Joe Gibbs Racing

In the NFL, when a team has two great hurlers who have their unique traits and skills that translates into winning results on the field, the predicament is often labeled as a quarterback controversy.

While it may boggle some, who feel it's beneficial to have a pair of amazing players in one of the most pivotal roles on the football field, it's perhaps best described in an old adage: "There's not enough room for the two of us in town."

Football Hall-of-Fame coach Joe Gibbs experienced a memorable quarterback controversy in 1987, having benched starter Jay Shroeder for the unheralded backup hurler named Doug Williams. The Washington Redskins would reap the benefits of Williams at the helm a year later, as he would lead Gibbs to his second Super Bowl championship.

Having been an automobile and motorsports enthusiast all his life, Gibbs turned his attention to an investment and ownership opportunity in NASCAR, establishing Joe Gibbs Racing in late 1991 with Dale Jarrett signed to the drive his No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet for the upcoming '92 season.

With some of his equipment purchased from Hendrick Motorsports, it took some time for the Gibbs organization to flourish but Super Bowl-like moments weren't too hard to find for the new team.

In 1993, Jarrett held off a hard-charging Dale Earnhardt en-route to a popular Daytona 500 victory, propelling Gibbs from novelty status to a legit team owner. A win heightened by family love with Dale's father, Ned, calling the final lap for the CBS Sports' coverage of the event, it also introduced NASCAR to a football luminary who was eternally established as a genuine racing figure.

Just seven years after that moment, Bobby Labonte, who was Dale Jarrett's heir to the No. 18's throne, piloted the team to a Sprint Cup championship, built with consistency and killer instinct for maximum points. That championship was not sheer dumb luck, as teammate Tony Stewart brought home a pair of titles in 2002 and '05 as the driver of the No. 20 Home Depot car.

It has been quite the 17-year journey for Gibbs, the prolific sports icon, whose son J.D. helps run the day-to-day operations for the successful team, now under the Toyota umbrella with sponsors like FedEx, M&M's, and The Home Depot.

Gibbs has seen more than he probably imagined when he signed the paperwork that started his dream career in NASCAR, now boasting three of the sport's most sensational racers.

So you might be asking yourself, why would I bring up the quarterback controversy example?

Well, Gibbs has one of his own again in his racing team, with Joey Logano clearly distinguished as the third but not so irrelevant wheel.

What's not so clear is who is the leading man and racer with the illustrious team, as it is difficult to determine if it's 25-year-old Kyle Busch, who's capable of winning as much as Lady Gaga gets talked about in the public, or 29-year-old Denny Hamlin, whose racing style can best be described by a Katy Perry song (take a guess at that).

First, let's look at the positives of both drivers, and there are plenty to choose from with these 20-somethings.

Kyle Busch was deemed as one of the most hottest commodities in terms of a stock car prospect as early as the 2001 season, having been recruited by Jack Roush, a prominent Ford Racing team owner.

At the time, it appeared as if the teenage sensation was following in his older brother's footstep, piloting a Roush entry in the Camping World Truck Series before NASCAR raised the minimum age limit in its top-three series from 16 to 18. In between those waiting years came a change of heart with Kyle Busch, who decided to drive for Rick Hendrick's organization.

From 2003 to the checkered flag in the Sprint Cup season finale in 2007, Busch drove Hendrick's Chevrolet entries for a total of 15 victories (counting wins in the Nationwide ranks as well as the Cup division), numbers which were stellar for a youngster. Still, Busch knew all too well that he would not be the top dog at HMS, always behind the shadows of his title-winning teammates in Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.

With Dale Earnhardt Jr. signing a multi-year contract with Hendrick's No. 88 entry, the writing was on the wall for Busch, who flocked to Joe Gibbs Racing prior to the 2008 season. Since then, both entities have prospered well, triumphing 37 times in NASCAR's top-two series as well as a 2009 Nationwide Series championship.

Equally as talented as the Las Vegas, NV native is the pride of Chesterfield, VA., otherwise known as Denny Hamlin. Touted as "the next best thing" by Cup stars like Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick in the mid-2000s, both drivers' assessment of the Dominion State hero has proved true, as he elevated himself in Gibbs' racing ladder in 2005 as a Nationwide prospect to a Cup young gun in 2006.

Aggressive, brash, and outspoken, Hamlin's ruffled some feathers with his talk as well as his feet, often psyching his competition with his confidence in his team as well as himself when it comes to clutch moments.

As a long-term investment, Hamlin was surely going to see some Cup action in his career, but his entrance into the most premier series in stock cars initiated a bit earlier than expected when Gibbs released enigmatic Jason Leffler from the No. 11 FedEx entry. Not having to look so far for a replacement, Hamlin was chosen after a rocky summer for the FedEx team which saw a musical chair of drivers behind the wheel.

Since late 2005, Hamlin has established himself not only as a threat for wins but titles as well. Having placed a career-high third in points during his rookie season, he impressed just about everyone following the NASCAR circuit as Gibbs alumni Tony Stewart did during the 1999 season.

Amassing 21 wins in his Gibbs tenure as a Cup and Nationwide driver, it's clear that Hamlin can hold his own with the sport's younger talent like teammate Kyle Busch, who's elevated about everyone's game besides Jimmie Johnson, who's another story for another time.

Ironically, both drivers' failing is with their attitude, especially during the adverse times which are frequent and common with some of the series' best teams. When under tremendous pressure or failing to come through with a big moment, Hamlin and Busch are known to meltdown and put someone else to the fire, like their pit crew or sometimes, even their crew chief.

Hamlin berated his pit crew following a bitter loss in the 2007 Darlington race, in which he about dominated the Mother's Day event. Unfortunately, he was left fuming just as much as Jeff Gordon's DuPont Chevrolet's radiator was on that afternoon, prompting team owner Joe Gibbs to revamp his No. 11 team.

Last season, Busch's crew chief, Steve Addington, got the boot from the Gibbs collective, prompted mostly by the bewilderment known as the 2009 season. Touted as the top man to dethrone Jimmie Johnson from the Cup dynasty, it was instead a season to forget for the man affectionately labeled as "Shrub," who snubbed himself from a Chase seed.

His meltdowns are numerous to list down, but some of his memorable moments include walking away from his Nationwide car following a disappointment in the spring Bristol race. Busch exited out of his car prematurely, leaving his pit crew to push it all the way back from the third and fourth corner of the track and back into the hauler in the garage area.

Why? Well, simply put, his pit crew just didn't get it done that day, which was one of the reasons why he lost the race. Whether it was motivation or punishment, it was clear that Busch takes it to the nth degree when it comes to winning and losing.

Both drivers are extremely passionate about their efforts, with nothing but checkered flags and trophies on their mind instead of the usual feel-good talk and nonsense, in their eyes. It's the object of all drivers and any athlete on the field of play to win and have that desire to succeed.

However, in the tough game of auto racing, especially in NASCAR, victories are about as hard to come by as Jack Bauer having a day off. That's when the tough and aggressive step up to the plate like Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin.

