NASCAR insider Jeff Gluck shifted his outlook just two races into the 2025 playoffs. After initially backing the Ford-affiliated Team Penske, he’s now calling Toyota the organization to beat, with Denny Hamlin’s latest victory fueling that change of heart.The playoffs opened at Darlington Raceway with Chase Briscoe putting Joe Gibbs Racing’s Toyota in Victory Lane. Teammate Denny Hamlin then doubled down at World Wide Technology Raceway, giving the Japanese marque back-to-back wins and securing both drivers a spot in the Round of 12.As the Round of 16 wraps up at Bristol Motor Speedway, Hamlin and Briscoe sit atop the standings, with Chevrolet’s Kyle Larson in third. Bubba Wallace holds fourth in the #23 Toyota, while Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney rounds out the top five. Defending champion and Ford pilot Joey Logano sits 10th, carrying a 21-point cushion above the cutline.In a recent episode of The Teardown podcast with Jordan Bianchi, Jeff Gluck said: “My whole playoff prediction was based on this Penske theory of flat tracks. Penske is so good at these types of tracks and the championship is going to run through Penske. I no longer think that.” [at the start of video]“It's pretty clear that Toyota is bringing the smoke, as Joey Logano put it after the race,” he added.The NASCAR insider concluded:“I'm really thinking that, ‘Hey, Toyota has come out with a statement here, and they are the team or the manufacturer to beat.’” [0:33]So far this season, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 12 victories, highlighted by Shane van Gisbergen’s four wins on road courses. Toyota is close behind with 11, nearly half credited to Denny Hamlin’s #11 JGR entry. Ford, meanwhile, has managed just five wins.Denny Hamlin delivers 200th NASCAR win for Toyota at WWT RacewayBy winning at World Wide Technology Raceway, Denny Hamlin not only clinched his spot in the Round of 12 but also secured Toyota’s 200th NASCAR Cup Series victory. The triumph marked the 59th of his career, moving him to the top of the 2025 win chart with five.NASCAR Insights shared these accomplishments on X and wrote:“Denny Hamlin wins his 59th career race at St. Louis. (1) 59 wins is one behind Kevin Harvick for 10th all-time. (2) Five wins in 2025 are the most of all drivers. (3) Toyota wins their 200th Cup Series race, 4th manufacturer to accomplish this.”Toyota is the fourth manufacturer to reach 200 wins in the NASCAR Cup Series. Chevrolet currently leads the category by a mile with 878 victories, followed by Ford with 746 wins. Dodge, which left the sport in 2012 when Brad Keselowski won the championship, had 217 wins.The Japanese manufacturer became a full-time entrant in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2007, with Joe Gibbs Racing making the high-profile switch from Chevrolet the following year. Since then, the brand has captured three championships: then-JGR driver Kyle Busch in 2015, Martin Truex Jr. in 2017 in the #78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota, and Busch again in 2019.