Toyota earns first ever NASCAR win
Remember when Joe Gibbs Racing dropped Chevy for Toyota last September? Not only did Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin trade in their bow tie stickers for an adhesive Camry grille, but Toyota gained some serious driving talent. The move has paid off quickly for Toyota, which just scored its first NASCAR win thanks to Denny Hamlin, who won the second Gatorade Duel qualifying race in Daytona yesterday thanks to his teammate Tony Stewart, who finished in Second Place. Stewart was able to both give Hamlin push and hold off a charging Jeff Gordon to give Hamlin the win. It's not a points race, but with Hamlin taking the checkered flag and Stewart the No. 2 spot, it means there'll be three Toyotas in the first three rows of the Daytona 500 this weekend.
In other NASCAR news, Dale Earnhardt Jr. continued his comeback by winning the first Gatorade Duel qualifying race yesterday. Add that to his victory in the Bud Shootout earlier this week, and it's clear that Junior has regained an edge he lost during his many year driving for DEI. Jaqcues Villeneuve, meanwhile, who made his NASCAR debut in trucks late last year, crashed his Toyota during the second Gatorade Duel yesterday and took out three other cars. You know what they say, rubbin's racing!
Pos Driver Make Laps
1. Denny Hamlin Toyota 64
2. Tony Stewart Toyota 64
3. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 64
4. Kasey Kahne Dodge 64
5. Mark Martin Chevrolet 64
6. David Ragan Ford 64
7. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 64
8. Greg Biffle Ford 64
9. Dale Jarrett Toyota 64
10. John Andretti Chevrolet 64
11. Kyle Busch Toyota 64
12. David Reutimann Toyota 64
13. Michael Waltrip Toyota 64
14. Robby Gordon Dodge 64
15. Matt Kenseth Ford 64
16. Travis Kvapil Ford 64
17. David Gilliland Ford 64
18. Ken Schrader Dodge 64
19. Patrick Carpentier Dodge 57
20. Eric McClure Chevrolet 43
21. Dave Blaney Toyota 24
22. Jeff Burton Chevrolet 16
23. Jacques Villeneuve Toyota 14
24. Jamie McMurray Ford 14
25. Dario Franchitti Dodge 14
26. Stanton Barrett Chevrolet 14
[Source: Autosport via Winding Road, Photo by Nick Laham/Getty]
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Print | posted on Friday, February 15, 2008 12:42 PM