Sprint Cup 2015 Series News, Rumors: Joe Gibbs Racing Struggling Early on in Sprint Cup
Toyota has not won a race on the NASCAR sprint Cup series circuit since last May at Talladega. A lengthy losing streak in a sport predicated upon speed is bad enough, now the number one Toyota team, Joe Gibbs Racing, seem to have fallen in status from elite NASCAR Cup series operation to a group of also rans. It is not uncommon for a team that expanded to a fourth car to have growing pains but the Toyota's as a whole are not running very well this season.
After finishing 23rd JGR driver Denny Hamlin had this to say, "All of our cars suck right now. There's (winner Kevin Harvick), there's the Hendrick cars, and the Penske cars and everybody else. We're everybody else right now. Especially on the short tracks. Cars don't turn. They don't get off the corner."
Hamlin finished 23rd at Phoenix. Hamlin has had a mixed bag of results at Phoenix. He won here three years ago but in the last three races at the track he has finished 19th or worse. He claims the JGR cars have had the same problem for more than two years and that their inability to have well handling cars on the one-mile tracks sunk teammate Matt Kenseth's title hopes back in 2013.
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The highest finishing Toyota at Phoenix was the no. 19 of Carl Edwards, Hamlin's newest teammate. However, this s a team used to running for wins, multiple wins, and titles not one that is happy to run in the middle of the pack.
The real issue here is Phoenix plays an important role in which drivers get the opportunity to run for the Sprint Cup title. If the Gibbs team cannot figure out this track with the new rules package they may not one of their drivers running for the championship in November at Homestead.
