Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, takes the checkered flag ahead of Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Toyota, to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 21, 2016 Photo – Chris Trotman/Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, takes the checkered flag ahead of Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Toyota, to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 21, 2016 Photo – Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 21, 2016 Photo – Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 21, 2016 Photo – Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, poses with the winner’s decal in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 21, 2016 Photo – Sarah Crabill,/Getty Images
Most of the time, when an athlete talks about a ‘team victory,’ it’s nothing more than a sports cliché.
But Denny Hamlin’s win in Sunday’s Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway—by the closest margin in the history of the Great American Race—was a testament to the strength and solidarity of the Toyota teams of Joe Gibbs Racing and Furniture Row Racing, a JGR affiliate. Continue reading →
’18 RISING PRESENTED BY TOYOTA’ SHOWCASES KYLE BUSCH’S CHAMPIONSHIP RUN SATURDAY, FEB. 20 AT 2 P.M. ET ON NBC
Saturday at 2 p.m. ET NBC revisits the amazing comeback story of 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Kyle Busch. The one-hour special, 18 Rising Presented by Toyota, chronicles Busch’s inconceivable year. The journey began with a hard crash and broken bones in Daytona, followed by a tough recovery that spanned 11 regular-season races, then finished with a dominating march to Miami that climaxed with a Sprint Cup Championship.
The special brings viewers behind the scenes with Busch during the off-season, showcasing tender moments at home with his wife Samantha and young son Brexton. Cameras also follow Busch and race team owner Joe Gibbs to the Toyota factory in Georgetown, KY, where they visit with workers, share stories and offer photos with the Sprint Cup trophy.
With the Sprint Unlimited – a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series non-points paying event – just days away at Daytona International Speedway, Joe Gibbs Racing could be picking up where they left off when Kyle Busch won his first Sprint Cup title last season at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
When Kyle Busch returned to racing after missing 11 races, because of injuries he sustained at Daytona in the XFINITY Series, JGR had won two Sprint Cup races at Martinsville Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway. But upon’s Busch’s return at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, Carl Edwards started a string of 11 more JGR victory celebrations. By the end of the season, JGR had 13 wins for the season, including the first two Chase races and the finale at Homestead. Continue reading →
Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 Dollar General Toyota, Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, and Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Crispy/American Heritage Chocolate Toyota, lead a pack of cars into turn one during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 12, 2015 Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 Dollar General Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 12, 2015 Photo – Ranier Ehrhardt/Getty Images
Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 Dollar General Toyota, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 12, 2015 Photo – Ranier Ehrhardt/Getty Images
Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 Dollar General Toyota, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 12, 2015 Photo – Jonathan Moore/Getty Images
Joe Gibbs Racing brought guns to a knife fight on Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway.
But Joe Gibbs Racing’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 0.951 seconds over his teammate.
Kenseth’s fourth victory of the season, tying him for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series lead with Jimmie Johnson and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch, meant the 16 drivers who started the race in playoff-eligible positions stayed there. Continue reading →