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TRD U.S.A. Announces Its Promising 2025 Driver Development Program Lineup
TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development) has announced its 2025 Toyota Driver Development (TD2) lineup after another successful season. "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 TD2 program is renowned for nurturing emerging racing talents. Last year, Christopher Bell secured a top-five finish in the NASCAR Cup Series standings for the third consecutive year. Corey Heim achieved his second Championship 4 appearance in the Truck Series and excelled in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Meanwhile, Cannon McIntosh made history by winning two national midget titles – POWRi and XTREME Midget – narrowly missing out on the USAC title.
This year's TD2 lineup spans three motorsport disciplines, featuring drivers like 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. Taylor Gray will compete for Rookie of the Year honours in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR). In 2024, he made 13 starts for JGR with notable performances at Richmond Raceway and Pocono Raceway.
William Sawalich clinched his second ARCA Menards Series East championship last season with a decisive performance at Bristol Motor Speedway. He will vie for Rookie of the Year honours in the NASCAR Xfinity Series while participating in select Truck Series races with TRICON and several ARCA Menards Series events with JGR.
Buddy Kofoid returns to Roth Motorsports for another full-time run in World of Outlaws. With Toyota's 410 engine powering him, Kofoid had an impressive rookie season with seven wins and 27 podiums. Cannon McIntosh also had a remarkable season by winning two national midget titles – POWRi and XTREME Midget – while finishing second in USAC standings.
Jacob Denney joins Keith Kunz Motorsports (KKM) as a full-time teammate to McIntosh after achieving a significant victory at Port City Raceway last October. Denney is a three-time winner on the national USAC tour and finished fifth last season.
Sports Car Endeavours
Tyler Gonzalez won the inaugural Toyota GR Cup Series title in 2023 and continued his success with victories in 2024. For 2025, he joins RAFA Racing Club competing in SRO GT4 competition alongside Gresham Wagner. Wagner clinched his first Toyota GR Cup title last year after an impressive ten-win season.
Kiko Porto is a new addition to TD2 and will compete in GT4 action within IMSA series for RAFA this season. Porto has previous experience in Formula 4, INDY NXT and USF Pro 2000 Championship.
Development Support
TRD actively supports each TD2 driver's development through partnerships with ExxonMobil, JBL, Safelite AutoGlass, SoundGear and Yahoo. This collaboration provides opportunities both on-and-off track to encourage personal growth. Additionally, TD2 drivers have access to Toyota Performance Center (TPC), which offers support with physical fitness recovery sports psychology nutrition among other services.
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