Toyota’s 2023 NASCAR Cup season has gotten off to a rough start, but the manufacturer’s team seemed to make some significant gains at Atlanta.
Toyota is the only OEM without a triumph after 5 races, but in Sunday’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the OEM had a number of drivers competing for the championship at the finish line.
There were 13 different race leaders, including Denny Hamlin for 14 circuits and Christopher Bell for six, and both of those racers, along with Tyler Reddick, found themselves in contention for the victory in the closing laps.
Bell ultimately supported Joey Logano in gaining the lead on the last lap. After a photo-finish race for second place, Logano won, while Bell came in third.
Ty Gibbs, a rookie, finished 9th, which was a career-best finish for him. Reddick finished fifth, Hamlin sixth, and Toyota had four cars in the Top 10.
A missed chance?
Both Hamlin and Reddick voiced their doubts about whether the Toyota racers could have worked more to collaborate in order to put one of them in the lead and maybe take the victory after the race.
“I thought there was one opportunity there where we all were clear and we could have all pulled down in front of (Logano) and we didn’t,” Hamlin said. “That probably was the key moment for us, but overall, it is what it is.
“It’s probably the most Toyotas we’ve had in the top-10 all year. Just have to continue to get better. We just need more speed, more handling, more everything to get a little better.”
The result on Sunday didn’t seem likely in qualifying on Saturday, when Bell was the only Toyota to make it to the championship race.
Bell qualified for the race in the 10th spot, but he had to begin at the back of the pack because he spun out in the last round of qualifying and because his crew made unauthorized changes to his No. 20 Toyota.
In a race where it was tough to make significant advances through the field, Bell’s performance stood out even more.
“It was a pretty smooth day really. We started in the back and we were able to get up front and get some stage points at the end of Stage 1, so that was pretty cool,” Bell said.
“Stage 2, the green flag cycle didn’t really work our way. Ultimately, we were able to keep clean all day and put ourselves in position at the end of the race. That’s all you can ask for.”
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Nascar, NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing
