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NEXTEL Sprint Cup Series - Lenox Industrial Tools 301

June 29th, 2009 by Chris Helein

Joey Logano Becomes Youngest Ever To Win NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race

Date: June 28, 2009

Event: Lenox Industrial Tools 301 (Race 17 of 36)

Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Location: New Hampshire Motor Speedway (1.058-Mile Oval)

Winner: Joey Logano of Joe Gibbs Racing in No. 20 Home Depot Toyota

JGR Finish: Kyle Busch, (Started 9th, Finished 7th/ Running, completed 273 of 273 laps in rain shortened race)

Denny Hamlin (Started 7th, Finished 15th/ Running, completed 273 of 273 laps)

It was a record setting day in NASCAR as Joe Gibbs Racing’s Joey Logano captured his first victory on the sport’s highest level when he won yesterday’s rain shortened Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at his home track of New Hampshire Motor Speedway and in the process broke his teammate’s record as the youngest winner ever in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Kyle Busch had previously held the mark of youngest to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at 20 years, 4 months, and 2 days old, but with his victory yesterday, Logano set a new mark just one month and four days following his 19^th birthday. He already held the record for becoming the youngest ever to win a NASCAR Nationwide Series race with a victory in Kentucky last summer less than a month after turning 18.

Logano’s victory also provided a sweep for JGR this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, as JGR developmental driver Matt DiBenedetto started the weekend with a victory behind the wheel of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Driven Racing Oil Toyota in NASCAR’s Camping World Series East race Friday night and Kyle Busch captured Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race behind the wheel of the No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota.

Friday’s qualifying for today’s race was canceled due to rain which left the field to be set by the current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings. That left Logano starting from the 24^th position in just his 20^th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. The rookie from nearby Middletown, CT was able to hover near his starting position for much of the first half of the race, but contact on lap 182 caused a tire to go down and ultimately forced him a lap down. The No. 20 Home Depot crew was excellent once again in the pits in making the repairs and when a caution flew a short time later, Logano was able to get the lap back courtesy of being the lucky dog recipient on lap 189.

From there it was a matter of pit strategy and veteran crew chief Greg Zipadelli made the right call in keeping Logano on the track for as long as possible as the leaders began their pit cycles. Several others attempted the same strategy, but none were successful and when Ryan Newman ran out of gas on lap 263, Logano assumed the lead for the first time. As the rain fell Logano saved fuel running under caution and managed to hold the lead when the rain intensified forcing the red flag. A short time later the race was made official and NASCAR had a new record and its 11^th different winner of the 2009 season.

Meanwhile, Kyle Busch managed a strong 7^th-place finish behind the wheel of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota. After starting from the 9^th position, Busch raced much of the day in the top-10 and appeared ready to contend for a possible checkered flag and certainly a top-five finish before the rain fell leaving him to settle for sixth top-ten 10 finish of the season.

Denny Hamlin piloted the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota to a 15^th-place finish today. Hamlin, who started the day from the seventh position drifted back out of the top ten early in the race but the FedEx crew made adjustments on the car in an attempt to find the proper handle on the No. 11 and it appeared to be paying dividends as Hamlin had raced his way back up toward the top ten and appeared ready for a strong finishing run before the rain came and left him to settle for a 15^th-place finish.

Hamlin and Busch both managed to slide up one position in the current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings and now hold sixth and eighth place respectively. Logano’s victory gained him three spots into the 21^st position.

Jeff Gordon finished second behind Logano, while Kurt Busch was third, David Reutimann was fourth and Tony Stewart finished fifth. There were 11 cautions for a total of 47 laps and 21 lead changes among 14 different drivers over the course of the 273-lap race, which was shortened 28 laps due to rain.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads back to where the season started at Daytona International Speedway next Saturday as NASCAR celebrates the 4^th of July in style.  The Coke Zero 400 will begin at 8 PM ET with live, high-definition coverage provided by TNT, beginning with its pre-race show at 7:30 PM. The race will also be broadcast live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 128.

