Sprint Cup
4 Joe Gibbs Racing drivers still pushing for shot at title
With 3 spots left, at least one JGR teammate won't make it to championship
There are only two races left to clinch those spots, and at least one of them won't make it.
Plus, JGR teammates Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards aren't the only drivers trying to join Jimmie Johnson for a title shot in the Chase-deciding finale at Homestead in two weeks.
“Our goal was to have four cars at Homestead and now there's only three spots left,” Kenseth said. “Every week we talk about what we can do to help each other, and make things better, but we also realize when they drop the green on Sunday, it's one against 39 and have to get the best finish we can for our respective teams.”
All the Gibbs drivers have won at Texas, where the second race of the third round in the Chase for the Sprint Cup playoffs is today.
Led by the former NFL coach as their team owner, they have worked together during Chase races.
Still, Busch expressed frustration after Martinsville last week when Hamlin defended his position ahead of Kenseth and Busch. Six-time Cup champion Johnson won the race to lock into the first of the four spots for the championship run at Homestead.
“Maybe I was expecting a little bit different than what transpired in the race,” Busch said. “But we talked, forgive and forget, and move on.”
At Talladega the week before that, Busch, Edwards and Kenseth stayed out of trouble at the back of the pack together since they were already guaranteed a spot in the third round of the playoffs as long as they stayed out of trouble. They did, while Hamlin raced up front and did just enough to advance as well.
Busch said the team has to focus forward and try to work together the best they can, like they have all season.
“We know the reason we are in this predicament is because of our teamwork and our relationships and our comradery that we have at the race shop each and every week that gets us to the point of being as good as we are on Sunday,” he said.