NASCAR Q&A: Forget Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing is now large and in charge

Is Gibbs the new Hendrick when it comes to NASCAR domination?

For a night, anyway. Joe Gibbs Racing swept the top three spots at Richmond and enters Bristol’s elimination race with all four of the coach’s teams on the good side of the cut line.

Two Gibbs drivers — Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. — won the past two races and are into the Round of 12, while Christopher Bell looks somewhat comfortable, though a 17-point cushion entering Bristol doesn’t feel as cushy as it might elsewhere. The fourth Gibbs driver? Well … don’t look now, but things aren’t trending well.

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You getting bad vibes for Kyle Busch?

Kyle is sitting just eight points to the good after back-to-back frustrating weekends. After wrecking and finishing 35th at Darlington, he finished ninth at Richmond, which got him back above water, but it would’ve been better if not for a late-race speeding penalty entering the pits. Some might think the penalty was additional payback for Kyle busting through those traffic cones at Darlington, but consider this: Poor ol’ Michael McDowell got three speeding penalties at Richmond. THREE! Oh, and this: Junior Earnhardt, in his lone 2021 Xfinity start Saturday afternoon, also got one. When Junior is getting ticketed, no one is above the law.

— Ken Willis, ken.willis@news-jrnl.com