Tags: Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, NASCAR
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Game Plan for Life Events

June 26th, 2009 by Joe Gibbs

An update on racing first…we have Denny and Kyle in the top ten in points which is exciting.  As you know, we are “points racing” now to try and get into the top 12 as to have a chance to win the championship.  Everyone knows that last year we had a disappointing chase in those ten races but this year we are putting everything we have here at Joe Gibbs Racing into those last ten races.  Joey has done extremely well for us.  He has now moved up to 24^th in points and it would be great to see him rise into the teens for Home Depot.  I see a lot of fans come through the race shop saying that they are Joey fans so that is exciting for us.

Motocross had a big weekend.  Two weeks ago we were in Pennsylvania.  It was exciting as it was the first time that motocross was live on NBC.  Our guy, Josh Grant, finished 6^th in the first moto with a huge wreck, which was played a lot.  He did a good job to come back and finish 6^th.   Came back in the last moto and got hit on the start and was 40^th at that point but came all the way back to finish 11^th.  Cody Cooper finished 6^th in the first moto and 6^th in the second moto.  In all of our racing, we are on track to have an exciting year.

I want to thank everyone out there who has sent me notes, or contacted Pat, and said they are praying about the Game Plan For Life project.  We’re getting close now-July 21^st will be the debut of the book.  Leading up to the book though we are doing a lot of exciting things in the two weeks prior to the book’s debut.  In a one-month window, we would like to do everything we can to promote the book and try to get it on the best-sellers list.  I’ll be in New York for two days to do some radio and TV.  On July 28^th, I’ll be at McLean Bible in Washington D.C. doing an outreach there.  I thought it would be great to do an outreach and sell and autograph some books.  On July 29^th there will be another outreach in Washington D.C. at AOL.  On July 31^st, we will be at the Westin downtown in Charlotte.  On September 12^th, which is the Saturday of the NASCAR race in Richmond, we’ll be doing a CCN event.  On all of those events, I would love to have any of you come out to attend.  Please pray for me during these events as I will give my testimony and try to reach out at the same time.  When I go on TV or radio and give interviews about the book, my role is just being the “average Joe.”  I’m not a scholar.  My testimony is weaved through the entire project and it will introduce the eleven topics.  This is where I should spend my time, trying to relate to people through my life experiences.  As most of you know, I’ve had a financial struggle, I’ve had an occupational struggle, and I’ve had a health struggle.  What I want to tell people is that there is a modern, relevant game plan for life.  My life is a testimony to that.  I don’t want to argue with people or convince people, I just want to point to the Word of God and say this is relevant.  We want to be a part of a moral awakening in America.  I’ve been shocked recently with all of the scandals in the political world lately.  My hope in all of those situations would be people asking themselves, “Am I following the right game plan for life?”

I’ve been studying recently in Jeremiah 18 and 19.  Jeremiah was a prophet and he was saying to his people at the time what God was saying.  In the 18^th and 19^th chapter, Jeremiah talks about the potter who works with clay and Jeremiah says that God is the potter and we are the clay.  What does the potter want with clay?  He does not want steel, right?  He can’t work with it.  He wants clay.  He can mold and work with the clay.  If God is the potter and we are the clay, are we moldable?  Can He work with us?  Can He shape us?  The potter, God, has a purpose.  He has a way that He wants to mold and shape us.  Are we wiling to let Him do that?  The potter’s hands are nail-scarred hands as He sent Jesus to die on a cross for you and I.  His feet are nail-scarred as well.  Is that the potter we want to have?

Are we letting God mold us into who we want to be?

