The race weekend at Watkins Glen International serves as another opportunity for winless drivers to compete for spots in the playoffs. For Toyota-affiliated teams, in particular, its an opportunity to avoid matching a winless streak dating back to the 2007 Xfinity Series season.
Toyota has gone 14 races this season without visiting victory lane. Chevrolet teams, for comparison, have won 19 of the 22 Xfinity races.
The last time Toyota went this long without an Xfinity win was the 2007 season when its affiliated teams went winless in the first 21 races of the season. Jason Leffler then snapped the streak by winning the 22nd race of the season, which took place at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Toyota's only other win during the 2007 season took place at Memphis Motorsports Park. David Reutimann won in a Michael Waltrip Racing entry.
One important detail to note about this 2007 season is that Joe Gibbs Racing drove Chevrolet entries that season. The team switched to Toyota in 2008 and then accounted for 19 of the 35 races that season.
Joe Gibbs Racing has remained a NASCAR powerhouse since switching to Toyota. The team has won 217 races in the Xfinity Series alone while locking up four drivers' championships. The team has visited victory lane twice this season -- once with Aric Almirola and once with Brandon Jones.
Sam Hunt Racing, the other main Toyota-affiliated organization in the series, has not yet visited victory lane. The team has come close as it has grown in NASCAR with 12 top-five finishes.
Both teams are capable of winning and snapping this streak, but achieving this feat will be more difficult at Watkins Glen. After all, JR Motorsports will enter the weekend as the favorite considering that both Connor Zilisch and Shane van Gisbergen will drive for the Chevrolet team. These two drivers have combined to win seven of the last nine road course races.
The other reason is the current Toyota driver lineup. Jones, who won at Darlington Raceway, told AltDriver before the season that he still has progress to make on road courses. Meanwhile, Taylor Gray and William Sawalich are rookie drivers who continue to seek their first Xfinity wins. Riley Herbst, the guest driver for the weekend, has a career-best road course finish of fourth.
The Sam Hunt Racing lineup features one rookie driver, Dean Thompson, who continues to gain confidence and experience in the No. 26 Toyota. Kaz Grala, who reunites with the team for a limited schedule, has a career-best road course finish of fourth.