So who's Gibbs' top driver?

Who's his starting quarterback amidst all the media's microphones and the flashes from the photographers' cameras in the press conference room?

You decide.

Author's Note: This article is dedicated to my late feline friend, Dexter, who passed away tragically and unexpectedly last Friday night. We watched many races together, having kept his eye on the cars and followed the events with me.

I was blessed to raise a wonderful cat for 10 years. May his memory live on with my family as well as his "brother" in Spock, my eight-year-old American Shorthair cat, and Freddie, my 4-year-old labrador.

Dexter, you shall be missed and watching races will never be the same with you in the heavens. Love and mercy to you!

The old saying goes, "It ain't over til it's over." That certainly was the case on Sunday.

It was a race that was all about one driver, and his dominating performance. It was about putting the critics to rest, and silencing the doubters.

In the end, it turned out to be about one mistake and how it changed the outcome.

Enough of the vague references, let's get to my race reactions for the Autism Speaks 400 from Dover International Speedway.

This race in a nutshell was about what might have been, a tune that has been sung quite a bit this season. First of all, I cannot feel bad enough for Richard Petty Motorsports drivers Kasey Kahne and A.J. Allmendinger.

Kahne qualified so well and looked so good early in the race. I thought he had a chance to at the very least get a nice run out of the afternoon.

But, after his issues with his shifter, he just simply couldn't recover. A 20th-place finish was not what this team deserved after such a strong start to the weekend.

Meanwhile, Allmendinger had a great car at the beginning and looked as though he could put the classic No. 43 car in victory lane.

Unfortunately, a little miscue on pit road took that away. A missing lug nut led to a loose wheel, and a bit of a struggle to get back near the front. I will give the entire team credit, they did not give up and made a great recovery.

A 14th-place finish may not be anything to write home about, but it could have been a lot worse. A great run by Allmendinger and the No. 43 team.

The worst luck of any team on this day had to go to the Lowe's team and Jimmie Johnson. There was no doubt that the dominant car was the four-time champion, and every chance he got to lead, he did.

The only way Jimmie Johnson was going to lose was if he beat himself, and he did. He entered pit road at the last round of stops in the lead of Kyle Busch. He had a flawless stop, and came out very quick. But, seeing that Busch was a bit quicker, he went side-by-side on the exit, and did get beat out.

However, the NASCAR police nabbed him for speeding. Even if he didn't speed on pit road, I don't believe Johnson would have beaten Busch off pit road. I knew he had a good enough car that Johnson could have beat him on the track.

Was it a case of needing to get the lead on pit lane, or did he know the No. 18 was going to be tough to keep behind him? That is hard to say, but the truth of the matter was Johnson beat himself.

I'm sure Johnson is kicking himself for his mistake. But considering the next two weeks will be at Charlotte, I don't expect anything else to come of it.

In any case, the winner at the end of the day was Busch. Dave Rogers and the M&M's pit crew got that Toyota better and better on each stop.

Even when he was holding onto second place behind Johnson, we all could see that Busch was just as good as the Lowe's Chevy.

When Johnson made his miscue, at that moment we all knew the race was over. Busch was just too good in the later laps.

This is definitely a different "Rowdy" Busch from last year. He was methodical and didn't overdrive his car. It's that kind of racing that will win Sprint Cup championships, and he is making his case that he as well can be a contender this season.

What a way to lead into NASCAR's "All Star Break." Although for many teams, it won't be much of a break. Every team will be at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, with many already set to go racing under the lights on Saturday night.

There's no points on the line, and finishing position really means nothing. What is on the line is $1 million for the winner. Four segments, 100 laps, and a lot of bragging rights.

For NASCAR, the Sprint All-Star Race will be fun for many, serious business for most, but crazy for all.

It wasn't long ago that Denny Hamlin was the subject of conversation surrounding a torn ACL that was supposedly going to slow down his championship efforts this season. After all, it's an injury that derails most stick and ball athletes' years, requiring months of rehabilitation and mental recovery with the game.

Given his slow start in 2010, he hardly supported preseason prognostications as a spoiler to Jimmie Johnson's bid for a fifth NASCAR Sprint Cup title. No way was the 29-year-old native of Chesterfield, Va. apt for the challenge ahead, much less perform at 100 percent in the ever competitive game of stock car racing.

However, the tale of Hamlin's season seems to be more on par with the thoughts from the offseason, in which the 2006 Rookie of the Year winner was considered as the man to dethrone four-time titlist Jimmie Johnson's quest at a five-peat.

Based on his thoughts after winning Saturday night's Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, he sounded more like the man who's determined to hoist the Cup than someone walking wounded in the garage area in Phoenix International Raceway just a month ago.

"I can’t tell you how excited I am about us winning right now because I know what our team is capable of when we get to Chase time,” Hamlin said in an AP Sports recap piece by Jenna Fryer. "We didn’t expect this success, but we felt like we could contend for race wins and maybe get one here or there in the first 12."

A relatively quick learner and racer who flat out competes tenaciously for victories, the throwback driver has been on the verge of realizing the ultimate dream of every competitor on the circuit: the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.

Despite four off-mark finishes that prevented the Virginian from truly challenging in last year's Chase, his performances down the stretch were noteworthy. Witness:

Hamlin triumphed at Martinsville in October, dominating the TUMS Fast Relief 500 and bumping NASCAR's dominant star from the lead spot to grab his third win of 2009.

Typical Talladega misfortunes spoiled the FedEx Toyota Camry's Chase performances, albeit a 38th-place detour that slowed down an efficient postseason.

Not one to be deterred from a superspeedway disappointment, Hamlin made his presence known as a legit title contender for many years to come, placing second, third, and first at Texas, Phoenix, and Homestead-Miami, respectively.

In typical fashion, he went as far to say that nobody could stop his No. 11 team from winning titles except themselves. While it was a fairly reasonable assessment, his statement ranged from sheer confidence to hotshot cockiness.

If there's one thing about Hamlin that cannot be taken for granted, it's that he's a man of his word, backing up his statements with his hard-charging, winner-takes-it-all approach. He embodies an NFL mentality, perhaps something that compliments the Joe Gibbs Racing outfit that houses two young talents in Kyle Busch and Joey Logano.

For all the talk that Busch got with a supposed image change, it was Hamlin who rose to the occasion, winning the Nationwide race on Friday night and triumphing in Saturday night's Showtime Southern 500.

Just six circuits short of leading the most laps, the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota hung around the top-10 virtually all race-long, pacing the field 104 times with one of the team's older arsenals. It's quite impressive, considering that most of the field utilized newer equipment.

Crew chief Mike Ford noted how the team is licking its chops for the Brickyard 400 in July, a point in which he feels Hamlin and company will truly get their act together. Conservative or modest, it's a scary thought to wonder how much better the No. 11 unit might get down the stretch.