Listen:

Posted in Coach Gibbs Devotionals, Life of Purpose, Salvation, The Bible | No Comments »

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series - Toyota/Save Mart 350

June 22nd, 2009 by Chris Helein

Date: June 21, 2009

Event: Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Race 16 of 36)

Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Location: Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, CA (1.99-Mile Road Course)

Winner: Kasey Kahne of Richard Petty Motorsports

JGR Finish: Denny Hamlin (Started 24th, Finished 5th/ Running, completed 113 of 113 laps)

Joey Logano, (Started 12th, Finished 19th / Running, completed 113 of 113 laps)

Kyle Busch, (Started 2nd, Finished 22nd/ Running, completed 113 of 113 laps)

If one were to draw a comparison of yesterday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway to football, the race certainly would have been played in the NFC East where physical battles have always been commonplace.

The narrow road course led to many incidents as cars battled for position on every lap and certainly every double-file restart following each caution. In the end, it would be Denny Hamlin behind the wheel of the No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota leading Joe Gibbs Racing’s three-car contingent with a fifth-place finish at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA.

Hamlin started the race from the 24^th position but managed to work his way to the front as pit strategies played a major role in track position through the middle of the race. Hamlin and the No. 11 FedEx Office crew claimed the lead for the first time on lap 34 and would end the day just behind race winner Kasey Kahne in most laps led having paced the field 33 times around the road course. In the end Hamlin raced his way back to the fifth position to earn his second consecutive top-five finish.

Joey Logano, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota started from the 12^th position and proved ready for his first road course test in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, steadily climbing up the field through the first half of the race. Logano would restart third on lap 79, but contact with Scott Speed would cause him to drift back and ultimately onto pit road to repair an apparent tire rub. He managed to race his way back into the top 20 over the final 30 laps for a 19^th place finish.

Meanwhile Kyle Busch and the crew of the No. 18 M&Ms/Transformers Toyota started from the second position and proved strong early on claiming the lead from pole sitter Brian Vickers by lap 17. Busch would lead a total of 10 laps before heading to pit road for a green flag stop. Busch would find himself in 17^th position on lap 36 as several cars decided to remain on the track and conserve fuel. Busch managed to climb back in the top 10 but contact with Sam Hornish, Jr. on lap 61 caused him to spin and led to damage on his No. 18 M&Ms/Transformers Toyota that would ultimately force him a lap down. He managed to race his way back into position for the lucky dog to get back on the lead lap and was racing well when contact with just about 10 laps remaining sent him to the back of the field once again.  Amazingly, Busch found himself in 36^th position for the green-white-checkered finish on lap 111, but gained 14 spots over those final two laps to earn a 22^nd-place finish.

Kasey Kahne held off Tony Stewart for the victory, while Marcus Ambrose finished third, Jimmie Johnson fourth and Hamlin was fifth. There were seven cautions for a total of 20 laps and 10 lead changes among eight different drivers over the course of the 113-lap road course race, which was extended three laps with a green-white-checkered finish..

Hamlin’s second consecutive top-five finish vaulted him up three spots to seventh place in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series point standings.  Busch was able to hold the ninth position, while Logano moved up one slot into 24^th position.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH next weekend.  The Lenox Industrial Tools 301 will begin at 2 PM ET with live, high-definition coverage provided by TNT, beginning with its pre-race show at 1:30 PM. The race will also be broadcast live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 128.

Tags: Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, NASCAR
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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series — Lifelock 400

June 15th, 2009 by Chris Helein

Date: June 14, 2009

Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Location: Michigan International Speedway (2-Mile D Shaped Oval)

Winner: Mark Martin of Hendrick Motorsports

JGR Finish: Denny Hamlin (Started 14th, Finished 3rd/ Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)

Kyle Busch, (Started 2nd, Finished 13th/ Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)

Joey Logano, (Started 24th, Finished 25th / Running, completed 199 of 200 laps)

Denny Hamlin led the Joe Gibbs Racing three-car contingent with a third-place finish in yesterday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LifeLock 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

Hamlin methodically worked the No. 11 FedEx Express forward during the course of the race and spent much of the second half of the day racing in the top-five. A great pit stop by the FedEx team following one of the day’s few cautions put him back out in second place on lap 156. Then it became a battle of fuel conversation. Although Hamlin would slide back to the fifth position over the race’s final laps, he managed to conserve enough fuel to take advantage of Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle running out of gas to slide up two positions and finish third.

