Tag: Joe Gibbs Racing

Fans and drivers went to Martinsville Speedway a little bewildered by news of a “new” famous Martinsville hot dog. If you could tell any difference by the checkered flag on Sunday you must have some kind of super sense for processed meat products…

By the time the checkers fell on Sunday and the STP 500 it is a good bet nobody was concerned about hot dogs. Virginia native Denny Hamlin drove the #11 Fed-Ex / Joe Gibbs Toyota to the win and huge applause from the stands.

It was a good day for some and others fell back during the first short track race of the season. Many who tend to do well were caught with mechanical issues, wrecks or just out of the rhythm. Jimmie Johnson and team mate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. suffered issues that put them down several laps. Dale, Jr. was involved in a crash that had him back out several laps later with no front end sheet metal.

Jeff Gordon held the front for a bit and went on to finish 9th but was still hit during the race with a pit road penalty that put him back. Kasey Kahne even lead some and finished 11th.  All in all a split day of results for the Hendrick cars.

Stewart-Haas teams were up front and overall did well but couldn’t manage the end with Hamlin. Kevin Harvick lead a good chunk but couldn’t extend his run of top-2 finishes (8th). Kurt Busch also held the front but fell back to 14th at the end. Tony Stewart ran mid pack early on but by the later laps was up front to challenge but was edged outside and the train went by as he finished 20th. It was Danica Patrick that seemed to get in the groove at Martinsville, avoided some traffic and crashes and finished 7th.

It was the Joe Gibbs and Penske teams that filled the top 5 at the finish having a good race day in general. JGR cars finished 1st (Denny Hamlin), 4th (Matt Kenseth) and 5th (David Ragan in for Kyle Busch). Penske teams of Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano finished  2nd and 3rd with Logano starting on the pole.

Others in the top 10 were Martin Truex, Jr (6th) and Jamie McMurray (10th).

For fans it was a big day of racing with 31 lead changes involving 13 drivers and a familiar winner. 16 cautions gave fans a chance to examine their hot dogs for any signs of change.

It could be a momentum changing race for Joe Gibbs Racing and Denny Hamlin in particular.

The Easter break is on and the circus rolls on afterward to Texas then back to closer racing at Bristol (4-19) and Richmond (4-25).

PHOTOS: Friday Practice | Saturday Practice | Kroger 250 | STP 500

 

You have a penny in your pocket? How much is it worth?

If you are Joe Gibbs Racing, Matt Kenseth or the Crew Chief, Jason Ratcliff, it could be worth $200,000.00.

If you haven’t heard, NASCAR did a routine inspection on the engine from Kenseth’s Kansas winning #20 Toyota and found a piston connecting rod was illegally light. In total, all eight rods together were well within the requirements. However, separately, they all varied in weight with one of them falling about 2.7 grams light.

2.7 grams is, give or take a notch. what a United States penny weighs… (more…)

There has been a lot of chatter about football lately. The season is just a couple of weeks in without, apparently, the standard issue referees. The regulars are on strike. The fill-ins are, apparently, less than stellar.

No matter, really. The “Chase” is on. How can there be a comparison? Early season football or late season racing? I’ll go racing any day.

So I did, of a sort. Kyle Busch was at Martinsville Speedway to give a brief on the Tums Fast Relief 500. The manner of this briefing was from the cockpit of an M&M’s #18 Toyota Cup Car, modified a bit to carry a passenger. Also suited up was Speedway President Clay Campbell. Clay has his own experiences with driving so he was also on hand to run passenger laps behind the wheel of a Federated Auto Parts #52 race car. The cars were brought up to Martinsville by the folks from Fast Track High Performance Driving School in North Carolina.

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A practical drag race ended with Denny Hamlin rolling into Victory Lane at Atlanta. On his heels was Jeff Gordon looking for any points advantage to make the “Chase”. Hamlin is in it. Gordon is a spot down and grasping for it. With one race to go we’ll see if he can roll over team mate Kasey Kahne to grab it.

Denny Hamlin just came off the win at Bristol and is looking at Richmond which he has won before. He’s in the “Chase” so enough about him, for now.

The top 10 in Atlanta litter the “Chase” field as well. Hamlin took the win and is in. Gordon, second, is just off the pace. Brad Keselowski rolled under the flag in third and holds the sixth slot in points. Martin Truex, Jr… 4th in Atlanta and fifth in points. Kevin Harvick took fifth and holds the ninth points position. Kyle Busch finished sixth and moved up a slot dancing with the wild cards. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., seventh at Atlanta and moved to just 8 points from the first points slot he held briefly just a few races ago. Matt Kenseth was in the top 10 in Atlanta and holds the third points slot. (more…)