Trouble in Turn2

What Happened

Like most Cup teams in recent years, Joe Gibbs Racing experienced several changes in 2007. The biggest change was the announcement they were moving to Toyota in 2008. In the short term it took away resources during the Chase as the engine shop prepared for the move. In the long term it’s a great situation for Gibbs.

Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin both made the Chase and won a combined 4 races. Neither was a factor after Kansas in the Chase however. JJ Yeley scored his first top 5 but was still relegated to Gibb’s farm team, also known as Hall of Fame racing. Kyle Busch will replace him in the #18 car, while M&M’s also becomes the primary sponsor over long time Gibbs partner Interstate Batteries.

Hamlin had a gilded second sophomore season. The first part of the year was spent leading laps, dominating races and coming up just short at the finish line. The other side was Hamlin’s occasional frustrations that surfaced. He and Tony Stewart wrecked each other at Daytona in July and then exchanged words. Hamlin also had a similar run-in with Kyle Petty, one of NASCAR’s most respected patriarchs at Dover.

What went well

Stewart won the Brickyard for the second time in three years. It was sandwiched between wins at Chicago and Watkins Glen that marking a strong summer. He easily made the Chase and had another solid season with 3 wins, 11 top 5’s and 23 top 10’s.

Hamlin easily made the Chase and some considered him a dark horse to win it. Hamlin won in July at Loudon after close misses at Bristol, Phoenix, Richmond, Talladega, Darlington and Pocono. He led 711 laps and scored 7 top 5’s and 11to 10’s through the first Loudon race.

Yeley showed improvement in his second season. His first top 5 finish came at Lowe’s in the Coca Cola 600 where he played the fuel mileage game good enough to finish 2nd. The biggest thing for Yeley was reducing the number of DNF’s (from 7 to 4) while increasing his lead lap finishes(from 14 to 18). While his primary numbers (1 top 5, 3 top 10’s) are basically the same as 2006, he did improve 8 positions in the points.

On paper the major changes make sense for Gibbs. With Toyota they are the undisputed top team instead of fighting among Hendrick, RCR and DEI to be Chevy’s top dog. Not only that, but Toyota has far greater resources to throw at racing. That is a strong package for Gibbs, both in the short and especially long term. Busch is also an upgrade over Yeley as a driver, although it’s unclear how the non-driving aspects will work out for Busch.

What went wrong

Stewart had his standard outbursts. He took on NASCAR, the FCC, Juan Pablo-Montoya (who didn’t?), Kurt Busch and at one point even threatened retirement. At times it seemed like Hamlin was trying to outdo Stewart in the attitude category. With Kyle Busch joining the team for 2008, suddenly Gibbs’ classy reputation does not extend to his drivers.

Hamlin had early season pit problems that probably cost him a win or two. At Bristol both Stewart and Hamlin fell victim to a faulty fuel pump cable that erased 443 total laps led among the three Gibbs cars. It was one example of the kind of things that derailed Gibbs’ cars in 2007.

Despite similar resources JJ Yeley couldn’t break through. His pre-stock car resume is impressive, but unlike Stewart, Yeley’s skill hasn’t translated as well in stock cars. Perhaps the hint was dropped when he had to go to Phoenix Racing to race in the Busch Series.

Past Team Reviews

DEI|Michael Waltrip Racing|Penske Racing|Haas-CNC|Team Red Bull

• Announcing the first ever Trouble in Turn 2 Giveaway. It’s a UPS truck.

  

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