When Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson announced they’d be taking a swing at the 2025 Daytona 500, no one batted an eye at their ability to qualify on speed alone. After all, these are two Cup Series champions —veterans who know their way around a restrictor-plate track. But here’s the thing about Daytona: it doesn’t care how many trophies you have. Even the best can be chewed up and spit out by the high banks of the Great American Race.

So when Wednesday’s qualifying session wrapped up and both Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson had locked themselves into the field on pure pace—no Duels necessary—it was a bit of a moment. And they weren’t the only Toyotas flexing some muscle. Chase Briscoe, making his Joe Gibbs Racing debut, bagged the pole, marking the first time a Toyota driver has ever secured the top starting spot for the Daytona 500.

That begs the question: where did this speed from the Japanese manufacturer come from? Truex Jr. and Johnson have thoughts—but they’re not exactly reading from the same script.

Is Toyota’s Daytona dominance a new era or a flash in the pan?

Toyota made a statement on Wednesday night. Briscoe, now wheeling the No. 19 JGR Toyota that Truex Jr. vacated, put down a blistering lap at 182.745 mph, just barely edging out Ford’s Austin Cindric by 0.076 seconds. It was a career moment for Briscoe, who called it “unbelievable” and “a special way to start the year.” But the Toyota camp had more to celebrate. Truex Jr., now piloting the No. 56 Toyota for Tricon Garage, and Jimmie Johnson, in the No. 84 Toyota for Legacy Motor Club, both made it in on speed. For two guys who have long since left the full-time grind, it was a pleasant surprise.

But even they can’t fully explain it. “It’s hard to tell,” Johnson admitted. “I’m not in the cars as often, but we’re really encouraged by our pace in practice. The whole field picked up speed, so hats off to Toyota and JGR for what they’ve brought.”

Martin Truex Jr. as ever, was more pragmatic. “These cars feel slow no matter what,” he said dismissively, hinting that there’s no real way to know how well you’ve done in these Next Gen cars until you cross the line. “They’re so draggy. You just wait to see what pops up on your dash when you take the checkered flag.”

The irony is that both drivers are deeply embedded in the Toyota fold. Johnson’s Legacy Motor Club recently ditched Chevrolet for Toyota, a move he described as part of a “longer journey” to rebuild the team. Truex Jr. meanwhile, after a long stint running full-time for the main Toyota-backed squad, Joe Gibbs Racing, is now running for Tricon Garage, another Toyota-backed Truck series team dipping its toes into Cup-level racing for the first time. For Jimmie Johnson, switching manufacturers was a calculated gamble. “We couldn’t have tried any harder last year,” he said, referencing Legacy’s struggles in 2024. “It’s part of the journey. We won’t see the full impact of the change until next year.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. also weighed in on Legacy’s switch to the Japanese manufacturer. “If a new OEM comes in and says, ‘We want to make you our top dog,’ that could be a game-changer,” he said. For now, though, Johnson and Legacy are just hoping to make that gamble pay off.

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Chase Briscoe’s debut pole positions him as the new face of JGR’s Superspeedway hopes

While Truex Jr. and Johnson were solidifying their spots in the race, Chase Briscoe was stealing the headlines. The 30-year-old, who stepped into the ride vacated at the end of 2024 by Truex Jr. at JGR, delivered a pole-winning lap that had the entire garage erupting. For Briscoe, it was validation of his decision to leave Stewart-Haas Racing after the team shut down at the end of 2024.

“I’ve never been in a top-tier program like this,” he admitted. “At SHR, I’d have maybe four or five races a year where my car was capable of winning. Now, I feel like I’ll have 20-something opportunities.”

Briscoe’s pole run was about personal redemption as much as it was a statement for JGR and Toyota as a whole. “To be the guy to deliver Toyota their first Daytona 500 pole is pretty cool,” he said. “It’s a big deal for me, for the team, and for everyone at Bass Pro Shops who helped make this happen.”

But what really stood out was Briscoe’s heaps of praise for Joe Gibbs, the Hall of Fame team owner who has built JGR into one of NASCAR’s most successful organizations. “The biggest difference is just Coach,” Briscoe said. “This is his business. This is what he eats, sleeps, and breathes every single day. He’s there every single day, and it shows in how the team operates.” Briscoe contrasted Gibbs’ hands-on approach with his previous experience at Stewart-Haas Racing, where team co-owners Tony Stewart and Gene Haas were often juggling multiple ventures. “Nothing against Gene or Tony, but Coach is just so involved in every detail. If we have a bad week, he’s going to be there on Monday asking, ‘Why did we run so bad?’ That level of accountability is something I’ve never experienced before.”

Briscoe also highlighted the technological edge that JGR provides. “The data side has been eye-opening,” he said. “They have analytics on everything—passing rates, restart rates, things I didn’t even think teams paid attention to. It’s nuts how detailed they are.”

But let’s not forget the guy he replaced. At 43, Martin Truex Jr. is chasing one last shot at Daytona glory. He’s got a Cup title, multiple regular-season championships, and wins at nearly every type of track—but the Daytona 500 remains an unchecked box. His closest brush came in 2016 when he lost to Denny Hamlin in the closest finish in race history.

This time, it’s personal. Truex Jr. is racing in honor of his father, Martin Truex Sr., who passed away earlier this year. “Everything I’ve ever learned was from him,” Truex said. “He was my hero. Hopefully, we can win this thing for him on Sunday.”

Toyota’s Daytona 500 performance has turned heads. Is this a sign of things to come, or just a one-off burst of speed? For Truex Jr. and Johnson, Sunday’s race is all that matters now. Truex, in the No. 56 Toyota, wants to finally add a Daytona 500 win to his resume. Jimmie Johnson, meanwhile, is out to prove that Legacy Motor Club’s move to Toyota was the right call.

And then there’s Briscoe, just soaking in the moment. “To be on the pole of the Daytona 500 is a really big deal,” he said. “It’s special for me, for the team, and for everyone who’s supported me.”

This year’s Daytona 500 is shaping up to be one for the books. And if qualifying was any indication, Toyota is going to be right in the thick of it.