NASCAR Cup Series

Hamlin's secrets push Busch to victory

Published May. 1, 2011 7:37 a.m. ET

foxsports

Can you keep a secret?

Obviously, Denny Hamlin can’t. And while it likely cost him the win at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night, it's the sharing of information that will make Joe Gibbs Racing a threat for many years to come.

Kyle Busch, winner of the Crown Royal presents the Matthew and Daniel Hansen 400, acknowledged that intel from Hamlin enabled him to win his 21st career Sprint Cup race in just 231 starts. Busch led four times for a total of 235 laps and crossed the finish line 1.805 seconds ahead of second-place Hamlin.

With three wins and 11 top-10 finishes in 13 starts at Richmond, it hardly appears that Busch would need Hamlin’s help. But there is no denying that working together has strengthened Joe Gibbs Racing.

“I learned from Denny Hamlin last fall, and I’m not going to say what I learned,” Busch baited. “He might know, but we did a good job at doing what we needed to do there early in the run and once we got out and had to go through traffic and stuff like that. Traffic kind of fell our way, so we were able to pick our way through there.

Crew chief Dave Rogers wasn’t joking when he told Busch following the win, “You have an unfair advantage.” Not only did the driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota avoid the night’s melees, he was able to wheel his car places on the track where few drivers could go — and survive.

“Once you commit yourself to where you’re going, you pretty much got to stick with your gut, do what you got to do to get through there,” Busch said. “I think it's been the past couple times here I've been able to do that. ... It’s a product of the racetrack. Sometimes you just hope it sticks.”

Busch, who vaulted three positions to third in the point standings with his second win of the season, continues to master his skills at each and every track. Despite some of the mechanic woes that have been felt by the JGR organization this season — including multiple engine failures, like the one Busch experienced at Las Vegas — the No. 18 team has been able to rebound after adversity. Just like Busch’s first win this season at Bristol following a disastrous 38th-place Vegas outing, the second win comes after wrecking and finishing 35th at Talladega.

But Busch won’t take full credit for what he’s accomplished this season. Along with his own team, he’s grateful for teammates, too. As competitive as the Gibbs drivers can be, the group functions stronger together.

“Denny did a nice job of helping me here a little bit last Fall, talking somewhat to me,” Busch said. “We’ve done the same thing at the mile-and-a-half places, two-mile places, that he picked up his game, surpassed us a little bit last year.

“That’s what it’s all about. We’re trying to help Joey (Logano) along a little bit. Joey has been a help to me at a few places. It’s been a good relationship between us three. We’re all relatively young; we can be here for a long time. It’s good to make sure we have a good relationship.”

That hurts

Jeff Gordon had one of the most competitive cars Saturday night. But his night ended on Lap 300 after Clint Bowyer made contact with Matt Kenseth, who ricocheted into Gordon’s No. 24 car and sent it plowing into the inside wall on the backstretch.

Gordon received the most damage in the nine-car wreck.

“Oh [expletive] that hurt,” Gordon said. “I pick the worst places to hit the wall.”

Gordon made contact at a point of the track where there is no SAFER barrier. In 2008, he had a violent crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, also hitting a spot where the softer walls weren’t installed — which served as a catalyst for the speedway to upgrade its safety measures.

Gordon said the impact Saturday night at Richmond “knocked the wind” out of him.

"I just saw the corner through my mirror, a car come into my left rear, and around I went in a hurry,” Gordon said. “I was hoping that I spun quick enough that I wasn't going to spin to the inside wall. And then I hit really, really hard.

“Again, I wish they had a SAFER barrier there. I seem to be able to find the ones without the SAFER barrier. ... I think it is pretty well-known we need SAFER barriers everywhere. You think it is a short track and everything but man, I hit a ton and hit right on the corner where you don’t want to hit. It definitely got my attention. That is for sure. It rang my bell.”

Gordon acknowledged that his car was “strong.” Although he led just four laps, he ran with the leaders for most of the night until the wreck. Gordon was scored 39th — his second DNF and worst finish of the season — and dropped three positions to 16th in the point standings.

You’re fired!

Martin Truex Jr. was on course for a solid finish until his night took an extreme turn for the worst.

Truex led 12 laps and was running in the top five when a tire issue forced him to pit with less than 30 laps remaining. While the team appeared to fix the issue with the right side, they missed a lugnut on the left side tires during their stop and they got penalized as a result.

Truex lashed out, hurling several expletives followed by, “They ought to fire every one of you!”

Truex drove his No. 56 back onto pit road to serve the penalty, but then things got worse as NASCAR busted the driver for speeding and he was forced to drive through pit road again.

The penalties inevitably resulted in Truex dropping to 27th — four laps off the pace.

Although he regained a lap, Truex did not improve his position and lost three points in the standings to drop to 22nd.

Numbers game

Richmond International Raceway provided top season finishes for a variety of drivers:

Say what?

Kurt Busch’s night at Richmond was epic — but not in the good sense.

His troubles began with Ryan Newman on Lap 185 and quickly disintegrated from there.

Busch called out Penske management several times throughout the race. When both Penske cars struggled — and teammate Brad Keselowski spun then stalled on pit road blocking the field from service, Busch shrieked, “We look like a monkey [expletive] a football. The Penske cars are a [expletive] joke.”