch this space.

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NASCAR News Today: Another title, Another year for Team Penske with No.22’s Joey Logano back on top to prize off team-mate Ryan Blaney with his 3rd Championship win

by Sports Benches

It’s been another golden championship season of Team Penske Fords ever since when the Next Gen Chassis era began three seasons ago. 

The driver of the day though belongs to Joey Logano who stole the Drivers’ Crown off his No.12 team-mate & last year’s champion Ryan Blaney following a really great battle between those two on a few occasions – including the final stage when 1-2 others may have crashed out – before Joey pulled off the winning move & stayed there just in time to clinch yet another silverware piece for his No.22 team. 

Again, it has to come down to one huge winner as Logano both had the fight and championship-winning experience to lock up for the 3rd time that goes back from 2018 to 2022 & now 2024. 

For Blaney, it’s never a good feeling being 2nd best but hey, he raced really well to defend his crown against his team-mate Logano. At the end of the day, it’s all about great racing that makes Team Penske the most successful Ford Cup team over the last few years, and sure Blaney will back in 12 months time to hopefully hoist his Drivers’ Championship title No.2 at this same Phoenix race track.

William Byron finished 3rd in the No.24 Chevy Camaro for Hendrick Motorsports where he wasn’t quite up to Team Penske’s standards for the ultimate prize when it comes to the consistency including late race restarts. But he had a fantastic season though where he always finishes Top 3, Top 5 as well as a few regular season wins here and there. 

If he can translate with wins into Playoffs time next year, then the best of Byron and the No.24 Hendrick team should be yet to come.

We also still haven’t heard much of Toyota when you compare to Penske and Hendrick when you got Tyler Reddick finishing 6th behind another consistent Top 5 finisher Christopher Bell from Gibbs as the 4th and final Championship 4 contender for the manufacturer’s satellite Cup team at 23XI Racing, with team-mate Bubba Wallace in 7th. It remains to be seen what will happen going into next year since 23XI is having a really tough time alongside Front Row Motorsports at court & unfortunately, it didn’t go their way as per judge ruling before the weekend.

It’s not just 23XI who is walking into unknown territory but one of their co-owners Denny Hamlin would most likely not be donning the FedEx colours anymore  next season & he too finished 11th for his No.11 Gibbs Toyota team after missing the Championship 4 cup for yet another year in season 2024. Whoever comes in to support Denny, let’s hope he can adjust his expectations so he doesn’t end up disappointed next time as he’s still yet to win a Drivers’ Championship at age 43.

I wish he can get a decent enough crew chief who has been there & done that before with winning championships, but all he can do is just win them all at Playoffs time if he can and we might finally see the best of Denny as a driver. If Justin Allgaier can do like he did as a finally first-time Xfinity Series Champion yesterday, then so could Denny no matter what happens. 

In the meantime, if you’re a big Penske fan, particularly for Joey, then today’s your lucky day! No doubt Penske will go on to be the 2020s version of Hendrick Motorsports if they keep on adding more and more championship titles every season as congrats to Joey once again with his 3rd Cup crown all coming from the same place of Arizona’s Phoenix Raceway. 

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