Denny Hamlin Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend for the championship finale, so with the 2016 season coming to a close, we’ll take a look back at a race from Homestead’s past in this week’s edition of “Throwback Thursday Theater.” This week, the focus will be on the 2005 Ford 400, a race that featured a championship battle still up for grabs, drivers making their last starts, and the closest finish ever at the 1.5 mile track. Entering the 36th race ofRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service The crowning achievement of Joe Gibbs Racing’s 2016 season may also be its biggest problem. But it’s a problem the organization is happy to have. When defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kyle Busch earned a return trip to the Championship 4 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a second-place finish at Phoenix, JGR became the first organization in the three-year history of the Chase’s elimination format to put more than one driver in the final race with a chance to win the title.Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – Joey Logano earned a return trip to the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway after a year’s absence. Kyle Busch will head to the South Florida track to try to defend his 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title. And Kevin Harvick won’t be competing for the title for the first time since NASCAR debuted its elimination Chase format in 2014. Needing a victory to advance, as it turned out, Harvick finished fourth in Sunday’s Can-Am 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. In aRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – Six drivers vying for two spots in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship 4 Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway just might be a recipe for bad blood – particularly since three of the six drive for the same organization. “There’s an opportunity for two or three of us to be disappointed – or one of us,” says Denny Hamlin, who is battling his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth, along with Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick and KurtRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor The Round of 8 all comes down to this. After last week’s rain delayed race at Texas, the stage is set for the final race of the round to determine which drivers will move onto Homestead and which drivers will see their championship hopes vanish in the Valley of the Sun. Phoenix has resided on the Cup Series schedule since 1988, but the track looks completely different than it did 28 years ago, having undergone a reconfiguration back in 2011. The reconfiguration added progressive bankingRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer Entering the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, Jimmie Johnson was the only driver locked into the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway. One driver that was hoping to earn his own guaranteed shot at a Championship was Denny Hamlin. As the cars were unloaded at the beginning of the race weekend, Hamlin had just a six-point gap over the Chase cut-off. In the first practice, Hamlin was 15th fastest. He was then mired back on the speed charts in the secondRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief FORT WORTH, Texas — Brad Keselowski went to the top of the timesheets during final practice on Saturday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway. The 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion set a time of 28.319 (190.685 mph) around the 1.5-mile oval, bettering Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch. Truex scored the best 10-lap average of all drivers at 184.413 mph. Here are where the Chase competitors ranked in final practice: 3. Kyle Busch 4. Joey Logano 8. Carl Edwards 10. Kurt Busch 15. Jimmie Johnson 18.Read More

FORT WORTH, Texas — Denny Hamlin is one of three drivers that have lost their pit selection for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Hamlin, who lies second in the Chase for the Sprint Cup standings, received his fourth written warning of the season for failing inspection. NASCAR did not disclose specifically what did not pass inspection on the No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry. Hamlin qualified 17th for Sunday’s round yesterday. Greg Biffle and Trevor Bayne have lost their pit selection as well for their fourth written warningRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor FORT WORTH, Texas — There was a bit of a rift between the Joe Gibbs Racing teammates after last week’s finish in Martinsville. In the closing laps, Jimmie Johnson held the lead, but there was a trio of JGR cars chasing him for the win. Matt Kenseth had been the dominant driver all day long in Martinsville as he led a race-high 176 laps, but he found himself trapped behind his teammate Denny Hamlin in the closing laps. Hamlin was fast on Sunday as well, asRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor FORT WORTH, Texas — The weekend at Texas Motor Speedway got off to a rough start for one of the eight drivers still in championship contention in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase. Kyle Busch slammed into the wall coming to the start finish line to begin his first lap of practice. The damage from the contact with the wall was severe enough that Busch is now relegated to a backup car for the remainder of the weekend. “Unfortunate there with our practice crash that we had, kindRead More