JGR Busch Series Race Report - Homestead
Date: Nov. 17, 2007
Event: Ford 300 (Round 35 of 35)
Series: NASCAR Busch Series
Location: Homestead-Miami Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Winner: Jeff Burton of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)
JGR Finish: Denny Hamlin (Started 22nd, Finished 13th / Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)
Aric Almirola (Started 11th, Finished 18th / Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)
Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 20 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet, led the two-car Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) contingent at Homestead-Miami Speedway by finishing 13th in Saturday’s season-ending Ford 300 NASCAR Busch Series race. It was Hamlin’s 19th top-15 finish in 22 Busch Series races in 2007.
Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 18 Banquet Chevrolet for JGR, finished 18th to score his fifth consecutive top-20 finish in the Busch Series. The Ford 300 marked Almirola’s last race with JGR, as the 23-year-old driver heads to Dale Earnhardt Inc., in 2008.
There were 12 caution periods for 48 laps, with 11 drivers failing to finish the 200-lap race.
With the final Busch Series race of the season in the books, the No. 20 car finished the year second in owner points – the best Busch Series point finish for JGR since it began fielding entries in NASCAR’s second-most popular division in 1998. The No. 18 car finished 21st in owner points.
Winning the Busch Series championship was Carl Edwards, who clinched the Busch Series driver title two races ago at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, but was officially crowned at the end of the Ford 300. The No. 29 team of Richard Childress Racing, meanwhile, clinched the Busch Series owner championship by simply starting the Ford 300.
Jeff Burton scored his 27th career Busch Series victory and his fifth of the season by winning the Ford 300. Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Edwards and Stephen Leicht secured the rest of the top-five. Greg Biffle, Tony Raines, Bobby Hamilton Jr., Clint Bowyer and Marcos Ambrose comprised the remainder of the top-10.
The 2008 season of the newly named NASCAR Nationwide Series kicks off February 16 with the Camping World 300 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The race will be broadcast live and in high-definition on ESPN2.
