The Joe Gibbs Racing Race Report Presented by Interstate Batteries
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – LifeLock 400
Date: June 15, 2008
Event: LifeLock 400 (Round 15 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn (2-mile oval)
Winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr., of Hendrick Motorsports in a green-white-checkered finish (Chevrolet)
JGR Finish: Tony Stewart (Started 12th, Finished 5th / Running, completed 203 of 203 laps)
Kyle Busch (Started 1st, Finished 13th / Running, completed 203 of 203 laps)
Denny Hamlin (Started 5th, Finished 14th / Running, completed 203 of 203 laps)
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota, led the three-car Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) contingent at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn by finishing fifth in Sunday’s LifeLock 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. It was Stewart’s seventh top-10 finish of the 2008 season and his 13th top-10 in 19 career Sprint Cup races at Michigan, with 10 of those top-10s coming in his last 12 races at the 2-mile oval.
"I'm happy we got a top-five for everyone in Columbus, Indiana and that we can do something to help our community out," said Stewart. It's been on my mind all weekend. That's what this top-five is for. It feels like a win. As bad as we've been the last couple of weeks, this feels like a win. We've just been frustrated all year. But, we got a good top-five and raised a lot of money for the people in Columbus, Indiana, and that's the main thing. Those people have been on my mind all week and when it's your own community and your own neighbors, it's good to generate a good amount of winnings for our community."
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota for JGR, finished 13th to score his 12th finish of 15th or better in 2008.
Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota for JGR, finished 14th. Hamlin has finished in the top-15 in 10 of the 15 races thus far this season.
Busch remains the lead JGR driver in the championship point race. He continues to be the series’ point leader, and extended his lead to 32 markers over second-place Jeff Burton. Hamlin and Stewart occupy the sixth and 11th slots, respectively. Hamlin dropped one position while Stewart gained one spot. Hamlin is 287 points behind Busch and Stewart sits 439 points arrears Busch.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., ended a 76-race winless streak by winning the LifeLock 400. It was his 18th career Sprint Cup victory, his first at Michigan and his first since May 2006 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.
Kasey Kahne finished second, while Matt Kenseth, Brian Vickers and Stewart rounded out the top-five. Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, David Ragan, Elliott Sadler and Jamie McMurray comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There were eight caution periods for 22 laps, with four drivers failing to finish the 203-lap race, which was extended three laps due to a green-white-checkered finish.
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the June 22 Toyota/Save Mart 350k at the road course in Sonoma, Calif. The race begins at 5 p.m. EDT with live, high-definition coverage provided by TNT beginning with its pre-race show at 3:30 p.m. The race will also be broadcast live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 128.