"Knowing what we've got coming later in the season, what we're working on...I'm surprised how strong we are right now," Ford said. Careful with his words, he said that the team was preparing its cars for the Chase right now. Talk about confidence, with Hamlin's competitive spirit resonating with his entire team.

Perhaps it was sweet redemption for Hamlin, who came up short in his bid for a Darlington victory in 2007. Having led for a race-high 179 laps, it was in that year's Southern 500 when the young gun blew a fuse with his pit crew, throwing them to the wolves and sharks for their inefficient pit stops.

Nowadays, the FedEx pit crew is one of the elite in the series, reeling off lightning fast stops, which in turn, translates to opportunities for wins and maximum points in the championship standings.

Conquering Darlington is a NASCAR driver's statement that they can overcome the most difficult of situations. All things considered, it's a bit fitting and appropriate that one of the sport's grittiest competitors is now celebrating Mother's Day weekend with a weekend sweep.

B/R Nation, did any of you, for a moment, remember that Hamlin had surgery a month ago because of an ACL injury? Or that he didn't get his first top-10 finish of the season until his victory at Martinsville in late March?

How about the fact that he's gutted out every race since his surgery, initially struggling to the finish at Phoenix before winning at Texas, placing fourth at Talladega, and surviving the Richmond battlefields for an 11th-place effort?

Based on his performances as of late, batting .500 in the past six races, he's solidifying his place as a legit title contender. Keep in mind, he's still recovering and much like his former teammate in Tony Stewart, Hamlin warms up when the summer stretch starts.

As the circuit prepares for next Sunday's Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway, here's some stats to consider with Hamlin. He now sits sixth in points, with four-top 10 performances, which are all top-five finishes.

With all the customary praises that the Hendrick trio gets for winning races and championships, the 2010 season may be the time in which Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing celebrates with a trophy in hand at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.

While some of the teams are thinking about the future, JGR racer Denny Hamlin is thinking about the present and what he and crew chief Mike Ford can do to keep their winning ways going for a title.

After their solid effort on Saturday night, which resulted in a win at one of the sport's toughest circuits, there's no telling how dominant they may be in the summer. If indeed they're using older cars, who knows just how much better their new equipment will be when the mercury reaches the boiling point in America's finest racing facilities.

In the Nationwide Series race at the "track too tough to tame," there will most certainly be a duel to the finish at Darlington.  But teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin will also duel for sponsor bragging rights, as well as for charity.

Z-Line Designs, a designer and import manufacturer of ready-to-assemble furniture, is sponsoring not only the No. 18 Toyota driven by Busch, but also the No. 20 Toyota, which will be driven by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Hamlin.  

The duel between the two drivers will determine final bragging rights for the Z-Line brand.

Just to make the duel even more interesting, the founder and CEO of Z-Line Designs Jim Sexton will be sitting atop Busch's pit box, rooting that driver on to victory.  He will also be doing so for the charity Racing For Kids, which will be featured prominently on the car.

Atop Hamlin's pit box will be Sexton's wife Monica.  She will not only be rooting for that driver to win the sponsor duel, but will also be representing Operation Helmet, another favorite charity of the couple and company.

Even before the green flag drops on the duel, both charities will already be winners. Prior to the Royal Purple 200 presented by O'Reilly Auto Parts Nationwide race at Darlington, the Sextons will be presenting each charity with a check for $25,000.

But just to make the duel even more interesting, sponsor Z-line has agreed to award the driver who finishes highest in the race an additional $10,000 for the charity that he is representing.  

Racing For Kids is a charity founded in Detroit in 1989 that raises awareness of and funding for the health care needs of children.  Operation Helmet is a charity in Texas that provides helmet upgrade kits free of charge to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The duel at Darlington should be dramatic as last year Hamlin won the inaugural Z-Line charity battle.  Both drivers have had success at Darlington, with Busch having won in May 2008 in the Cup race and Hamlin securing victories in May 2006 and May 2007 at the track.

"I think Denny (Hamlin) and those guys are always tough because their equipment is the same as ours and we know how good that is," Busch said of the duel. "It would certainly be icing on the cake to get Jim (Sexton) and Z-line the win."

"But the important thing is Operation Helmet and Racing For Kids are each getting a lot of money," Busch said.  "So they both win no matter what happens on the race track."

"It's pretty cool to have Z-Line on both team cars," Hamlin said.  "The fact that there is a little rivalry between Jim and Monica (Sexton) makes it more interesting."

"I know Monica's going to be on my pit box and we're going to try to win the race and finish ahead of Kyle to give Monica bragging rights and to raise awareness for Operation Helmet," Hamlin said.

With Busch and Hamlin challenging each other, Z-Line sponsor Sexton was doing a little trash-talking of his own about the Darlington duel.

"Monica is going to get a run for her money if she thinks that our Racing For Kids team is going to give anything less than 110 percent," Jim Sexton said of his wife and challenger in the duel.  "We know that Racing For Kids has helped sick children get better faster and we strongly support efforts to improve health care for all children."

Monica Sexton fired back about her favorite charity in the duel, Operation Helmet.  

"My father is a retired Brigadier General with the U.S. Army," Monica Sexton said. "Anything I can do to support the troops who risk their lives for our freedom is an honor."

"Denny (Hamlin) has agreed to drive for the Z-Line Designs Operation Helmet team," Monica Sexton continued.  "And we're going to push the pedal to the metal to let the fans know about this deserving organization."

While there will be a winner in the Busch-Hamlin duel at Darlington, there is no doubt that both charities will take the checkered flag at the NASCAR Nationwide race at the "track too tough to tame."

Update:  Denny Hamlin qualified on the pole and Kyle Busch started right next to him on the outside pole.  When all the beating and banging was done, Denny Hamlin took the checkered flag, with teammate Busch right behind him.  

With the one, two finish, the Sextons decided to give both charities the bonus money.

When you think of Saturday night racing in Richmond what comes to mind?

Hard driving action, flared tempers and good old short track beating and banging!

What fans got this past Saturday was a very atypical night at Richmond International Raceway.

Long green flag stretches that saw Kyle Busch dominate the field, picking off drivers one by one.

It was his race to lose and in the middle of the night, as blue smoke emerged from his hood, many believed that there was no way the No. 18 M&M's Toyota would make it to the end of the race, much less victory lane.

But as in any good "come back" story, Kyle Busch did just that and took the checkered flag for his first Sprint Cup win in 2010.

In the media center we saw something a bit aberrant as well. A calm and collected Kyle Busch, his new crew chief and first time Sprint Cup winner Dave Rogers, and former Redskins Coach turned NASCAR owner Joe Gibbs.

The trio discussed team strategy, the virtue of patience and how sweet the first win of the season feels.

After the celebration in victory lane ended, Kyle Busch addressed the media. NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp started off the question and answer session.

Kerry Tharp: We have Kyle Busch and he's joined at the podium by his crew chief Dave Rogers. 17th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win for Kyle Busch, at a place that you won here last spring as well.

