Nearly a quarter of the way through the regular season, Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports are dominating the NASCAR Cup Series.
It’s no surprise that JGR and Hendrick Motorsports are the top two Cup organizations, but the level of domination stands out.
Consider what the two organizations have done:
— Won five of the six points race this season.
— Won 10 of the last 16 points races since the start of last season’s playoffs.
— Have six of the top seven drivers in points this season — and eight of the top 11.
— Scored half of the top-five finishes in the year’s first six points races.
— Combined to lead nearly two-thirds of all the laps run this year.
William Byron’s victory Sunday at Circuit of the Americas continued the run. The Hendrick Motorsports driver became the first driver to score two wins in a season for the third consecutive year.
COTA marked the second race in a row that Hendrick and JGR drivers combined to take four of the top five spots in the finishing order.
JGR’s Christopher Bell was second and Ty Gibbs was third, while Hendrick Motorsports’ Byron won and Alex Bowman was fourth. At Bristol, Denny Hamlin won and Truex was second for Joe Gibbs Racing, while Bowman was fourth and Larson was fifth for Hendrick Motorsports.
JGR’s Martin Truex Jr. leads the season standings. He has a five-point lead on teammate Ty Gibbs, who scored his fifth consecutive top-10 finish last weekend at COTA.
Truex also ranks No. 1 in laps run in the top 15 this season. He’s run in the top 15 in 85.3 percent of the laps run. Hamlin is next at 84.6 percent.
The Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports drivers are dominant in another key area — fastest laps run this season. Drivers from those teams take six of the top seven spots. Joe Gibbs Racing drivers own the top four spots in the category. Hamlin has run the fastest lap in 109 laps this season, followed by Bell (105 laps), Gibbs (95) and Truex (94). Tyler Reddick breaks up the JGR and Hendrick drivers. He’s had the fastest lap 74 times, followed by Hendrick’s Byron (73 laps) and Larson (67).
Now the series heads to Richmond Raceway for the Easter night race Sunday. Larson won this event a year ago for Hendrick. Josh Berry, filling in for the injured Chase Elliott, was second, giving Hendrick a 1-2 finish that day. Joe Gibbs Racing drivers have won nine of the last 16 races at the Virginia track.
The last time at Richmond? Chris Buescher won for RFK Racing. Joe Gibbs Racing had the runner-up in Hamlin.
