“The cars are too fast for there to be three championships in 20 years.”
Toyota Racing made their NASCAR Cup Series debut in the 2007 season. 20 years later, they have won just three drivers’ championships.
The manufacturer has won 221 NASCAR Cup Series and they have won the manufacturers title four times. That includes 2026, as that title is locked up ahead of Sunday’s finale. But, the race wins haven’t led to many driver titles.
Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 car for Joe Gibbs Racing wants a change. The 45-year-old has 64 Cup wins in his career but he’s yet to win a title.
Denny Hamlin calls for changes at Toyota
“I think that it needs to be looked at personally, internally, with Toyota and JGR and Legacy and 23XI,” Denny Hamlin said.
“I think we have to figure out, the win-to-championship ratio has just not been as good as it needs to be. So, I think that needs to be a deep dive, and honestly, figure out what needs to be changed.
“I don’t think we should just rinse and repeat and let’s just do this all again next year. I think we really should think about what it’s going to take to win the big prize because the cars are too fast for there to be three championships in 20 years. We got to fix that.”
“I felt like last year was a sudden death, and this one was like a slow bleed, truthfully,” Hamlin said. “That really is how it was. I was in shock for that, I don’t know, 10-minute period from three to go to the checkered and I’m behind the [No.] 5 somehow. I hadn’t seen him all day. That was a shock moment for me.
“Then this year, through each playoff race, I’m on the way home just thinking, ‘Gosh. It’s all right though, we’ll just have to make up for it next week.’ We’ve just been trickling along and staying somehow mathematically possible by being solid, but this one was definitely a cut to the wrist and watch it bleed”
Keelan Harvick signed to Toyota Racing Development
Christopher Bell comments
“I was very confident that it was going to be a Toyota driver that won the championship, and ultimately, I think when we got into the Chase, the 5 car had a pickup in performance,” Bell said.
“But I still think by the numbers, there have been guys in Toyota cars specifically that have been faster than them. But we all shot ourselves in the foot one way or the other.
“So, all of us, myself, Chase and Denny… have had unique circumstances that got us to where we’re at today, and the 5 team just had the cleanest nine races, and they put themselves in the right spot.”
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