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Joe Gibbs Racing Race Report Presented by Interstate BatteriesNASCAR Sprint Cup Series – Crown Royal 400
JGR Finish: Kyle Busch (Started 7th, Finished 2nd / Running, completed 410 of 410 laps) Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), finished a heartbreaking 24th after dominating Saturday night’s Crown Royal Dan Lowry 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. Hamlin started from the pole and led twice for an astounding 381 of the 410 laps available (92.9 percent), but a cut tire with less than 20 laps remaining caused him to forfeit the lead and go three laps down. Richmond was shaping up to be a dream weekend for Hamlin, who grew up in nearby Chesterfield, Va. The 27-year-old began his outing at his hometown track by winning the pole for the Sprint Cup race on Friday, and then followed that highlight a few hours later by winning Friday night’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race for his first victory of any kind at Richmond. Hamlin appeared well on his way to making a clean sweep of the Richmond race weekend, for his 381 laps led set a new record for the number of laps led in a 400-lap race at Richmond. He eclipsed the mark of 369 laps led, which was set by Bobby Allison in September 1979 on Richmond’s former half-mile configuration. The record for all-time laps led at Richmond is 488 of 500, which was set by David Pearson in September 1970. Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Pedigree Toyota for JGR, finished second to score his seventh top-10 of the season and his sixth top-five in seven career Sprint Cup races at Richmond. The finish also marked Busch’s third runner-up result in a Sprint Cup race at Richmond, as he finished second in September 2006 and May 2007. Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota for JGR, finished fourth to score his sixth top-10 of the season and his 13th top-10 in 19 Sprint Cup races at Richmond. Busch remains the lead JGR driver in the championship point race and is now the overall point leader as well. His second-place finish vaulted him past former series leader Jeff Burton, with the driver of the No. 18 Toyota now having an 18-point lead over second-place Burton after round 10 of 36. Hamlin and Stewart, meanwhile, occupy the sixth and eighth positions, respectively. Hamlin dropped two spots and is 146 points behind Busch, while Stewart gained one spot and is 198 points out of first. Clint Bowyer led just the final 13 laps of the Crown Royal Dan Lowry 400 to score his second career Sprint Cup victory and his first at Richmond. Bowyer’s only other Sprint Cup victory came in September 2007 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. Busch, Mark Martin, Stewart and Martin Truex Jr., rounded out the top-five, while Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne comprised the remainder of the top-10. There were 11 caution periods for 62 laps, with eight drivers failing to finish the 410-lap race, which was extended 10 laps past its scheduled 400-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish. The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the May 10 Dodge Challenger 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. The race begins at 7:20 p.m. EDT with live, high-definition coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at 7 p.m. The race will also be broadcast live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 128. |
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