Toyota earns first manufacturer's title in Cup, ending Chevrolet's streak
Lost in the shuffle Sunday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway was an important NASCAR milestone for Toyota Racing.
Photo by: Action Sports Photography
Kyle Busch’s sixth-place finish in the Sprint Cup Series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway allowed Toyota to win its first manufacturer’s championship in the Cup series in its 10th season of competition.
Toyota drivers won 16 of the 2016 season’s 36 races and two of its drivers on its way to the manufacturer’s crown, which snapped Chevrolet’s streak of 13 consecutive titles.
“Capturing our first Cup Series manufacturer’s title is a tremendous accomplishment, and one that has been a goal for Toyota since entering the series 10 years ago as underdogs in this ultra-competitive series,” said Ed Laukes, Vice President of Integrated Marketing Operations for Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), USA.
“With the partnership of great teams like Joe Gibbs Racing and Furniture Row Racing, Toyota has been able to breakthrough and become the first different manufacturer to earn this championship in 13 seasons. “We’re proud of the effort put forth by each of our Toyota teams, and all of the Toyota team members that have allowed us to reach this goal.”
A season to remember for Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing collected 12 of the wins while newcomer to the Toyota camp, Furniture Row Racing, added four more.
Busch and Martin Truex Jr. led the group with four wins a piece, followed by Carl Edwards (three), Denny Hamlin (two) and Matt Kenseth (two).
Toyota also had two drivers competing for the series championship in Sunday night’s season finale – Busch and Edwards.
Toyota has now won manufacturer’s titles in all three NASCAR national series – Cup, Xfinity and Trucks. Toyota driver Daniel Suarez won the 2016 Xfinity championship on Saturday night.
Toyota first entered NASCAR competition in the Trucks series in 2007. Since joining the Cup series, Toyota has won 95 races and 90 poles in 360 races.
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