After two weeks of being in the headlines for engine reliability issues, the folks at Toyota are celebrating after Matt Kenseth brought them their 50th victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series today at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
David Wilson, senior vice president for Toyota Racing Development, hailed his TRD compatriots Kenseth and Joe Gibbs Racing on Twitter after the checkered flag: “So proud of our @toyotaracing TRD team. We have the best people in the world. Thank you @JoeGibbsRacing and @mattkenseth for believing.”
Kenseth and JGR teammate Kyle Busch saw their TRD motors let go while fighting within the lead pack at the Daytona 500, and one week ago at Phoenix International Raceway, Busch and another JGR pilot, Denny Hamlin, had to start from the rear of the field after valve spring problems forced their teams to swap engines.
But today in Vegas, there were no problems for the TRD camp. In addition to Kenseth’s victory, Busch (fourth) and Michael Waltrip Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. (eighth) also posted strong results.
For his part, Kenseth said he wasn’t concerned about reliability problems emerging in today’s 400-miler.
“The stuff runs really, really good, and I knew, obviously, they knew there was a problem there and they were going to work on it and fix it,” he said.
When you think about it, it’s only fitting that Kenseth and JGR has delivered Toyota its milestone 50th victory in NASCAR’s top series. The team, with Busch at the wheel, also gave the manufacturer its inaugural Cup win on March 9, 2008 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Seattle Supercross by the numbers: Three riders separated by 17 points
Three riders remain locked in a tight battle with 17 points separating the leader Cooper Webb from third-place Chase Sexton and these are only a few Supercross numbers to consider entering Seattle.Chase Sexton made a statement in Detroit with his second win of 2023. – Feld Motor Sports
Webb and Tomac won the last four championships with two apiece in alternating years, but they were not one another’s primary rival for most of those seasons. On the average, however, the past four years show an incredible similarity with average points earned of 21.0 for Webb and 21.3 for Tomac. With five wins so far this season, Tomac (23 wins) leads Webb (19) in victories but Webb (43) edges Tomac (41) in podium finishes during this span.
Tomac has won two of the last three Seattle races and those two wins in this stadium are topped only by James Stewart. Fittingly, if Tomac gets a third win this week, he will tie Stewart for second on the all-time wins’ list. Tomac tied Ricky Carmichael for third with 48 wins at Oakland and took sole possession of that spot with his Daytona win.
Sexton still has a lot to say and after winning last week in Detroit, he is speaking up. The Supercross numbers are against him entering Seattle, however, because a points’ deficit this large after Round 10 has been erased only once. In 1983 David Bailey was 47 points behind Bob Hannah, and like Sexton he was also in third place. Bailey took the points’ lead with one race remaining.
The seven points Sexton was penalized last week for jumping in a red cross flag section in Detroit could prove extremely costly.
In fact, it has been a series of mistakes that has cost Sexton the most. In the last two weeks, he lost 10 points with a 10th-place finish to go with his penalty. Erase those, and all three riders hold their fate in their hands.
Plessinger’s heartbreak in Detroit is still fresh, but the upside of his run is that was his best of the season and could turn his fortunes around. Prior to that race, he led only seven laps in three mains. He was up front for 20 laps in Detroit with five of those being the fastest on the track.
Last week’s win by Hunter Lawrence tied him with his brother Jett Lawrence for 17th on the all-time wins’ list. With the focus shifting to 250 West for the next two rounds, Jett has a great opportunity to pull back ahead. The real test will be at the first East / West Showdown in East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 22.
Last Five Seattle Winners
450s 2022: Eli Tomac
2019: Marvin Musquin
2018: Eli Tomac
2017: Marvin Musquin
2014: Ryan Villopoto
