NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: A Sour Day For JGR
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Driver Denny Hamlin had a miserable day at Infineon Raceway...
Mike Hembree  |  Posted June 20, 2010   Sonoma, CA
Denny Hamlin struggles around Infineon Raceway during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350. (Photo: Getty Images)
Joe Gibbs Racing rolled into the Toyota/Save Mart 300 weekend with guns blazing.

LINK> UNOFFICIAL RESULTS: TOYOTA/SAVE MART 350 - INFINEON RACEWAY
PDF> UNOFFICIAL DRIVER POINTS: TOYOTA/SAVE MART 350 - INFINEON RACEWAY

JGR driver Denny Hamlin had won the Sprint Cup series’ previous two races, and the organization had won seven of the previous 10 events.

Kyle Busch entered Sunday’s race in second in Cup points, and Hamlin was third.

There was optimism that the trend could continue at Infineon Raceway, where Hamlin and teammate Kyle Busch were given excellent chances of finishing in the top five and possibly winning.

Instead, Sunday turned into one of the worst days of the season for JGR and its trio of drivers – Hamlin, Busch and second-year competitor Joey Logano.

All three were involved in accidents. Logano, who was running in the top 15 late in the race, finished 33rd. Hamlin was 34th, and Busch rolled home 39th. Hamlin and Busch thus recorded their worst finishes of the season.

As a result, race winner Jimmie Johnson leapfrogged over both Busch and Hamlin in the point standings, gaining four positions to second. Busch dropped to third and Hamlin to fourth.

Logano remained in 17th in the point standings but didn’t help his chances of making the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Logano, Hamlin and Busch were only three of the drivers whose race day was impacted by a busy afternoon of zany racing on the Infineon road course. Drivers made wild passing attempts on numerous occasions, particularly on restarts.

Busch’s day was ruined early. He was involved in a chain-reaction wreck on lap 12, and the damage sent him to the garage for major front-end repairs. He ultimately finished 34 laps behind the leaders.

Hamlin’s afternoon was very busy.

On lap 14, he damaged the front end of his car by making contact with Boris Said on a restart.
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Thirty laps later, Hamlin was forced to the pits when the damage on his car caused the hood to fly up onto his windshield. After repairs, Hamlin returned to the track but was nailed for speeding on pit road and was penalized.

And that wasn’t the end of Hamlin’s misery. On lap 66, his car was damaged again in a multi-car accident that produced the race’s fourth caution.

Logano, still a road-racing neophyte, drove a smart race and was shooting for entry into the top 10 when Juan Pablo Montoya bumped him off the course with 25 laps to go.

LINK> UNOFFICIAL RESULTS: TOYOTA/SAVE MART 350 - INFINEON RACEWAY
PDF> UNOFFICIAL DRIVER POINTS: TOYOTA/SAVE MART 350 - INFINEON RACEWAY

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.

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