2010 Team Reviews: JGR Inches Closer to Title

As easily the most staunch threat to unseat Jimmie Johnson and Co. from their record-setting run through the previous four seasons, Joe Gibbs Racing takes second spot in our review of the top teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series from 2010.

Denny Hamlin (above) delivered the last, best threat to Johnson's run to five consecutive championships at Homestead in November by holding a narrow points lead on the No. 48 before the season finale. However, a risky decision early in the race left Hamlin spinning and scrambling while Johnson cruised to his fifth.

It was a storyline we've seen before from the JGR camp -- most notably in Kyle Busch's 2008 Chase implosion.

Labeling the 2010 season a failure for JGR with one gaffe in one race, however, isn't fair to the otherwise notable successes the team saw during the campaign. Here's a look back, and the reasoning why, JGR was the second-best NASCAR organization in 2010.

2nd- Denny Hamlin [8 wins, 14 Top-5s, 18 Top-10s, 2 DNFs, 12.9 Avg Finish]

As previously noted, the championship appeared to be Hamlin's to lose after winning the third-to-last race at Texas Motor Speedway. Never in Johnson's championship run had another driver held the top spot so late in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Never had Johnson been at such a loss for momentum.

Obviously, Hamlin couldn't hold on -- a disappointment for Hamlin that showed just how gut wrenching the defeat was for the Virginia driver when he talked after the final race at Homestead.

On the flip side, it was Hamlin's most productive run ever in NASCAR's top division -- even after he had to endure major knee surgery after just six races. A jaw-dropping, come-from-behind win in the closing laps at Martinsville bolstered Hamlin to a midseason romp, winning four of the next nine races. His eight wins overall led the series.

8th - Kyle Busch [3 wins, 10 Top-5s, 18 Top-10s, 6 DNFs, 13.4 Avg Finish]

With Steve Addington no longer calling the shots for the No. 18 team after he was replaced as Busch's crew chief near the close of the 2009 season, the 2010 season was already destined to have a different feel for Busch. Now, it was up to Dave Rogers to guide the talented yet volatile Busch through the ups and downs of NASCAR's long season.

Busch didn't find his stride until the fifth race of the year at Bristol, scoring just his first top-10 finish of the year. Eight of the next nine races, though, saw Busch in the top 10, including two wins at Richmond and Dover. Easily the highlight of Busch's year came in August at Bristol when he swept all three of NASCAR's national division races at the half-mile.

Three top 10s to start the Chase had Busch looking like a serious contender for the championship. That all changed when Busch's volatile side got the better of him. After spinning David Reutimann early in the race, Busch's actions caught up with him when Reutimann delivered payback. Busch followed up the 21st-place finish with a blown engine at California -- dooming any Chase chances.

16th - Joey Logano [0 wins, 7 Top-5s, 11 Top-10s, 3 DNFs, 15.3 Avg Finish]

When a driver nicknamed "Sliced Bread" finds a way to win a race during his rookie season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the expectations that it satisfied only create more. Sometimes, those expectations can prove to be too much.

That wasn't the case for NASCAR sophomore Joey Logano in 2010 -- a season removed from his surprising 2009 rain-shortened win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Instead, Logano steadily built on his rookie season over the past year and finished the season delivering his most impressive results

Starting with a seventh-place run at the October race in Charlotte, week-by-week Logano ascended up the finishing order one position at a time. After a third-place finish in the second-to-last race at Phoenix, Logano's streak ended when he crashed out of the season finale. Still, Logano's close to the 2010 season should prove to the catalyst the No. 20 team needs to close the performance gap with his teammates.

JGR's Best of 2010: Denny Hamlin's win at Martinsville in the spring was a jaw-dropping drive that easily goes down as one of the best finishes in Martinsville's storied history.

JGR's Worst of 2010: Mental mistakes on the shoulders of both Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin were the biggest factor in why JGR didn't win the 2010 title.

What to Watch in 2011: Joey Logano finished 2010 in a manner that should leave his teammates feeling the pressure from the No. 20 next season.