Photo Credit: Noel Lanier
The first team to take the stage at the 34th annual Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour presented by Technocom on Tuesday was Joe Gibbs Racing. And with 14 wins among four drivers, including the Championship Race season finale that crowned Kyle Busch as the Sprint Cup Series champion, Joe Gibbs Racing is coming off arguably the best season in its history. Add Erik Jones’s 2015 Camping World Truck Series championship and Daniel Suarez’s 2015 XFINITY Series Rookie of the Year honor to that total, and JGR is certainly hoping to ride that momentum into this season.
“We had four (Sprint Cup) drivers with multiple wins last season; I don’t think another organization can say that,” said Matt Kenseth, who tied Busch with five wins in 2015. Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin each won twice. “Last year was just an incredible season for Joe Gibbs Racing.”
Busch will try to become the first driver since Jimmie Johnson (2006-2010) to repeat as Sprint Cup Series champion.
“I compare it to the Golden State Warriors having to play one or two months without Steph Curry and then having him come back and they go on to win the championship,” said Kyle Busch, when asked about winning last year’s title in spite of missing the first 11 races with a broken leg. “This is a team sport. There’s one driver behind the wheel, but it takes a complete team to win a title. We did that last year and we are absolutely focused on doing that again in 2016.”
Jones will join Suarez as a full-time driver in the XFINITY Series this season.
“(Last year) was a busy year, but an exciting year,” said Jones, who made his first three starts in the Sprint Cup Series in 2015, while running 23 XFINITY Series races and a full-time schedule in the Camping World Truck Series. “It will be nice to be full-time with the same group of guys, running for the XFINITY Series championship. I can’t wait to get started.”
