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No one had any idea what to expect from this past weekend's NASCAR Cup Series action at Road America. This is where the power cut plays out, as the cars appear to be gutless at moments. It's most likely one of the reasons there were no natural cautions throughout the race.
Several NASCAR teams were disappointed by the results. Joe Gibbs Racing was one of the teams that did not perform well. Its drivers are in the final two positions in the playoffs after the team failed to finish in the top 10 for the second time in a row.
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In Sonoma, no JGR vehicle finished in the top 25 leading to Toyota Racing Development chief David Wilson calling their performance an "embarrassment." The team made strides over the weekend at Road America, but no vehicle finished in the top 12.
Speaking to NBC Sports after the race, JGR driver Martin Truex Jr. gave his views regarding the road course race. Although he finished in 13th place at Road America, he said:
“We know how our cars differ from theirs and how downforce differs. It seems that on such tracks, we are handcuffed. It is what it is. We will dig and keep working. We benefited from this, of course, but not enough.”
Eight NASCAR Cup Series races remain before the completion of the 2022 season, including road races at Indianapolis and Watkins Glens.
One of the issues that Joe Gibbs Racing faced this season with the Next Gen vehicle was its road course performance. Following their struggles at Sonoma, each of the four Joe Gibbs Racing cars had a different setup at Road America last weekend. Much improvement, however, was not to be seen.
Performance of JGR drivers in 2022 NASCAR Cup Series road course races
JGR drivers have had average results this Cup season. Christopher Bell was 18th at Road America, trailing Kevin Harvick in the playoffs by 20 points. Denny Hamlin finished 17th after receiving two penalties for driving over three pit boxes.
Meanwhile, Kyle Busch has finished 29th on average in three road races this season. In these races, Hamlin's average is 22.0, Bell's average is 16.0, and Martin Truex Jr.'s average is 15.3.
At Road America, Busch finished 29th. After an engine swap caused by a missed switch, he restarted from the back. He battled the car's handling during the race, skidded in Turn 5, was penalized for speeding on pit road, and his pit crew faced the same for running over the wall too early.
With Tyler Reddick's victory, only three of the 16 playoff slots are available to winless drivers. While Christopher Bell holds the final playoff slot, his JGR teammate, Martin Truex Jr., is the next most winless racing driver in the playoff standings.
