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Check Out New Las Vegas Photos!

Denny Hamlin would prove to be the biggest mover on the track today after starting from the back of the field following an engine change and climbing his way to a seventh-place finish to lead Joe Gibbs Racing in today’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Unfortunately Hamlin’s good fortune did not extend to his teammates as an engine failure left Kyle Busch with a 38th-place finish and a late pit road tire penalty limited Joey Logano to 23rd.

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Hamlin qualified the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota in the 17th position but had to go to the back of the field to start the race. Often cited for his patience on the track, Hamlin certainly displayed that characteristic today as he methodically worked his way up through the field and into the top ten. Although he gained seven spots over the course of the first seven laps of the race, but Hamlin’s ascent would not always come that fast as the field spread out on green flag runs over the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Speedway. Hamlin continued to climb his way toward the front of the field however and by lap 174 he was closing in on the top ten. Once inside the top ten Hamlin continued to show patience and brought the No. 11 FedEx Ground Camry home with a solid seventh-place effort.

Joey Logano started the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota in the sixth position and quickly proved that his qualifying effort was consistent with the quality of his car. In fact, Logano spent almost the entire day inside the top ten and really much of that racing inside that top six. As the laps wound down it appeared certain the No. 20 Camry would finish in contention for a spot in the top five, but as the teams hit pit road for a final time the Home Depot crew was assessed a tire penalty that would force Logano to serve a pass-through penalty and ultimately leave him a lap off the pace. Although in position for the lucky dog spot, the much needed caution would never come as the race remained green and left Logano with a disappointing 23rd-place finish.

Busch started the No. 18 Snickers Peanut Butter Squared Toyota in the fifth position and was strong through the early going of the race. Unfortunately the first sign of trouble would hit on lap 96 as a blown tire would take him up into the wall. Although he was able to get back out on the track and appeared to have time to overcome the setback, the No. 18 Camry would lose its engine about 20 laps later. With flames shooting from underneath the car, Busch’s day would be over just 107 laps into the 267-lap race, and the Las Vegas native would have to settle for a 38th-place finish.

Edwards captured the victory, with Tony Stewart second, Juan Pablo Montoya third, Marcose Ambrose fourth, and Ryan Newman rounded out the top-five. There were seven cautions for a total of 35 laps and 21 lead changes among 14 different drivers over the course of the 267-lap race.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will take a week off before returning at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 20. The race will begin at 1 PM ET with live, high-definition coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at Noon ET. The race will also be broadcast live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 128.

Daytona 500 Recap & Photos

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The Daytona 500 took on a new look thanks to the newly paved surface at Daytona International Speedway, but high speed excitement remained the primary characteristic of the Great American Race.

Although all three Joe Gibbs Racing entries were able to avoid the big accident for the majority of the race, misfortune would ultimately find the trio before the end of the race and spoil any opportunity for the team to kickoff its 20th Anniversary season with a victory. Kyle Busch would finish the race in eighth, while Denny Hamlin came home 21st and Joey Logano ended in 23rd.

Throughout speed weeks it became evident that the fastest way around the track would be having two cars partner to race in pairs. While the style of racing created high speeds it also created a very slim margin of error as the slightest wrong bump could send cars spinning across the track.

Kyle Busch would have that experience on just the fourth lap of today’s Daytona 500 as contact with Michael Waltrip sent the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota across the track. Busch did a fantastic job however of staying off the wall to minimize the damage to the Camry. On lap 29 a large accident took out several contenders, but fortunately all three Joe Gibbs Racing entries were able to avoid the wreckage. From that point on Busch and teammate Denny Hamlin made a decision to take their time toward the back of the field in hopes of avoiding the potential wreckage of others.  With about 50 laps to go Busch made his way toward the front of the field and spent the rest of the day running inside the top 10 despite having to change drafting partners multiple times. Unfortunately for the M&Ms team he would radio in as the field prepared for a green-white-checkered finish that he had a tire going down. Busch brought the No. 18 Camry down pit road for fresh tires and restarted for the final time in 16th position. He was able to race his way back into the top 10 over the final two laps to finish the day in eighth place. He did manage to lead a lap on three different occasions.

Watching so many others get caught up in accidents through the first half of the race, Denny Hamlin seemed relatively content keeping his No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota toward the back of the field through much of today’s race. Once Hamlin decided it was time to go to the front however, it didn’t take long for him to get there. Hamlin got on the bumper of the No. 39 car and the FedEx Camry pushed the duo to the front of the field. He would take the top spot on lap 165 and spent the rest of the day among the leaders at the front of the field. Unfortunately for Hamlin he would be unable to avoid contact when several cars field wrecked in front of him with just four laps to go in the race. The resulting trip down pit road would force him to fall a lap off the pace and the FedEx team would have to settle for a disappointing 21st-place finish.

Joey Logano started the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota toward the back of the field but was able to find the partners to push his way toward the front. Logano proved strong enough to get to the front of the field when desired as he pushed Ryan Newman and Robby Gordon to the front of the field during separate runs. Misfortune would find Logano on lap 167 however, when Brad Keselowski lost control of his car and spun down into him. At first the damage appeared minimal but when The Home Depot Toyota came to pit road the right rear of the car needed more extensive repairs. Logano would lose two laps to field and ultimately finished 23rd.

Rookie Trevor Bayne won the Daytona 500 in only his second Sprint Cup Series start of his career. Carl Edwards was second, followed by David Gilliland, Bobby LaBonte, and Kurt Busch rounded out the top five. There were 74 total lead changes among 22 different drivers and 16 cautions for 60 laps. The race was extended eight laps for two green-white-checkered attempts.