Kyle, talk about your win tonight. You started off very strong and then came back strong there at the very end as well.

Kyle Busch: We did. For some reason, we missed the handle on the car there in the middle of the race. The car was phenomenal in the beginning. We were making minor changes to it to make it a little bit better. There about lap 170, 200, we started falling behind on the long runs, getting really loose. We kept plugging away. Dave never gave up.

These guys on pit road kept putting in some really good pit stops. I kept driving what I had. I couldn't make much out of what was going on out there on the track, especially with traffic. But we made some changes back to the car to get it going a little bit better. Especially at the end of the race when Dave made the call to come to pit road and put tires on with 25 or 30 to go, something like that, we just got going on restarts there.

I think there was a lot of 'em. One of the winning passes was on Harvick, getting to the bottom on turn one, forcing my issue to the bottom line, then having a caution come out, getting to the outside of Jeff Gordon, just being able to get up on his outside, run him hard on that last restart there.

Kerry Tharp: Dave Rogers, talk about some of the moves that the team did tonight to come out on top.

Dave Rogers: Yeah, like Kyle said, car started out really strong. Probably just got a little bit too far behind on my adjustments. When you're out running that fast, pulling away, it's hard to try to keep up with the track. Probably got a little lazy on it, fell behind.

Then at the end, we were making bigger adjustments to get caught back up. Then the restarts, Kyle Busch driving restarts, your odds are always good when you're in that situation.

Kerry Tharp: Congratulations. We'll take questions now for Kyle or Dave.

Kyle, to what degree was this like a character-building win? If the car was off, you never fell that far behind. And, Dave, how proud are you of the way everything was held together and finally got to Victory Lane?

Busch: What did we fall back to, fifth or something like that? It felt like 15th, for as bad as we were running. You know, it was a character-building night for sure. That's a good point. We kept our head down and kept digging. We didn't let it bother us too bad.

I felt like we were getting passed. But it was weird because you had guys that were short pitting, you had guys that were on different strategies that were coming to pit road. You got guys passing you, you know, that have just come off pit road, like the 38 car passing me, Hornish is passing me, guys like that on tires. Man, I got to be running 15th by now. But it was just a weird night. So as far as all of the things go inside the race car, we kept our handle on it.

Rogers: Yeah, I'm real proud of our night tonight. It would have been great to lead all the laps. But you know, winning it the way we did is probably more special, a greater lesson to our race team. This isn't the first time that we had a character-building race this year.

We've had a lot of races where we just didn't have the car for Kyle, and he's kept his head in the game, we kept working on it, we've gotten some finishes better than what we deserved. If you look at it, I think that's what it's going to take to compete with the 48 year in and year out, try to make a run at the championship. Real proud of the way we won it.

Kerry Tharp: Moved up to third in points, as well.

Kyle, what about the last restart? Did you feel like you pretty much had to get him on the first lap? What about the inside-outside positioning? Was the outside you felt better for you?

Busch: You know, I figured I was going to get the outside. So I was just kind of thinking the whole time during the caution flag, the whole weekend everybody was taking the bottom. All I really knew was just to get into turn one smooth and be able to get a good launch up off of turn two to get down the backstretch, then make sure I got into three without over driving it.

On the previous restart, when I was with Harvick, I kept over driving, locking up the left front tire into turn three, sliding up the track. I knew if I could get through turn three okay, hammer down off of turn four, get him clear, it would be pretty good. That's what I did. Did I have a plan? Was that exactly my plan? No. My plan was just to drive it as hard as I could and make whatever happen happen. It seemed to work, you know, off the cuff.

Dave, at one point Kyle was picking cars off real quick. There were only eight left on the lead lap. It went from eight on the lead lap to 27. Why not stay out there to prevent that from happening?

Rogers: It would have been great to keep that many cars a lap down. It would have been selfish. Everybody behind us was going to pit. If we stay out, we keep all those guys down. Then the seven guys behind us are going to drive by us, we're going to lose our track position just to keep cars a lap down. It's not worth it.

I didn't think keeping those cars a lap down was going to help us win the race. I thought keeping the track position was going to help us win the race.

Kerry Tharp: Dave Rogers, your first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win tonight as a crew chief. Congratulations.

Kerry Tharp: Joining us on the podium is Coach Joe Gibbs. Coach, sure had to be impressed and proud of how the No. 18 team did tonight.

Coach Gibbs: We were thrilled really. It was a great night for us. We had so many key people here tonight, a whole group from Mars, Victoria, David. Todd had a bunch of friends watching it. A big night for us. Appreciate it. It was great for Dave. A lot of hard work there. Kyle, too. He's been real patient this year. Had some races where things didn't go well for us and stayed after it.So hopefully we get on a roll here.

Kerry Tharp: Let's continue with questions.

When you came in to get the tires about 30 laps to go, were you confident to know that you were going to be able to get up there? On the final restarts, was that really what set you apart from the 24, the 29 and the 31, or was that your ability to restart really well?

Busch: I didn't know what the race was going to have in store for us there. Coming to get tires with 30 to go, you know, I felt like it was a good decision. I didn't know how many were going to follow behind us.

We were out there for four or five laps on tires where we short-pitted a little bit on that caution. The leaders, they only had about two or three laps on their tires. We could have stayed out and probably still done the same thing, winning the race. But, you know, we wanted to be on the safe side and get tires when we did in order to, I guess, make it easier. But sure didn't feel that easy.

Maybe we made it look that way. But, you know, I think I still had a good enough car on restarts that we could have done the same thing with the tires if we would have just stayed out. But given our experience in the past, we felt best coming in.

Kyle and Dave, can you both assess where you feel you are as a team 10 races into the season, third in points, where you feel you need to go. Can you also talk about because you're still learning working together where you feel like that relationship has gone and what more you need to do to be more effective.

Rogers: We're pleased with where we're at. Obviously we want to win more races, lead more laps. But that's stating the obvious. We sat down in the winter, we came up with some goals we wanted to accomplish this season. So far we're on track. We're checking off some things.

Busch: We are?

Rogers: Okay, we're a little behind track, but not too far (smiling). But the team is progressing. They're gelling together real nice. I think communication between Kyle and I is getting better. You know, this is our first win so we're obviously making progress.

Busch: I'll just say that, you know, having Dave come on board this year, the end of last year, I saw a turnaround in the team. We went to Texas, ran strong. Homestead, one of my non-great racetracks, we ran strong. This year we've been trying real hard as being able to get Dave accustomed to the car and me to be a little bit more patient inside the race car and also let Dave come into here and make this his race team.

I feel like he's done a really nice job at it. Joe and J.D. have given in and allowed Dave and us to do what we need to do in order to make this a championship team. The guys in the garage area really see that, see the hours that Dave puts in every week. His family sees it, as well, too. I'm very fortunate to have a crew chief that does all that.

Of course, you know, our A and B team guys, they've stepped up their game. They've come to not play anymore, they've come to work hard and make sure that we win some races.

