The Joe Gibbs Racing Race Report
Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500

Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Toyota Camry, led Team Interstate by finishing third in Sunday’s Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500k NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Ariz.  It was Hamlin’s 14th top-five finish this season.  

His Team Interstate companions – Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Toyota Camry and rookie Joey Logano in the No. 20 Toyota Camry – finished 12th and 21st, respectively.

Jimmie Johnson beat Jeff Burton by 1.033 seconds to win the Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500k and score his 47th career Sprint Cup victory, his seventh of the season and his fourth at Phoenix. 

Behind the third-place Hamlin was Mark Martin and Martin Truex Jr., to round out the top-five. Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jeff Gordon, and David Reutimann comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were four caution periods for 23 laps, with six drivers failing to finish the 312-lap race.

With only one race remaining, Hamlin leads the Team Interstate trio in the championship point standings, as he is Team Interstate’s lone representative in the 12-driver Chase for the Championship. Hamlin remained eighth in the standings and is now 352 markers behind Chase leader Johnson. Busch remained 13th in the standings while Logano maintained his 20th position.

The season-ending Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway starts at 3:15 p.m. EST next Sunday (Nov. 22) with live coverage provided by ABC beginning with its pre-race show at 2:30 p.m.