Denny Hamlin Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After spending the past seven years as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff opener, Chicagoland returns to its mid-summer roots this weekend as they get set to host Sunday’s Overton’s 400. The track, which joined the circuit in 2001, only hosts the Cup Series once each season, boasting banking of 18 degrees as well as a curved back straightaway that allows drivers to carry their momentum around the entirety of the track. Having not been repaved in its 18-year history, the track also allows forRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service SONOMA, Calif. – Using a contrarian strategy that included bluffing Kevin Harvick onto pit road earlier than planned in the final stage of Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350, Martin Truex Jr. pulled off a convincing victory in the 16th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season. On Lap 73, during the final stage of the race, Truex’s crew chief, Cole Pearn, ordered the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota to pit road. On the spur of the moment, Harvick’s crew chief, Rodney Childers, optedRead More

September 16, 1975 – June 12, 2013 1997, 1998, 1999 USAC National Midget Champion 1998 USAC Silver Crown Champion 1999 Copper Classic Winner Two-Time Turkey Night Grand Prix Winner Two NASCAR Xfinity Series Wins One NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Win How do you describe a driver who could be competitive in just about any discipline of auto racing in the car, and a fun-loving person out of the car? Aggressive, caring, determined, fast, fierce, friendly, fun, hard-worker, mentor, personable, strong, talented, and wild. Jason Leffler was all of theseRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After last weekend’s race at Pocono saw Martin Truex, Jr. score his second win of the season, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Michigan to race on one of the biggest and fastest tracks on the circuit, Michigan International Speedway, in Sunday’s running of the FireKeepers Casino 400. With this race taking place near the home of two of the three manufacturers (Chevrolet and Ford), teams put extra emphasis on winning this race for bragging rights. The two-mile speedway tends to favor the teamsRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor While Pocono doesn’t always produce the greatest racing, with the field getting strung out more often than not, there are a few exceptions to the rule. The 2010 Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 was one of them. Though the race began much like every other race at the “Tricky Triangle”, as the laps wound down, the action cranked up. After the start of the race was delayed by rain, three drivers, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Clint Bowyer, asserted themselves as the cars to beat, leading allRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer Pit road speeding penalties seem to have been a thorn in the side of Denny Hamlin’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career in recent years. Some of the speeding penalties have cost the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry victories and top-10 finishes, while some have also kept Hamlin out of trouble. It has been reported that the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has accumulated 51 speeding penalties since his debut in 2005. The statistics show that Hamlin is penalized in 11.4 percent ofRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C. – Unable to contain himself, Kyle Busch let out an elated scream as his car entered Turn 3 on the 400th and final lap of Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. And now, for the driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, you’re going to need a bigger broom. From start to finish, Busch fashioned a dominating victory at the only active Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series track at which he had never won a points event. That makesRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer For the third time this season, Denny Hamlin crossed the line in third during Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, dominated by his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch. After the race, Hamlin felt he could’ve battled with his teammate, but needed more speed during short runs. “I wish we would’ve won. I wish we had a little bit more speed. We were just a little bit off the 18 (Kyle Busch). It seemed like a half a tenth a lap or so,” HamlinRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer CONCORD, N.C. – Even a run through the spin cycle couldn’t hamper Jimmie Johnson in the Coca Cola 600. Johnson’s No. 48 Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, along with most of the Chevrolet contingent, ran well throughout the race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. In the late stages of the race, Johnson fought with Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Jamie McMurray, and Kyle Larson for position. The 18-year Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series veteran boldly took McMurray and Chase Elliott three wide on the frontstretch, making theRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor CONCORD, N.C. – Following an early morning rain storm, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series had just one practice session on Saturday morning to complete their preparations for NASCAR’s longest night, the Coca-Cola 600. When all was said and done, Joe Gibbs Racing’s sophomore driver, Erik Jones, led the way in his Toyota with a lap of 28.870 seconds, 187.045 mph, around Charlotte Motor Speedway. Kyle Larson clocked in second, 0.059 seconds behind Jones on the time sheet. Jones also had the fastest 10-lap average inRead More