Toyota Racing Development has unveiled its driver development lineup for this season, one that includes 13 drivers and covers three motorsports disciplines.
Chandler Smith leads the lineup on the stock car racing side as he joins Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series after one year with Kaulig Racing. Smith will drive the No. 81 Toyota GR Supra full-time while pursuing his second career Xfinity win.
Smith is a former member of Toyota Racing. He made 35 ARCA Menards Series starts for Venturini Motorsports and won 10 races. Smith then joined Kyle Busch Motorsports for 61 Truck Series races and won five times.
Reigning Truck Series regular-season champion Corey Heim, Truck Series driver Taylor Gray and ARCA Menards Series East champion William Sawalich join Smith in the stock car lineup. Heim and Gray will both race full-time for Tricon Garage. They will also make Xfinity starts for Sam Hunt Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing, respectively.
Sawalich will make several Truck starts for Tricon and multiple Xfinity starts for Joe Gibbs Racing while defending his ARCA East title.
Brent Crews, Isabella Robusto and Gio Ruggiero will all compete in several ARCA Menards Series races while driving for Toyota Racing-affiliated Venturini Motorsports. Ruggiero will also compete for the ARCA East title this season. All three drivers will continue to compete in Late Model races and Robusto will round out her schedule with GT4 races.
The driver development lineup continues with three dirt racers. Buddy Kofoid will run the full World of Outlaws schedule for Roth Motorsports. Ryan Timms will drive for Keith Kunz Motorsports in USAC National Midget races after becoming the youngest feature winner in series history.
Jade Avedisian will compete in dirt midget races for Keith Kunz Motorsports and will also take on the full Toyota GR Cup Series schedule while driving for Nitro Motorsports.
Three sports car drivers round out Toyota Racing’s development lineup. John Geesbreght will drive for Smooge Racing in IMSA and SRO. Tyler Gonzalez will join Smooge Racing while working as Geesbreght’s co-driver in SRO.
Westin Workman will return to the Toyota GR Cup Series for the full season while driving for Copeland Motorsports.
“The TD2 program is something that we take much pride in at TRD,” said Trent Rodriguez, manager of driver development at TRD, in a statement. “Providing opportunities for young drivers to reach their goals in motorsports will always be something that TRD celebrates.
“Our lineup for this season is incredibly diverse and filled with exceptionally talented drivers. With this group, we look forward to earning countless race wins and championships across multiple racing series this year.”
Tuesday’s announcements continued with Front Row Motorsports adding a new sponsor to the lineup. The Ford Performance team reached a deal with B’laster Holdings that includes sponsorship of Michael McDowell in several Cup Series races.
McDowell will debut the B’laster scheme at Pocono in July. The company will return for races into the fall as it makes the move from Live Fast Motorsports to Front Row Motorsports.
“The opportunity to work with the B’laster brand, known for its commitment to excellence and innovation, is exciting,” McDowell said in a statement. “We were introduced to B’laster when Matt (Tifft) raced with us at FRM and now it’s great to work again with both Matt and B’laster with this relationship.”