The Joe Gibbs Racing Race Report

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – Kyle Busch Makes History At Bristol Motor Speedway

Date:              August 21, 2010
Event:            Irwin Tools Night Race (Race 24 of 36)
Series:           NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location:       Bristol Motor Speedway (.533-Mile Oval)
Winner:         Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Doublemint Toyota of Joe Gibbs Racing (Started 19th/Finished 1st)
JGR Finish:   Joey Logano, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota (Started 3rd, Finished 18th / Running, completed 499 of 500 laps)
Denny Hamlin, in the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota (Started 17th, Finished 34th / Running, completed 473 of 500 laps)

It was a history making weekend for Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing.

Busch entered Saturday night seeking to become the first driver ever to sweep all the races in NASCAR’s top three series in a single weekend. He would open the weekend at Bristol with a victory in his Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota Tundra on Wednesday night in the truck series and follow that with an impressive victory in the No. 18 Z-Line Designs Camry Friday night in the Nationwide Series. Saturday night he would start his No. 18 Doublemint Toyota in the 19th position, but would not disappoint as he battled his way into the top ten over the course of the first 60 laps, entered the top five shortly after lap 100, and assumed the lead for the first time on lap 175. From there Busch would go on to lead a race-high 282 laps and set NASCAR history by taking the checkered flag in the Irwin Tools Night Race.

Busch’s dominance at Bristol extends well beyond this weekend however. It was his fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup victory and ninth top-10 finish in 12 races at the famed short track.

Logano started the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota in the third position and spent the early portion of the night racing in the top ten.  He restarted the race on lap 199 in the tenth position, but struggled with the car’s handle during the run and drifted back to 17th.  Logano would fair better on the next run however, racing his way back toward the top ten and was 13th by lap 300. He climbed into the top ten by lap 375 as he continued to get stronger on the longer runs. Logano would be penalized for speeding on pit road and forced to take a pass through penalty which put him back in the 21st position and a lap down on lap 414. Unfortunately a long green flag run would end the race and kept Logano from any chance of getting back onto the lead lap. He did manage to gain a few positions however to finish 18th.

Denny Hamlin started the night in the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota in the 19th position and battled through loose conditions early in the race as he waited for the track conditions to tighten up. Just as his Camry began to take to the track he ran over a spring and was forced to pit under caution while the rest of the field was able to remain out. Quick work by the FedEx crew kept Hamlin on the lead lap but forced him to restart back in the 24th position on lap 140. That setback wouldn’t deter Hamlin however as he battled his way through the tight traffic of Bristol Motor Speedway and worked his way into the top ten on lap 248. Unfortunately Hamlin felt something go wrong with the car just prior to that and crew chief Mike Ford made the decision to bring the car into the garage on lap 265 to diagnose the issue. By the time the repairs had been made to the driveshaft on his FedEx Ground Camry, Hamlin would lose 25 laps to the leaders. He would go on to finish the night in 34th.

Busch earned the victory, while David Reutimann was second, Jamie McMurray third, Clint Bowyer fourth and Kasey Kahne rounded out the top five.  There were seven cautions for a total of 39 laps and 15 lead changes among nine different drivers.

The victory vaulted Busch back up to third in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings, while Hamlin now sits in the fifth position with just two more races before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship begins.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will take its final weekend off of the 2010 season next week, before heading to Atlanta Motor Speedway for a Sunday night affair on September 5.

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