I've heard "patience" mentioned several times here. Kyle, could you talk about this part of the season, just maybe how different you've been in terms of looking at things because of changes. Do you feel like you've kind of grown a little bit and learned that it's okay to be competitive necessarily without winning and that would pay off like it did tonight?

Busch: Yeah, I mean, I think that we've had—there's been a lot of that learning for me so far this year. We've had cars that haven't been capable of top fives or top 10s and we've gotten some top fives and 10s with those cars. We've had cars we should have won, maybe Phoenix or somewhere else, and we ran 10th or 15th with those cars.

You know, it's frustrating to see those days when you run well and not really get what you deserve. But then you see the days where you struggle a little bit and you kind of steal one out of there. You wish they were all that way. But, you know, you got to give and take sometimes. I'm learning that a little bit more.

You look back and see what happens with how the season has progressed and how teams progress. You look at what RCR has been able to do. They've turned the corner and have really become a strong team that we've got to focus on and watch out for maybe, that they're getting their stuff going. Of course, you know, the Hendrick guys always. We need to make sure this 18 team focuses on what they need to focus on and keep going forward.

Kyle, you said in Victory Lane a lot of people doubted what you were doing, but you never did. Why were you so confident this move with Dave was the right one? I think the longest streak you'd gone since you joined Joe Gibbs Racing was 16 races without a win. This one was 21 races. You're so used to winning at JGR. What was it like for you, the agony, the frustration of going that long without a victory?

Busch: When Dave came on board, I don't know if I saw something or if I felt something, but I've worked with Dave in a couple of races in the Nationwide Series and really enjoyed my time working with him. He's a smart guy. He's a methodical thinker, utilizes the tools we have at JGR and makes more, pushes everybody harder. He's done it all throughout the off-season and all throughout this year.

Some of our engineers were telling us, That's not the direction we need to go. Dave pushed it. It seems to be paying off for us. Dave and I, we have a lot of same mentality, which maybe is scary to some. But to us it actually works pretty good. You know, we're both fiery competitors. We both want to win. We both get upset when we don't or things don't go our way. We understand each other. We understand each other's feelings and philosophies. I think that's what makes us a team that works well together.

As far as not being able to win in 21 races, shucks, darn, gee, golly, sorry. I certainly wish it wasn't 21 races. But, you know, it was a long end of the year last year. You know, we maybe should have won a few weeks ago. But it doesn't work out that way sometimes. It stinks to not win every single weekend or not every 21 weekends or 21 races, but it certainly feels nice to come out here with another good win and get another good finish.

Now we just got to keep this momentum rolling and have the guys keep pulling forward and go on into next week at Darlington, a tough racetrack for myself, even though I won there in '08, we crashed out there last year. Looking forward to trying to keep this going.

Kyle, you mentioned Jeff (Gordon) may be taking different tactics on the restarts. What kind of gamesmanship was going on on those restarts?

Busch: Well, one of the restarts there, I think when I got tires or something like that, he really slowed the field down a lot. I mean, I was almost bogging second gear. Then he took off. He took off on his own, which is fine, but he didn't keep pace of the pace car, I felt like. On the next restart, when the pace car left, he picked up the pace of the pace car and went to the start line faster. I just felt like there were some games being played there.

From what I'm told, you're supposed to keep the pace with the pace car till you get to the zone, then find your place in the zone where you want to take off and go. I was just trying to keep a consistent pace, that's all.

Dave, so many different things are happening at the end of races now with the green-white-checkereds. Can you sit down at the shop and map out your responses to a lot of these or are you still running races on the fly with 10 or 20 laps to go?

Rogers: I'm not the type of guy that shoots from the hip every day. Like Kyle said, I'm probably more methodical. We spend a lot of time at the shop and on race day morning working through every scenario.

The problem you run into this these late-race restarts, there's so many cars on the lead lap. You're at Phoenix and there's 25 cars on the lead lap. You can have the best car, but it's going to come down to chance. We weren't going to pit at Phoenix. We were going to stay out. We started scanning everybody. You heard that the entire field was going to pit. We thought it was crazy. But before the race, we said, Okay, if we ever hit pit road, we're going to take four. Two tires is a waste of time. We saw it in the Nationwide race. So we talk about it.

We have a game plan long before the race ever starts. But you do have to adjust on the fly because of your competitors. They're changing it up. If we could have kept only seven or eight cars on the lead lap today, it would have been a whole lot easier. But when you have 25, 28 cars, it's a little bit more difficult.

Kyle, after having the length of lead you had for as long as you had, was it hard to keep your head in the game after falling back like you did? Would you have been able to do that a year or two ago?

Busch: For the old Kyle Busch, he would have folded. The new one, he stuck in there, he dug hard. He kept going (laughter). You know, I mean, it was difficult. You know, I just kept driving every lap with what I had. That's all I ever do. It seems like every race so far this year we've had at least one run where we've fallen back. Texas was a big one. We came in the pits. Came out of the pits sixth with a third-place car on the previous run and dropped all the way back to 22nd or 25th or something like that before we could come back to pit road and make an adjustment to get back going forward again.

We faded a little bit. Just kept doing what we could do. We were good on the front half of the run, we could make up a little bit of time there. After 80 laps, something like that, we would start fading backwards. You had to hang on at that point. It was about 35 or 30 laps before we were going to come in and pit. It was just, Hold on. Everybody is so tight here and their lap times are so tight, it's hard to gain ground on anybody.

I was behind my brother there late in the going, I think lap 300 to 350, and he was driving away from me. I was like, man, I can't even run down a car that's a lap down. We just kept plugging along. There wasn't anybody behind me. I think Juan Montoya caught me, I let him go. A couple other lap cars came in and got tires, let them go. Ran my own race and it paid dividends tonight.

Can you comment on what Kyle was saying, the new Kyle Busch, not losing his head when things go against him?

Gibbs: I think one thing that's helped Kyle is winning that Nationwide Championship last year. I think he had real patience there. There were days where he had to take third, fourth. Of course, it's different over there because you're not racing as many cars up front that really have a chance. I think this year, you know, had this been last year with three or four of the things that happened to us in some of the races this year, particularly this one, I think you probably would have seen a different reaction. I appreciate the new Kyle.

Now the question is, What's coming in the future? One thing I did want to say, Richmond, I appreciate coming back to Richmond. I feel great here. For me personally it's Redskin territory and I appreciate everybody here. The other thing was Toyota. Toyota and our group here have been great partners, done a terrific job for us. Without their support and everything, there's no way we'd be sitting up here.

Kyle, could you talk about the new Kyle, old Kyle. What really made the difference over the last few years? Is it the championship? Is it owning the truck team? What has really changed the way that you are behind the wheel?

Busch: You know, I think it's a lot of everything. To be honest with you, I think, shoot, man, I turn 25 tomorrow, I'm getting old. I feel that way anyway. But, you know, it's got somewhat to do with the truck stuff. It's got somewhat to do with Samantha, of course. It's got a lot to do with Dave.