Meanwhile Kyle Busch and the crew of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota battled a loose handling car throughout the course of the race. Busch, who had qualified second, managed to take the early lead, but as the race went on the car seemed to loose its handling and despite major changes by the M&Ms crew it never seemed to respond as desired. Busch would battle through the day however to earn a hard fought 13th-place finish.

Joey Logano, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota made his first start at Michigan International Speedway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and battled to find the proper balance on his car throughout the day before settling for a 25th-place finish. The current leader in NASCAR’s Raybestos Rookie of the Year competition, Logano was able to improve upon or maintain his starting position of 24th much of the day, but long green flag runs and poor timing on the few cautions that flew kept him from earning the lucky dog designation to earn his lap back. Logano finished the race as the third car one-lap down in 25th position.

Mark Martin went around Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle, both of whom run out of gas, to capture the checkered flag. Jeff Gordon finished second, Hamlin was third, followed by Carl Edwards and Biffle rounded out the top five. There were just three cautions for a total of 14 laps and 11 lead changes among six different drivers over the course of the 200-lap race.

Kyle Busch currently holds the ninth position in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series point standings, while Hamlin moved up two slots to the 10th position following his third-place finish. Logano maintained his 25th place postion.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA next weekend.  The Toyota/Save Mart 350 will begin at 5 PM ET with live, high-definition coverage provided by TNT, beginning with its pre-race show at 4:30 PM. The race will also be broadcast live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 128.

Tags: Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, NASCAR
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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series - Pocono 500

June 8th, 2009 by Chris Helein

Date: June 7, 2009

Event: Pocono 500 (Race 14 of 36)

Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Location: Pocono Raceway (2.5-Mile Triangular Track)

Winner: Tony Stewart of Stewart-Haas Racing

JGR Finish: Kyle Busch, (Started 6th, Finished 22nd/ Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)

Joey Logano, (Started 23rd, Finished 23rd / Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)

Denny Hamlin (Started 7th, Finished 38th/ Running, completed 178 of 200 laps)

Kyle Busch led the Joe Gibbs Racing three-car contingent with a 22nd-place finish in yesterday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway.

Busch and the crew of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota battled an ill-handling car throughout the course of the long day at Pocono but were never able to quit find the right balance and had to settle for the 22nd-place finish.

Meanwhile the day started with great optimism for Denny Hamlin and the crew of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota after they led Saturday’s final practice with the quickest lap time. Unfortunately for Hamlin, who has a great history of success at Pocono with two victories at the 2.5 mile triangular track as a rookie, the problems would start early and eliminate any chance of victory. Just a lap into the race, Hamlin reported on his radio that he had lost all power to the car and had to be pushed into the garage. A broken fuel pump appeared to be the issue, but when he returned to the track the problems returned forcing another caution and another trip into the garage. Hamlin was finally able to get back on the track to salvage what he could from the day finishing 22 laps off the leaders in 38th position.

Joey Logano, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota made his first start at Pocono Raceway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and battled to find the balance on his ill-handling car throughout the day before settling for a 23rd-place finish. The current leader in NASCAR’s Raybestos Rookie of the Year competition, Logano drifted back from his starting position of 23rd early in the race, but maintained his patience and worked his way forward by the end of the long day to end up finishing where he started.

Tony Stewart captured the checkered flag. Carl Edwards finished second, followed by David Reutimann, and Jeff Gordon, while Ryan Newman rounded out the top-five. There were five cautions for a total of 20 laps and 22 lead changes among 12 different drivers in the 200-lap race.

Kyle Busch currently holds the ninth position in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series point standings, while Hamlin managed to stay just inside the top 12 despite today’s problems at Pocono. Logano is now in 25th place.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Michigan International Speedway next weekend.  The Lifelock 400 will begin at 2 PM ET with live, high-definition coverage provided by TNT, beginning with its pre-race show at 12:30 PM. The race will also be broadcast live on SIRIUS

Tags: Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, NASCAR
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