Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, has learned plenty of lessons from last season as well as the off season. And he intends to take every bit of that new learning right into the 2013 season.
Two NASCAR stars, Brian Vickers and Trevor Bayne, were sidelined due to serious illness just a few years ago. Now both drivers are looking to heal their careers in the Nationwide Series this season.
Joe Gibbs Racing is next on our list to preview for the 2013 season. In 2013, JGR will field the No.11, No.18, and No.20 Toyota Camry’s for drivers Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and Matt Kenseth, respectively.
In a weekend full of champion-crowning, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the NASCAR Sprint Cup season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 15th atHomestead, well ahead of a faltering Jimmie Johnson, and earned his first Sprint Cup championship. Keselowski finished 39 points ahead of Clint Bowyer and 40 ahead of Johnson.
Johnson passed Brad Keselowski with two laps to go at Texas and pulled away to win at Texas, his second consecutive win in the Chase. Johnson extended his lead in the point standings, and now holds a seven point edge on Keselowski.
Johnson started on the pole at Martinsville and captured a huge win, his sixth at the .526-mile track. Johnson passed Brad Keselowski with about 20 laps to go, and held off Kyle Busch down the stretch. He now leads the points standings with a two-point edge over Brad Keselowski.
She is a new mom and an intrepid ESPN pit reporter but in just a few weeks Jamie Little will be host as she returns to one of her favorite events, NASCAR After the Lap, in her hometown Las Vegas during Champion’s Week.
On a repaved track that even team owner Jack Roush pronounced surprisingly fast and treacherous and with a record number of cautions to boot, here is what else was surprising and not surprising in the 12th annual Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.