Denny Hamlin Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Co-founder of Joe Gibbs Racing and former NASCAR driver Jason Dean “J.D.” Gibbs, 49, passed away Friday evening from complications after a long battle with a degenerative neurological disease. The oldest son of Joe Gibbs became an instrumental force of propelling JGR as one of NASCAR’s elite team, kickstarting the career of Denny Hamlin and bringing Kyle Busch to the team. Before making his mark in the sport, J.D. played both defensive back and quarterback at William & Mary from 1987-90, looking to follow his dad’sRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup season will roar to life with a Sunday doubleheader on February 10 at Daytona to signal the start of Speedweeks. Once again this year, Cup Series qualifying and the Advance Auto Parts Clash exhibition race will kick off a week of action leading up to the 61st annual Daytona 500 the following Sunday. On Thursday, the sanctioning body released the eligibility requirements and drivers that have met those requirements for the two-segment, 75-lap event. This year’s eligible drivers will conformRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Continuing the speed shown earlier in the day, Joey Logano was the fastest once again in final practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Homestead-Miami Speedway, jumping to the top of the board early on and staying there for the duration of the session. Logano clocked in at 31.450 seconds, 171.701 mph, with fellow championship contender Martin Truex Jr. following close on his heels with the second fastest time in practice. “I think we were pretty good,” Logano said. “I amRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. – A day after struggling to find speed in the first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice session of the weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Joey Logano topped the board in the first of two Saturday practice sessions. Logano ran 40 laps throughout practice, but it was his first lap on track that was the fastest, posting a time of 31.838 seconds, 169.609 mph. The Team Penske driver was also fastest among 10-lap averages. “How do you not feel confident in that?  You have to,”Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Three of the four Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 drivers qualified near the top of the board in Friday’s knockout time trials at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but Denny Hamlin, who has his own agenda, stole the pole for Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 (at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90). Trying to extend his streak of winning at least one race per season to 13 consecutive years, Hamlin streaked around the 1.5-mile track in 31.059 secondsRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Kurt Busch entered Sunday’s Can-Am 500 at ISM Raceway with just three points separating him from a berth in the championship finale, but for the 2004 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion, it just wasn’t his day. After finishing the first stage in fifth place, taking the lead on the ensuing restart and holding onto the top spot for the next 52 laps, things went awry for Busch and his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing team when Busch was penalized for passing the pace car entering pitRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The Round of Eight all comes down to this. After last week’s race at Texas, the stage is set for the final race of the round in Phoenix to determine which drivers will move onto Homestead and which drivers will see their championship hopes vanish in the Arizona desert. Three of the four spots in the championship race are still up for grabs after the penalty news that came out on Wednesday. Of the drivers still eligible, only Joey Logano is safe, having locked up hisRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief FORT WORTH, Texas – Clint Bowyer faces a must-win scenario after enduring a miserable 26th-place finish in the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. The 39-year-old Kansas native was optimistic heading into Sunday’s race after qualifying second – a personal best at the 1.5-mile oval. A dream of advancing from the Round of 8 and into the Championship 4 quickly turned into a nightmare. Pole sitter Ryan Blaney took off as the green flag waved, with the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil Delvac 1 FordRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After a barnburner of a finish at Martinsville last weekend, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Lone Star State and Texas Motor Speedway for Sunday’s running of the AAA Texas 500 and the second race of the playoff semi-finals. First joining the circuit in 1997, the 1.5-mile Texas track has provided some great racing over the years as the original track surface wore down over the years. Prior to the 2017 season, Texas went through a reconfiguration, dropping the banking in Turns 1Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer In the midst of an instant classic battle between Joey Logano and Martin Truex, Jr., Denny Hamlin snookered his way to finish second in Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway. After taking out fan favorite Chase Elliott out of the race lead last year, Hamlin was introduced in front of his home state fans with loud jeers. 500 laps later, the jeers lessened after Logano’s bump on Truex that could’ve been disastrous for their championship aspirations. As both were sliding, Hamlin charged his way byRead More