Teamwork Helps No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Team Claim Two Post-Race Awards

CHARLOTTE, March 1, 2011: Perseverance coupled with strong green lap runs helped Kyle Busch and the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team finish second and take home two post-race awards Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway.

Busch laid down the race's fastest lap on his way to the front of the field late to capture the Goodyear Gatorback Belts Fastest Lap Award, while crew chief Dave Rogers made strategic calls to win his second consecutive DirecTV Crew Chief of the Race Award.

The awards are part of the NASCAR Prize Money and Decal Program, also referred to as the contingency program, which provides teams prize money and weekly awards based on performance in several categories.

“I’m proud of the job our team did in Phoenix this past week,” said Rogers. “Our guys at the shop and at the track work hard to prepare the car each and every week and obviously we have a driver in Kyle that is able to deliver on the track. We appreciate DirecTV’s recognition of what is really a team effort.”

Early in the race, as cautions hit, the No. 18 team was forced to regroup after scraping the wall on Lap 41 and getting involved in a near day-ending wreck with Carl Edwards.

“It was a rough beginning there for a while for a lot of guys and we were able to persevere and work through it and work on our car and get most out of the day,” Busch said. “We came back strong and we had a really good car there on the long runs, and we were kind of running guys down.”

With the second place finish, Kyle Busch took the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points lead as the series heads to Busch’s home track Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Kobalt Tools 400 on Sunday, March 6 (FOX, 3 PM ET).

Official winners of this week’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Prize Money & Decal Program special awards include:

COORS LIGHT POLE AWARD: Carl Edwards (137.279 mph, 26.224 secs.)
DIRECTV CREW CHIEF OF THE RACE AWARD: Dave Rogers (crew chief for Kyle Busch)
GOODYEAR GATORBACK BELTS FASTEST LAP AWARD: Kyle Busch (133.008, Lap 293)
AMERICAN ETHANOL GREEN FLAG RESTART: Kurt Busch
MAHLE CLEVITE ENGINE BUILDER OF THE RACE AWARD: No. 24, Hendrick Engines
MOBIL 1 OIL DRIVER OF THE RACE AWARD: Kevin Harvick
MOOG CHASSIS PARTS PROBLEM SOLVER OF THE RACE AWARD: Steve Letarte (crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr.)
O’REILLY AUTO PARTS POSITION IMPROVEMENT AWARD: Tony Raines (17 places)
SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE RACE AWARD: Andy Lally