By Jared Turner

Toyota drivers have now gone to Victory Lane in six of the past eight Monster Energy Series races. Drivers aligned with the Japanese manufacturer were particularly stout over the weekend at Darlington where they accounted for five of the top eight finishing positions. As it stands now, five of Toyota’s six drivers are in position to qualify for the 16-driver playoffs, which begin September 17 at Chicagoland. Denny Hamlin, whose No. 11 Toyota scored a huge victory at Darlington, is optimistic about what remainder of the season holds as he chases his first premier series championship. “I know ‘Coach’ [team owner Joe Gibbs] is all about having a game plan, and it’s something I’ve really worked hard on this year is studying notes and coming up with a game plan when I get to the racetrack of how I’m going to approach things,” Hamlin said. “I think that it’s paying off.”