JD Gibbs' Legacy Honored in Historic Daytona 500 Performance by Joe Gibbs Racing


Only a month after the untimely passing of Joe Gibbs Racing president JD Gibbs, 3 of their Toyota Camrys took the top 3 spots in the Daytona 500. This JGR 1-2-3 sweep was led by Denny Hamlin, who was discovered by the late JD. This win also breaks a long losing streak for Hamlin, as he did not win in 2018.
Coming into the Daytona 500, everyone’s focus was placed on the Ford teams. The new Mustang cars were lightning fast in preliminary races, and when working together, seemed to be unbeatable. However, it was 2 Chevrolets from Hendrick Motorsports who led the field to the green flag. The Camaros of William Byron and Alex Bowman paced the opening laps of the Daytona 500 and the 2019 NASCAR season.
Lap 11 would be a tribute lap to the late JD Gibbs. On January 11th, the eldest son of Joe Gibbs and former president of Joe Gibbs Racing passed away after a neurological condition. Teams honored him by holding up a flag asking fans to visit JDGibbsLegacy.com.
After a crazy last few laps that saw the majority of the field crash, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was the first to the checkers. Immediately behind him were teammates Kyle Busch and Erik Jones. 
This is Hamlin's 2nd Daytona 500 victory, after his win in 2016. Busch, who has won just about everything there is to win in the NASCAR Cup Series, placed his career-best result in the Daytona 500. Lastly for Jones, the youngest driver at JGR, this is also his best finish in the Daytona 500, and follows up his July 2018 win at Daytona. 
In light of losing his eldest son just a month ago, team owner Joe Gibbs called this Daytona 500 1-2-3 sweep “the most emotional and biggest win I’ve ever had in my life-in anything.” According to Gibbs, this race win means more to him and his family than his three Super Bowls, his four NASCAR Cup titles, or any other achievement. JD Gibbs’ family was in attendance and able to celebrate the emotional win.
If not for JD Gibbs, we would likely not know Denny Hamlin as a NASCAR Cup Series racer. The younger Gibbs discovered Hamlin on the short tracks of Virginia in 2004, and he has been a JGR driver ever since. JD convinced Joe to put Hamlin in the number 11 car, a number that held personal significance to the team president. JD wore the number 11 all throughout his high school football days, as well as his brief racing career. For the team JD Gibbs dedicated his life towards to finish 1-2-3 is the ultimate honor to his lasting legacy.
While this is Denny’s second triumph in the Daytona 500, it is also just the second time a team has finished 1-2-3 in the Great American Race. 22 years ago Hendrick Motorsports also achieved this feat with Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte, and Ricky Craven. That win in 1997 also carried added significance for HMS, as Rick Hendrick was at home battling leukemia during his team’s big win.

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