With Dave coming on board, I knew we weren't going to come out of the gate right away and win. Even though at Texas we could have, should have, if it wasn't for about that much more gas we probably could have. You know, I felt like there was some patience and felt like Dave needed some time to get going and get everything organized, to get the team behind him, you know, to get a lot of things in the car that he wants in the car. I think it's just a patience things. I've become a little bit more patient.

Kyle, the first 170 laps of this race you spent putting three-quarters of the field down a lap. In one fell swoop 18 or 20 cars get their lap back. Objectively speaking, are you a fan of a rule that allows that many cars to recover a lap like that?

Busch: I'll tell you what, there's going to be one of these days where I'm on that end of it and I'll be grateful for it. I don't have anything bad to say about it. It was kind of crazy that it happened. I had never thought of that predicament at all with this rule. You know, we just had pit stops, I don't know, 15 laps prior to that or something. You take a chance. That's always a chance.

If it was towards the end of the race, would guys have done that or would they have come and gotten tires? Who knows. I think to get back on the lead lap was big for a lot of people, get a caution to come in and get their tires they wanted. It plays out. I'm sure I'll be the recipient of that somewhere down the road and I'll be grateful for it then.

Kerry Tharp: Congratulations Kyle, Dave and Coach Gibbs. Good look at Darlington. Happy Birthday in 10 minutes.

Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

Press conference transcript used by permission from NASCAR, Joe Gibbs Racing and Richmond International Raceway.

Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) understand that the drivers they have currently won’t be around forever and that they need to grow drivers for the future. That is why, if you take a look at JGR, you’ll see drivers winning races at all levels of NASCAR.

Both Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano started their NASCAR careers with JGR.

Hamlin was the start of the young crop, joining JGR in 2004, when he was signed to a driver development contract while racing late models. He made his Nationwide debut for JGR, finishing 27th at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.

Since joining JGR, he has proven to be successful as he finished fourth in the Nationwide point standings in 2006, has nine Nationwide wins, 10 cup wins, and finished third in Cup points in 2006 in his rookie year.

He is also off to a good start this year, despite his knee surgery, as he has two wins so far and looks to be one of Jimmie Johnson’s biggest title threats.

Logano was added to the Cup driver lineup in 2009 and won rookie of the year. He signed a development contract with JGR in 2005 after Mark Martin gave him the nickname “Sliced Bread."

He has so far impressed the world with his success at all levels in NASCAR. Some notable career highlights include a Camping World Series East (now K&N Pro Series East) win in his first start, the Camping World East Series championship as a rookie, winning in his first ARCA start, and winning his third Nationwide start at Nashville to become the youngest Nationwide Series winner.

Logano looks to improve on his rookie season and continue to grow as a Cup driver, gaining experience each week.

At the Nationwide level, JGR has two up-and-coming drivers making appearances in the cars when Logano, Hamlin, and Busch aren’t: Brad Coleman and Matt DiBenedetto.

Coleman started with JGR in 2007, gaining three top fives, five top 10s, and seven top 15s in 17 starts. He also won a pole at Talladega, and had the highest average finish position of any non-Cup driver in the series that year. He left JGR for the 2008 season due to lack of funding, however, returned in 2009.

Last year saw Coleman have the speed to win, though accidents, blown tires, and other issues forced him to have only one top five and one top 10.

Coleman looks to get back to his 2007 success this year, and also help JGR out as he has been testing Sprint Cup cars at various tracks.

DiBenedetto signed a driver development contract in 2009 with JGR. He saw quick success in the Camping World Series East as he won in his second start at Tri-Country Raceway. He went on to win more races and do well at a variety of tracks, showing JGR that he was ready for the Nationwide Series.

He made his Nationwide debut in October at Memphis, and once again showed his talent. He qualified fifth and ran as high as second in the race, though trouble midway through the race and contact near the end gave him a 14th place finish.

JGR is confident that DiBenedetto will continue to succeed as he is expected to run some Nationwide races this year.

Although it looks like their stack of cards is full, JGR still has more drivers coming up through NASCAR’s lower ranks.

JGR has been using the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East to develop their drivers.

The series was developed by NASCAR to allow future Truck, Nationwide, and Cup drivers to develop their talent and showcase it to top tier owners.

This year, JGR has Max Gresham and Brett Moffitt driving their cars.

Gresham currently sits seventh in points, 61 points behind leader Cole Whitt. He made his first East Series start at South Boston Speedway in 2009, finishing fifth for his best finish of the year.

For just turning 17 on April 30, his racing resume is stacked. It includes five Bandolero titles between Atlanta Motor Speedway and Lowe’s Motor Speedway, the 2006 Semi-Pro National Legends Champion, and registered two wins and 16 top 10s in ASA Late Model competition.

Gresham is up for the full schedule in 2010 and has already won his first career pole and race, which came at South Boston this year.

Moffitt currently sits 14th in points with one top 10 in two starts after issues struck him in the other race.

Moffitt, 18, has already showed his talent in the East Series.

In 2009, he was runner-up in the rookie standings after winning two races (South Boston Speedway, Dover International Speedway), a pole in his debut at Greenville Pickens Speedway, six top fives, nine top 10s, and a third place finish in the standings at the end of the year.

Moffitt looks to turn luck to his side and try to better that third place finish from last year.

Gibbs has proven that he isn’t just made out for football, and has shown that JGR will be around for a long time with talented drivers.

If there is any team out there that could contend with Hendrick Motorsports for supremacy it is JGR, as at every level they’ve got a stack of talented drivers.

Richmond is often considered to be the perfect track. Drivers love it, fans flock to it, and commentators praise it.

Saturday night was no exception. The Heath Calhoun 400 had intense action over 400 and came down to two drivers looking to finally break into the win column.

Here are my race reactions to last night's action.

First off, despite the great finish, the race itself was rather ho-hum because of very few cautions.  At one point, the race had over 200 consecutive laps of green-flag racing.

Don't get me wrong, all around the track there were great battles for position, including the lead. At the same time, a short-track is most known for wrecks, close calls and hot tempers.

This race didn't have that, which could be a good thing as NASCAR officials didn't have to break up any fights on pit road.

Still a great race overall, just my own perspective.

Next, what is it going to take for Jeff Gordon to get to victory lane. This guy has come so close, so often, and yet cannot complete the job. At Texas, he was upset being caught up in the big wreck. Phoenix and Martinsville, the green-white-checkered kept him from victory.

This week, it was the fast car of Kyle Busch. Gordon and crew chief Steve Letarte made the correct decision when the caution flew late in the race to stay out. They had pitted just two laps earlier, so the tires were fresh.

The wrong call came at the final restart. Obviously, the inside line is the preferred way to pass. However, should a driver pin another on the bottom, the pass can't be completed.

Gordon chose the inside lane, and I felt that was the wrong call. Busch had fresher tires, however had Gordon put the No. 18 on the bottom, I feel Gordon would be the winner.

