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Toyota has gone through a massive overhaul throughout this “Silly Season” From adding Legacy Motor Club to their lineup of race teams to having big-name prospects Jesse Love and Sammy Smith move on to Chevrolet. However, David Wilson of Toyota Racing Development preached optimism in an interview with Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, saying to, “Pay attention to some news coming up in the next few weeks”.
Toyota has a lot of prominent open seats available. Most notably the Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity Series #18 and #20 plus potentially the #19. Add to that Sam Hunt Racing in the Xfinity Series as well, which young Toyota drivers like Corey Heim have made starts with before.
As far as who to drive these cars, Sheldon Creed is the most obvious candidate for one of the JGR cars. When Austin Hill and Creed had their run-in at Martinsville Speedway, Hill specifically said that Creed would be going to Gibbs. Chandler Smith also found a way out of his Kaulig Racing contract, and the reported reason for that was to eventually join Joe Gibbs Racing for 2024.
Ryan Truex has also reportedly been looking for a full-time ride in 2024, so, maybe he could take one of those JGR seats as well. Young drivers are in Toyota’s development program as well, and Corey Heim may have the potential to land some part-time races with either JGR or Sam Hunt Racing in 2024. Speaking of Corey Heim…
Toyota’s prospect pool may have thinned out with Jesse Love and Sammy Smith leaving. However, they have a couple of interesting prospects already in their pipeline.
First is Corey Heim, who had a standout season in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2023. He is coming back for another season in Truck this year, and his future is bright. With drivers such as Carson Hocevar making the jump from Trucks to Cup, Heim may be a candidate should an open seat with a Toyota team open up in 2025.
Another is William Sawalich, who dominated the ARCA Menards East Series this season. He is not old enough to race on big tracks yet, but, he is old enough to compete on short tracks in both ARCA and the Truck Series. He may be the next star at Joe Gibbs Racing.
Not to mention drivers like Toni Breidinger are currently in the Toyota system as well, and they recently signed midget driver Jade Avedisian. Toyota has prospects to pull from throughout their system, and they have a chance to add young drivers like Sheldon Creed and Chandler Smith. Toyota has options to develop with, and they have plenty of rides available for these drivers.
It seems that Toyota is getting close to announcing its full plans for the 2024 season. This will be something to watch as the NASCAR offseason moves past Thanksgiving and into December.
