The Joe Gibbs Racing juggernaut has looked better than ever halfway through the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Most racing experts anticipated success with the stable of drivers that the organization fields from race to race. Joe Gibbs Racing has not disappointed, going above and beyond the expectations placed on such a talented group of crew chiefs, pit crews, and drivers. It’s safe to say that they have dominated the first half of the NASCAR campaign. With the addition of Martin Truex Jr. to the enterprise, skies the limit for the second half of the year.
Kyle Busch:
There is little doubt who is the leader of Joe Gibbs Racing’s pack of superstars. Reigning and defending Sprint Cup Champion Kyle Busch is at it again. The aggressive driver has seen some high and lows throughout the year, but there is no doubt he will be in the playoffs to defend his title.
Busch has collected a team high three wins on the 2016 season. He drove on to victory in back-to-back wins at Martinsville and Texas Speedways in early April. Busch enjoyed another trip to the winners circle at Kansas Speedway, a track he had never won at before. “Rowdy” sits atop the 2016 wins list going into the second half. The Las Vegas native also collected a Coors Light Pole Award for his efforts in qualifying at Phoenix Raceway.
Carl Edwards:
Carl Edwards is feeling more and more comfortable with Joe Gibbs Racing as every contest passes. This is the veterans second full season with Joe Gibbs Racing and he’s producing at a high rate. Edwards has taken his #19 ARRIS Toyota Camry to victory lane twice already.
He did it in back-to-back fashion like his teammate Kyle Busch. The crafty driver dominated at both the venues he has claimed victory at this year. He led 276 circuits of the 500 turned at Bristol Motor Speedway and 151 laps of the 400 ran the next week in Richmond. The two wins have cemented him into NASCAR’s playoffs. Edwards also has captured three pole positions in 2016. They were at Texas, Bristol, where he won, and Sonoma Raceway last week.
Denny Hamlin:
Denny Hamlin started off the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup season with a bang. He held off teammate Martin Truex Jr. to take the checkered flag in the Daytona 500. It also was the closest finish in the race’s prestigious history. The The Joe Gibbs Racing’s FED EX team hasn’t stopped there.
Although the speedster hasn’t found his way back to victory lane in 2016 he has collected five more top five’s. His most recent came in last week’s race when he fell just two turns short to Tony Stewart for his second win of the year. The contrast between his top two performances of 2016 are impressive.
He won in a restrictor plate race on one of two major super speedways, then took a close second on one of the two road courses. Even though Hamlin hasn’t captured a pole award he is starting ahead of most of the field. The 2016 Daytona 500 winner has a 6.4 starting position average.
Martin Truex Jr:
The #78 Furniture Row team has flourished with their move to Joe Gibbs Racing. Martin Truex Jr. sits eighth in the Sprint Cup Series point standings and is assured a playoff berth with his sole win of the season.
The new addition to Joe Gibbs Racing won at Charlotte in the Coca-Cola 600. Furthermore, he did it by winning in the most decisive victory in NASCAR history. Truex Jr. led 392 laps of the 400 turned and did it from one of the two pole positions he has received. The other Coors Light Pole Position was in Kansas in May.
Martin Truex Jr. has been consistent at all of the venues he’s competed at in 2016. He has recorded another three top five’s and seven other top 10’s to add to his growing resume. Truex Jr. will also be participating in the Chase and has as good a chance as any one of his teammates to win it all in 2016.
Matt Kenseth:
Matt Kenseth has been with Joe Gibbs racing for quite awhile and it shows by his on track performances. He has figured out a way to struggle through some hardships early on in the season and come through with a win. The beginning to the 2016 saw the talented Joe Gibbs Racing driver finish outside the top ten in nine of the first ten events.
After Richmond, things started to turn around for Kenseth and his Dollar One sponsored team. Two races later he notched a his first trip to the winners circle at Dover in the AAA Drive for Autism 400. Since that win, he has reeled in two top five’s and four top tens. Kenseth also has managed to climb his way back into the top 10 in points (10th) and will be seen in the Chase because of his win in Dover.