The high line would have given Gordon the chance to pin Busch on the low line, and also given Gordon enough momentum to pull ahead.

Unfortunately, his choice was the inside line. Couple that with the fact that Busch was the best on restarts that night, Gordon was a sitting duck. Still a great run, but the quest for a victory continues.

Finally, for the first time in a while, the best car won the race. Busch had the dominant car for a strong majority of the race.

He led a total of 228 of the 400 laps. During the middle of the race, his car fell off and he got behind.

But, crew chief Dave Rogers made the right call in getting new tires late in the race. That put Busch in the perfect position to go for a win. He made some hard runs on a few restarts and found himself on the right side of Gordon for the last run.

That final restart put the M&M's Toyota out front permanently. But, at the end of the race, it was a welcome sign to see the fans on their feet and cheering Busch.

There were very few boos when he got out of his car, took a bow and got the checkered flag. Definitely a different reaction that many fans were giving him the last two seasons.

I'm not a Busch fan, but it was nice seeing the fans give him the respect he deserved on that night.

What better way to lead into the next night race of the season this coming Saturday night. The next track on the schedule is my favorite track on the circuit. It's a track "too tough to tame", and has been deemed the "lady in black".

The best line is along the wall, and if a car doesn't have scrapes on the right side, it wasn't running well.

I cannot wait for Saturday night's Southern 500 at Darlington. Let's get racing boys.

Rain seems to be dominating Sunday motorsports, but who got "Mo" this week on Monday?

Momentum is defined as the capacity to develop, the power to increase at a growing pace. The phenomenon is shortened to "Mo" for this series and it's not unique to NASCAR. Mo is a force in all sports even though no one really knows how to possess it. That’s fortunate for nearly all fans. If any team owned Mo, they would never lose.

Not everyone believes consistent results are anything other than focused effort over time producing positive outcome. In other words, Mo doesn't exist, teams do. Yet no one ever seems to know everything about why a team surges or why Mo comes and goes. So call it Mo or whatever. In sports, getting wins is often elusive.

The fluid path of Mo this week in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has Joe Gibbs Racing close to catching Hendrick Motorsports. 

After the rain moved on and the Texas race was done the top five positions showed no change. That’s Hendrick and Roush dominating the top with Kevin Harvick at RCR holding on while his teammates slipped this week. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been consistent and is moving up now.

Joe Gibbs Racing is definitely moving up. Obviously wins lifted team spirits when Denny Hamlin got the checkers in Texas and Martinsville. One win before his knee surgery and one win after surgery is a major accomplishment. But teammates Kyle Busch and Joey Logano were moving up before Texas.

Mark Martin is moving back into the top 12 to join his successful teammates. Kurt Busch is back up after a recent DNF.

With eight of 36 races about 22 percent of the season is over with about 78 percent remaining, but eight races of 26 races remain before the Chase playoff starts. That means 30 percent of the Chase races are gone and 70 percent of races that count for the Chase remain.

Gloating or groaning at this point is wasteful, as with all champion runs and contending it’s consistency that counts. The way to get percentages working a team’s way is good results, not necessarily every week, just most weeks.

Hendrick hasn’t lost Mo, but Gibbs is getting within snatching distance as Roush hovers in the way near the top.

Big Movers this week: 

Kyle Busch +6 positions
Dale Earnhardt Jr. +3 positions
Kurt Busch +5 positions
Mark Martin +3 positions
Denny Hamlin +7 positions

Post-race quotes:

Denny Hamlin [Joe Gibbs Racing]

Hamlin talked about his recent knee surgery and staying in the car in Phoenix

I'm still not 100 percent by any means right now,” Hamlin said. “I feel like I'm 60 at best. I knew every week—I knew Phoenix was going to be a struggle. But I knew that for the next month it was going to be tougher to get good finishes than what it would, you know, pre-surgery.

“I think it just showed a little bit of courage for those guys. I knew they would give their left leg for me, and I was willing to do the same thing for them.”

Jimmie Johnson [Hendrick Motorsports]

Johnson had only one more position to go before he ran out of laps. 

“All in all great performance,” Johnson said. “Wish we could have won here in Texas. Love that cowboy hat. Would love to have it on my head. But very solid performance for us. Not a lot to complain about for today. Just one more spot better would have been an awesome day.”

Kyle Busch [Joe Gibbs Racing]

Busch has record wins in Nationwide and was candid about Sprint Cup.

“We got a lot better than probably what we deserved,” Busch said. “Last week we didn't get what we deserved. So it's unfortunate we miss a win, but then we get a third because of a 13th place car. But overall, times work out back and forth. But we'll take what we got today.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. [Hendrick Motorsports]

Earnhardt Jr. has finished near the top often this season.

“We're getting better,” Earnhardt said. “But we still have a lot to work on, to get better. We're a good team. We can be a great team and we have to keep working.”

Kurt Busch [Penske Racing]

Busch has the No. 2 in the top 10 frequently this season.

“I don’t think that we quite had the speed like we did here last fall,” Busch said. “I’m real happy with my guys. The pit stops were great. I’d be running 12th and they got me out seventh. We’ll take this fourth-place finish in our Miller Lite Dodge.”

1 -- Jimmie Johnson [1248 points] Leader [Chevy]
2 -- Matt Kenseth -108 [Ford]
3 -- Greg Biffle – 128 [Ford]
4 -- Kevin Harvick -141 [Chevy]
5 -- Jeff Gordon -220 [Chevy]
6 +6 Kyle Busch -228 [Toyota]
7 +3 Dale Earnhardt Jr. -235 [Chevy]
8 -1 Jeff Burton -243 [Chevy]
9 +5 Kurt Busch -249 [Dodge]
10 +3 Mark Martin -254 [Chevy]
11 +7 Denny Hamlin -275 [Toyota]
12 -1 Joey Logano -307 [Toyota]

This analysis of Mo will return after the next Sprint Cup checker flag.

Photo credit: Dwight Drum @ Racetake.com 

A familiar orange and white car has been making its return to the front in 2010, mixing it up among the leaders with solid performances and finishes in the ever competitive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Inside that Toyota Camry is a confident young man who finally appears to have confidence behind the wheel of a Sprint Cup machine, and it's showing in the early races this season. With a year of Cup racing under his belt, all those lessons, experiences, and racing lines are just some of the things that comprise this sophomore racer.

Don't look now, but Joey Logano has compiled a steady season in his No. 20 Home Depot car, contending for wins and often finishing with the big names like Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart.

While not in the same esteem as those established Cup stars, this 19-year-old's stock will be on the rise for the rest of the year. Shedding those rookie stripes, last year's freshman honoree has proved his case as a Cup racer in the first three races of this season.

Since his 20th place finish at Daytona, the perennial Joe Gibbs Racing efforts have been strong and appear to have the makings of a good case for the Chase later this year. Results like a fifth at Fontana and sixth in Sunday's 400-miler at Las Vegas are cases of "home improvement" with this sophomore talent.

