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Joe Gibbs Racing Race Report Presented by Interstate BatteriesNASCAR Sprint Cup Series – Food City 500
JGR Finish: Denny Hamlin (Started 12th, Finished 6th / Running, completed 506 of 506 laps in a green/white/checkered finish) All three Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) drivers – Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch – led laps in Sunday’s Food City 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, but none were able to find victory lane. The three drivers combined to lead 10 times for a total 372 laps, or 73.5 percent of the 506 laps available, as the race was extended six laps past its scheduled 500-lap distance due to a green/white/checkered finish. Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota for JGR, dominated the event by leading six times for a race-high 267 laps, but a late caution took away what appeared to be a sure win. When Brian Vickers crashed on lap 491, crew chief Greg Zipadelli had to make a critical decision: pit and take four tires to ensure more grip and a faster car, or stay out on the race track and keep the lead with less than 10 laps to go. Stewart and Zipadelli elected to stay out, as did second-place Hamlin and third-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. When the race restarted, Hamlin got by Stewart on lap 496 while Richard Childress Racing teammates Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton, who had pitted for new tires, were fast approaching. As Harvick and Stewart battled for second, Harvick’s Chevrolet slid up into Stewart’s Toyota on lap 499 and sent it spinning backward into the SAFER Barrier on the outside of turn three. The rear of the car was badly misshapen, but after some quick service on pit road, Stewart was able to stay on the lead lap and remain in the race. He finished 14th and was the last car on the lead lap. Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota for JGR, lead three times for 98 laps, including during the final restart after the accident that derailed Stewart’s shot at victory. But when the green flag dropped, Hamlin’s car sputtered, apparently due to a fuel pickup issue. Yet he only fell to sixth, which ended up being the highest JGR finish of the day. It was Hamlin’s second top-10 finish of 2008 and the 43rd of his Sprint Cup career. Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota, led once for seven laps, but crashed while leading on lap 291 after his power steering failed and coated his tires with fluid. The team fixed the leak and the car, but Busch had to drive the remaining 215 laps with no power steering. The yeomen effort allowed Busch to post a respectable 17th-place finish and maintain his lead in the championship point race. Busch now leads the point standings by 30 markers over second-place Greg Biffle. Stewart and Hamlin occupy the seventh and 15th positions, respectively. Stewart is 126 points arrears Busch while Hamlin 214 points out of first. Burton ended up winning the Food City 500 to score his 20th career Sprint Cup victory and his first at Bristol. Harvick and Clint Bowyer finished second and third, respectively, giving Richard Childress Racing its first ever 1-2-3 finish. Biffle and Earnhardt rounded out the top-five, while Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, former JGR development driver Aric Almirola, David Gilliland and Matt Kenseth comprised the remainder of the top-10. Almirola’s eighth-place result was his best in seven career Sprint Cup starts, and his first top-10. There were 10 caution periods for 68 laps, with Vickers the only driver who failed to finish the 506-lap race. The Sprint Cup Series takes a weekend off in honor of Easter before heading to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway for the March 30 Goody’s Cool Orange 500. The race begins at 2 p.m. EDT with live, high-definition coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at 1:30 p.m. The race will also be broadcast live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 128. |
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