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Today, we examine Joe Gibbs Racing’s four-car lineup ahead of the 63rd running of the Great American Race on Feb. 14, 2021.
Joe Gibbs Racing will be entering its 30th year in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2021, and there have been only two drivers who have managed to win the Daytona 500. In just the second year of the team’s existence, Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett put JGR on the map, but unfortunately, it had to wait 23 years to see another one, or actually three.
Read More: Daytona 500 Team Preview: 23XI Racing with Bubba Wallace
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Denny Hamlin is on a bit of a hot streak in the Great American Race because he has taken home the Harley J. Earl Trophy three times in the last five years, including the previous two. No driver has ever won the biggest event of the year three straight times.
Joe Gibbs Racing has two drivers headed to the NASCAR Hall of Fame
Joe Gibbs Racing can boast of a pair of drivers with Hall of Fame credentials in Kyle Busch and Hamlin to go along with Martin Truex Jr. and newcomer Christopher Bell. The three veterans have 128 victories to their credit, led by Busch with 57.
Meanwhile, Bell has just one year of Cup experience as part of the Leavine Family Racing team, and while he was unable to find victory lane, it's only a matter of time before he does. In the ARCA Menards Series, he won half of his six races entered, along with seven more in the Camping World Truck Series and 16 in the Xfinity Series.
Certainly, Joe Gibbs thought enough of him to let Erik Jones go, a move that came as somewhat of a surprise, but Bell was pretty much destined to join Joe Gibbs Racing at some point; it just came earlier than expected.
Read more: Daytona 500 Team Preview: Stewart-Haas Racing
The four cars that Joe Gibbs Racing is entering in the Daytona 500 are guaranteed a spot because each has a charter. A Hamlin three-peat would be a fantastic feat, but don’t count out his teammates. Busch is a two-time series champion (2015 and 2019), and Truex has one of his own as well (2017). Bell also has the kind of credentials that could put Joe Gibbs Racing in winner’s circle, having won the Trucks title in 2017 and setting a rookie single-season record in the Xfinity Series the following year with seven victories.
Read more: Daytona 500 Team Preview: Chip Ganassi Racing
Here are the thoughts of the drivers, shared during a virtual press conference via Toyota Racing Media.
Kyle Busch - No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry
On if he has spoken to Denny Hamlin about the Daytona 500 and what makes him so successful at this track:
“So we haven't spoken yet. We've kind of all been in our own isolations if you will and haven't been around each other much, but we do have a team meeting coming up on Monday, I guess, to prepare and get ourselves ready to go for the race season. Typically we always have our post-race meetings.
This'll be kind of the first pre-race meeting if you will, of the season. We'll have that on Monday. We'll have that opportunity to talk then, but Denny (Hamlin) has done a really, really good job and I'm not sure how or why or what exactly has gotten them to the success level with this current generation race car at the superspeedways, but he's done a really good job with it ever since this car kind of came out. Especially this body style, I think it was 15 or 16. He's been the guy to beat. He's been in the class of the field, him and a couple other guys as well, too. So they just kind of get it and understand what it takes in order to do well and be good at this body package. They've got one more year of it, so enjoy it while you can, because it'll change again next year.”
Denny Hamlin - No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
On what it would mean to make history if he wins the Daytona 500 three years in a row:
“This is a big opportunity for us and my team and myself personally, it's just I never would have imagined that we'd be in this position by any means, especially five years ago when we didn't have any. I always think about, in these situations and anytime you get asked, I think about all the ones that slipped away that I had in control and didn't make the right decision at the end to finish it off. It would be by far my biggest victory of my career and one that I probably wouldn't exchange for anything.”
Martin Truex Jr. - No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry
On winning the Daytona 500, a race he and Kyle Busch have never won:
“It would be huge. We’ve been trying for a long time. It’s a tough race to win. We’ve been really close. I think for us, trying how to be better at speedway racing is something in general that we’ve worked on over the last handful of years. I feel like we have made some gains there for sure, but still not getting the results that we want.
Still working hard on it, and I think for us, the biggest thing is trying to figure out a way to get to the end of the race, and that’s the biggest thing. I feel like every time we make it to the end of one of these speedway races, we’re in the hunt and we have a chance, but still working on how to be better with technique and moves, understanding the draft and how it works with the car, because it changes each year. See what the rules are like and go from there.”
Christopher Bell - No. 20 DeWalt Toyota Camry
On where he wants to be if ‘the big one’ happens:
“Definitely if you lose the draft, that’s probably the safest spot, but nobody wants to do that and then you run the risk of getting a lap down. We’ve seen it time and time again that the guys racing for the lead will get together and wreck racing first, second or third, and then you will catch the whole field behind them. I just think you have to go out there and do what you think is best. If you think that your car is handling good, and you are able to drive up to the front, then definitely leading the race is probably the safest spot to be, but like I said, we’ve seen guys wreck from the lead too. It’s just kind of out of your hands and you’ve got to race the cards that are dealt to you.”
