Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing hope to replicate Daytona 500 success

As the second of two practices began Friday night in preparation for Saturday night’s Advance Auto Parts Clash, Joe Gibbs Racing’s quartet of drivers, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, and Daniel Suarez, rolled onto Daytona International Speedway’s 2.5-mile surface nose-to-tail to run laps together as drafting partners.

It may have just been a practice for an exhibition race with minimal stakes, but the site of the four JGR Toyotas offered both a flashback and a possible preview of what’s to come when the Monster Energy Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 goes green on Feb. 26 (2 p.m. ET, Fox).

A year ago in NASCAR’s biggest race, JGR employed a gameplan where Busch, Hamlin, Kenseth, and the since-retired Carl Edwards, along with Toyota corporate teammate Martin Truex Jr., whose Furniture Row Racing team shares a technical alliance with JGR, worked almost exclusively with one another. The idea was that together, they would position themselves near the front, then collectively fend off any challengers.

The strategy worked better than any of the principals involved could’ve envisioned. Busch, Hamlin, Kenseth, and Truex combined to lead 156 of 200 laps, and by the closing stages, all four were in contention for the win. Ultimately, it was Hamlin who claimed victory, a mere 0.010 seconds over Truex -- the closest finish ever in the 58-year history of NASCAR’s biggest race.

“It was very important to set out a goal, really an objective to work together and do everything we could to remain in a pack with all the Toyota cars,” Hamlin said. “And it worked out phenomenally.”

It’s no surprise then that to replicate a similar outcome next weekend, JGR is again emphasizing a plan of togetherness.

Hence, why Busch, Hamlin, Kenseth, and Suarez rolled out onto the track in a group Friday night where they then proceeded to practice maneuvering in the draft with one driver taking the point while the other three were tucked behind. After a few laps, they would rotate.

Whether anything learned can actually be applied to the Daytona 500 remains to be seen. Friday’s practice session took place in the evening, as will The Clash, meaning vastly different conditions than what drivers will face in a week, which will see the Daytona contested in the afternoon, when handling will be at premium on a slick, hot, track.

“It’s going to be very hard to replicate anything like that ever again,” Hamlin added. “But you just have to come up with a new plan and something else that they haven’t seen before.”

If practice speeds are any indicator -- not always an accurate barometer at Daytona -- JGR should again be in the mix both in The Clash and the race that really matters next weekend. Hamlin’s fast lap of 196.528 mph topped the nearly one-hour session, followed by Suarez, Busch, and Kenseth.

“I think it will be difficult to pull off the same plan,” Busch said. “I think we have to reengineer a little bit of what we’ve already done and try to make it better. That’s evolution. That’s what life is all about. If we can do that, then maybe we can have some of the same results.”