Joe Gibbs Racing Tag

TALLADEGA, Ala. – The roof came open and the bottom fell out. That was Denny Hamlin’s day in a nutshell. Hamlin was second in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings coming into Sunday’s CampingWorld.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, but a disastrous 37th-place finish left him on the outside looking in as the Eliminator Round begins with eight surviving drivers. The No. 11 FedEx Toyota suffered a fluky mechanical issue early, then was victimized on a last-lap restart when he was caught up in a massive pileup that left Hamlin irate withRead More
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Block me once, and I’ll cut you some slack. Block me twice — and it’s “Gotcha.” That, in essence, was the conversation on Joey Logano’s team radio after Logano spun race leader Matt Kenseth in Turn 1 with less than five laps left in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. Logano went on to win the race after a green-white-checkered-flag restart that sent the race two laps past its scheduled distance of 267 laps. The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford has monopolizedRead More
RICHMOND, Va. – Joe Gibbs Racing brought guns to a knife fight on Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway. But JGR’s Matt Kenseth did his teammates one better — he brought a howitzer. Leading 352 of 400 laps in a race he owned from the outset, Kenseth pulled away from Kyle Busch after a restart with 18 laps left and won the Federated Auto Parts 400 by .951 seconds over his teammate. Kenseth’s fourth victory of the season, tying him for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series lead with Jimmie JohnsonRead More

Posted On September 9, 2015By Joey BarnesIn Breaking News, Cup, Headline News

Hamlin tears ACL, expected to race

Joe Gibbs Racing announced Wednesday that Denny Hamlin tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee, but is expected to race the remainder of the season and postpone the surgery until after the season finale in Homestead. Hamlin suffered the injury playing basketball Tuesday night, with confirmation coming following an MRI Wednesday morning. The 34-year-old previously tore his ACL in his left knee January 2010, also while playing basketball. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Richmond this weekend for the final race before the Chase for theRead More
DARLINGTON, S.C. – On a night when throwback paint schemes recalled NASCAR’s past in vivid color, and a low-downforce aerodynamic package suggested the future direction of the sport, Carl Edwards overcame early misfortune to win an exhilarating race at the Lady in Black. Grabbing the lead thanks to a blisteringly fast pit stop under the track-record 18th caution of Sunday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Edwards pulled away after a restart with eight laps left and beat polesitter Brad Keselowski to the finish line by .902 seconds toRead More
DARLINGTON, S.C. – You could call polesitter Denny Hamlin’s victory in Saturday’s VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway “dominating,” but the NASCAR XFINITY Series event wasn’t without its share of drama—courtesy of a fuel shortage and Hamlin’s own Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Daniel Suarez. Hamlin Led 117 of 147 laps at the 1.366-mile speedway, but he didn’t make the winning pass until Lap 145, when he surged past Suarez, who was stretching fuel after foregoing a final pit stop in hopes of stealing the victory. TheRead More

Posted On August 22, 2015By Motorsports TribuneIn Cup

Logano holds off Harvick to defend Bristol night race title

BRISTOL, Tenn. – With Kevin Harvick hounding him mercilessly for 63 laps, Joey Logano kept his No. 22 Team Penske Ford out front after taking the lead on a Lap 438 restart and held on to win Saturday’s Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Successfully defending last year’s victory at Thunder Valley, Logano won his third race of the season, his second at the .533-mile short track and the 11th of his career. Harvick recovered from two pit road speeding penalties to finish second, a mere .220 secondsRead More

Posted On August 21, 2015By Motorsports TribuneIn Cup

JGR power surge continues with Denny Hamlin on Bristol pole

BRISTOL, Tenn. – If it’s pole day in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Joe Gibbs Racing must be celebrating. Denny Hamlin powered his No. 11 Toyota around .533-mile Bristol Motor Speedway in 14.602 seconds (131.407 mph) on Friday to win the pole for Saturday’s Irwin Tools Night Race (on NBCSN at 7:30 p.m. ET). In breaking Kevin Harvick’s August 2014 track qualifying record by .005 seconds, Hamlin won his second Coors Light Pole Award of the season, his third at Bristol and the 22nd of his career. JGR swept theRead More

Posted On August 16, 2015By Motorsports TribuneIn Cup

Matt Kenseth cruises to dominant Sprint Cup victory at Michigan

BROOKLYN, Mich.—From Matt Kenseth’s point of view, the competition package NASCAR used at Michigan International Speedway could well have had a big, bright bow on it. The Coors Light Polesitter for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, Kenseth quickly exhibited his mastery of the high-drag aerodynamic package, leading 146 of 200 laps in winning for the third time this season, the third time at Michigan and the 34th time in his career. The 2003 premier series champion had to survive a restart with 13 laps left, afterRead More
INDIANAPOLIS—With a relentless charge that forced Ryan Blaney into a mistake on the final lap, Kyle Busch grabbed the lead with a half-lap left at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and took the checkered flag in Saturday’s Lilly Diabetes 250 NASCAR XFINITY Series race. Blaney missed his mark in Turn 2 as Busch closed in, and with his momentum broken, the driver of the No. 22 Ford couldn’t stave off Busch’s winning pass on the backstretch. The No. 54 pulled away to win by .421 seconds, as Busch continued his white-hot runRead More