Last year was a rough campaign for this group, who often wrecked out early and looked lost at sea. Logano had a difficult initiation into the most elite form of stock car racing, showing obvious rookie pains at some of the challenging circuits like Atlanta, Bristol, Martinsville, and Dover. 

In fact, there were times when the tracks absolutely overwhelmed him. No matter how many adjustments were made to his car, he was nowhere to be found among the top-20 racers during an event.

Praised by Mark Martin as "the next big thing" back in 2007, for the skeptics, the label seemed rather hyped for the young driver from Middletown, CT. After all, he either wrecked in top level equipment nearly every race last spring or strung along in the back of the pack.

Some felt that Gibbs and his organization brought Logano up too early to the Cup ranks, citing that he needed more time in the Nationwide Series. While a fair observation, haven't some of the best in Cup racing had their growing pains at some point?

Perhaps a trip around Darlington Raceway with NASCAR legend David Pearson helped the raw talent with his mindset behind the wheel of a Cup car. The 105-time race winner may have helped Logano in terms of his confidence and mindset on tackling the tracks of the Sprint Cup tour, which aren't the most easiest places to compete at even with high-caliber equipment.

Sure, he may have that first career victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last June, which was a huge confidence boost for the No. 20 team with a smart call late in the race. However, the most impressive race that Logano compiled in his rookie-winning season was the Southern 500 at Darlington, which was likened to a rookie quarterback in Green Bay excelling in their first start at Lambeau Field.

Starting fifth, the pride of the Constitution State raced wisely and kept his car in shape, never flinching at the narrow and challenging "Lady in Black." He would bring the car home in ninth position and in one piece, which was something to be proud of for a first-timer in Cup racing.

Fast forward to 2010, where he's finished 20th, fifth, and sixth. What's the difference between a single year? One word: confidence.

Earlier this year, Logano won the Toyota Showdown at Irwindale, CA, which featured the sport's greatest regional stars at a very tight, competitive short track. He showed maturity, poise, and confidence way beyond his age of 19 years, almost wheeling his car like a young Davey Allison in his No. 28 Texaco Ford.

The communication is as strong as ever between Logano and Zipadelli, who may have found himself a raw, young version of Tony Stewart. Having mentored and worked with NASCAR's most aggressive but versatile racer for 10 seasons, he knows a thing or two with polishing diamonds in the rough. Calm, collective, and positive, "Zippy" has the coaching abilities to harness the unmistakable talent of his fellow statesman.

One cannot help but think of certain driver-crew chief relationships similar to the No. 20 team, like Allison and Larry McReynolds, Jeff Gordon and Ray Evernham, or Dale Jarrett and Todd Parrott. Perhaps with more victories and seasons together, we can add the Logano and Zipadelli connection.

Don't be surprised if Logano reels off some victories in 2010, which could make this season memorable for JGR fans and enthusiasts of this young gun sensation. A solid super speedway and intermediate track racer, the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota will be a formidable threat as long as patience and smarts are exercised with this aggressive, hard charging racer.

While he downplays his chances to race well at Atlanta, one thing's for certain: Joe Gibbs has a third ace in the artillery that will be ready to contend for victories and titles in this year's Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship. Perhaps Logano is truly the next big star to come along after all.

Joey Logano led the majority of the laps in the Stater Brothers 300 at Auto Club Speedway and appeared to have the dominant car.  However, his teammate, Kyle Busch, took the checkered flag on a green-white-checkered finish.

Logano, behind the wheel of the No. 20 Game Stop Toyota, started the race on the pole and led over 130 laps.  Busch, on the other hand, led just four laps total, including the last lap that ensured his victory.

“That’s crazy,” Busch said enthusiastically in victory lane.  “Can you believe that?  That’s some racing right there.”

Busch said that he and his team had fought an ill-handling race car all day.  “Jason (Ratcliff) never gave up,” Busch said of his crew chief.  “And I never gave up.  This Z-Line Camry was awesome.”

Logano, who had been so dominant all race long, was left to finish in the fifth spot after a last lap tussle with Greg Biffle that sent the young driver off the track and careening through the grass.

“I got hit again by Biffle,” Logano said.  “I don’t know what his deal is with me but for some reason here at California he feels like putting me in the fence or hitting me at the end.

“I think he could have done it a little cleaner than that.”

Logano was more than disappointed to have led that many laps, had the dominant car, and not come away with the victory.  Logano also vowed to remember who it was that cost him the win.

“Oh well, you keep doing that and eventually it’s going to come back and bite you,” Logano said of his incident with Biffle.  “I always remember that stuff.”

Biffle, who did finish the race in the runner-up spot, had another perspective on the final restart.  “It was a great restart,” Biffle said.  “The 20 car made a rookie mistake, spun his tires on the restart and couldn’t get going.”

“I wasn’t going to give up,” Biffle said simply.

Brad Keselowski finished in the third position and expectant father Carl Edwards finished fourth in the race.  Edwards had to make a comeback to finish so high in the running order after sustaining two speeding penalties.

Speeding penalties were also one of the stories of the day for several other drivers, including rookie Danica Patrick.  The driver of the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevy for JR Motorsports sustained two speeding penalties, herself.

The first penalty put Patrick, who had dropped to the back of the field, a lap down.  She could not believe it when she was assessed the second penalty, asking her crew chief Tony Eury, Jr., “How the hell was I speeding?  I was even slower that time than the time before.”

Patrick was not alone in sustaining speeding penalties.  John Wes Townley was issued one speeding penalty for speeding on the exit of pit road and then suffered another as he was entering pit road to serve his penalty.

Although Patrick finished the race in the 31st position three laps down to the leader, she steadily improved throughout the race, as she got a feel for her car.  Her crew chief was pleased with her performance.

“You progressed a lot in this race,” Eury Jr. said over the radio to Patrick.  “I'm proud of you in what you've learned today.”

The race was relatively caution-free, as is the tradition of racing at Auto Club Speedway.  Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and John Wes Townley got into one another, causing one of the major race cautions of the day.

Brendan Gaughan, racing for Rusty Wallace Motorsports, caused one of the other critical cautions when his car let loose with just six laps left to go in the race.  His caution set up the green-white-checkered showdown that would pit Busch against Logano, with Biffle, Keselowski, and Edwards all wanting a piece of the action.

Kevin Harvick was also a contender for much of the race, slicing and dicing his way through the field.  His day ended too soon, however, as his engine gave up the ghost and Harvick was forced to take the car to the garage.

The top ten finishers in the Stater 300 Nationwide race at Auto Club Speedway were:

1.   Kyle Busch

2.   Greg Biffle

3.   Brad Keselowski

4.   Carl Edwards

5.   Joey Logano

6.   Steve Wallace

7.   Kelly Bires

8.   Brian Vickers

9.   Justin Allgaier

10.  Brian Scott

The Nationwide Series races next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.