TRD U.S.A. Unveils 2025 Driver Development Program Lineup

February 11, 2025 by Toyota

After another stellar season full of wins and championships, TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development) is pleased to officially unveil its 2025 Toyota Driver Development (TD2) lineup.

'Everyone at Toyota and TRD continues to see the value in investing in young drivers and helping them have incredible opportunities to showcase their talent with our partner teams across many different racing disciplines,' said Trent Rodriguez, manager, Driver Development, TRD. 'We are exceptionally proud of the current group of drivers we are supporting through the TD2 program and are very confident they will continue to deliver on track this season.'

The accomplished program continues to spotlight up-and-coming talented drivers. Last year, graduate Christopher Bell finished in the top five of the NASCAR Cup Series point standings for the third straight season. Corey Heim delivered his second straight Championship 4 performance in the Truck Series, while also scoring impressive performances in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. On the dirt track, Cannon McIntosh became the second driver in midget racing history to claim two national midget titles – POWRi and XTREME Midget – while coming up just short of the USAC title as well.

This season's talented TD2 lineup is focused across three motorsports disciplines. Drivers representing Toyota include Jade Avedisian, Brent Crews, Jacob Denney, Tyler Gonzalez, Taylor Gray, Corey Heim, Buddy Kofoid, Cannon McIntosh, Kiko Porto, Isabella Robusto, Gio Ruggiero, William Sawalich, Gresham Wagner and Westin Workman.

Stock Car

Gray, 19, will compete for Rookie of the Year honors in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR). The New Mexico native made 13 starts for the team in 2024, with several strong performances including a third place run in his debut at Richmond Raceway and an additional top five at Pocono Raceway in July. Gray also competed full-time in the NASCAR Truck Series with TRICON Garage (TRICON). In his first full-time season, Gray qualified for the Playoffs and closed the season with four consecutive top 10 finishes, including a runner-up result at Talladega Superspeedway.

Sawalich, 18, earned his second straight ARCA Menards Series East championship last season with a clutch performance at Bristol Motor Speedway in September. The Minnesota native won his first Truck Series pole at Talladega in October and picked up his first Xfinity Series pole one month later at the season finale in Phoenix. Sawalich will have a busy 2025 as he competes for Rookie of the Year honors in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for JGR, while running in select Truck Series races with TRICON and several ARCA Menards Series starts with JGR.

Crews, 16, continued to excel on the track with victories in ARCA, CARS Tour, Super Late Model, and Trans Am in 2024. The youngest TA2 champion in series history will continue to have a busy schedule in 2025. Crews joins JGR for a part-time run in the ARCA Menards Series, while also making his Truck Series debut for TRICON. He will also pursue a TA Class championship in Trans Am competition for Nitro Motorsports.

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Heim, 22, will return full time to TRICON after back-to-back Championship 4 runs. The Georgia native led the Truck series in wins with six and set the record for the youngest driver in series history with 10 victories. Heim was also impressive in multiple starts for Sam Hunt Racing (SHR) in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, matching the team's best-ever finish of third at Iowa, while also setting the team's best-ever starting position and single race laps led. He will be back behind the wheel of the No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, with additional starts in other NASCAR divisions to be announced at a later date.

Ruggiero, 18, was impressive in his starts across many divisions last season. He picked up a victory at Five Flags Speedway in ARCA East competition, while finishing second on three different occasions in the national ARCA tour. He also had several wins in Super Late Model competition. For 2025, the Massachusetts native is making the jump to full-time competition in the NASCAR Truck Series for TRICON as he looks to claim Rookie of the Year honors.

Robusto, 20, will look to make history as she competes full-time for Venturini Motorsports (VMS) for the 20-race national ARCA Menards Series schedule. Last year, the South Carolina native tied the all-time best finish for a female on the national tour with a runner-up result at Illinois State Fairgrounds before adding a pole at Kansas Speedway in September.

Avedisian, 18, the first female national dirt midget champion, will continue her transition to pavement racing as she competes in the late model ranks for Wilson Motorsports (WMS). In just her second late model start last season, she captured a victory on the final feature night at Hickory Motor Speedway. The California native will also compete in several TA2 races throughout the season as she continues to gain experience on road courses.

Grassroots Dirt

Kofoid, 23, returns to Roth Motorsports for a second consecutive full-time run in World of Outlaws. Powered by Toyota's 410 engine, Kofoid had one of the most impressive runs for a rookie in series history as he captured seven wins, 27 podiums and 53 top-10s on his way to a fourth-place finish in the final point standings.

McIntosh, 22, had an incredibly impressive season becoming the second driver to win two national midget titles – POWRI and XTREME Midget – in the same season. McIntosh nearly won all three as he finished second in the final USAC standings, on the strength of three victories, including his first BC39 win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. For 2025, McIntosh returns to Keith Kunz Motorsports (KKM) for national midget competition.

Denney, 20, will be McIntosh's full-time teammate at KKM after achieving a notable victory at Port City Raceway last October with the team on a select schedule. The new Toyota Development Driver is a three-time winner on the national USAC tour and earned his best points finish – fifth – last season.

Sports Car

Gonzalez, 20, who won the inaugural Toyota GR Cup Series title in 2023, followed that with an impressive run of victories in 2024, including a GT4 win at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. For 2025, he joins RAFA Racing Club (RAFA) competing in the GR Supra GT4 in SRO competition in the GT4 class.

Wagner, 27, joins the TD2 program after clinching his first Toyota GR Cup title in 2024 with Copeland Motorsports after an impressive ten-win season. Wagner will be Gonzalez's co-driver in SRO GT4 competition with RAFA in 2025.

Porto, 21, also is a new member to TD2 and will compete in GT4 action in the IMSA series for RAFA this season. Porto, who is a native of Brazil, has previous experience in Formula 4, INDY NXT and the USF Pro 2000 Championship.

Workman, 20, continues with Toyota for the second consecutive season as he will represent TRD partner Endava in the GR Cup for BSI Racing. The North Carolina native finished third in his rookie season of competition on the strength of several podium finishes. Workman is also featured in the new Toyota commercial – You Can't Stop My Drive – which hit airwaves last month.

TRD takes an active role in each TD2 driver's development to help them achieve their goals of long-term success in motorsport with support of partners such as ExxonMobil, JBL, Safelite AutoGlass, SoundGear and Yahoo. The mutual long-term commitment allows TRD to provide additional opportunities on-and-off the track to encourage and support their personal development. TD2 drivers, along with drivers who compete for Toyota-supported race teams, also have access to the celebrated Toyota Performance Center (TPC), which provides support with physical fitness, sports psychology, recovery and nutrition.

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In spring 2025, Toyota's plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 31 electrified options.