Hamlin survives fiery crash at Michigan

Denny Hamlin drives the #11 FedEx Office Toyota on pit road as it bursts into flames after an incident during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway on June 17, 2012 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images for NASCAR)
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Denny Hamlin drives the #11 FedEx Office Toyota on pit road as it bursts into flames after an incident during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway on June 17, 2012 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway was a race the drivers of Joe Gibbs Racing would rather forget.

None of the three Toyota’s raced out of the Gibbs stable survived the 400 miles.  The trouble began on lap 103 when for the second race in a row Kyle Busch coasted his No. 18 to the garage with engine woes. A few laps later on lap 127, Joey Logano, who celebrated his second career win last week at Pocono, was caught up in a crash.

The most frightening moment for the Gibbs team came shortly after.  Denny Hamlin who won the last two June races at Michigan, was involved in a crash on lap 134 when he spun through the grass coming out of turn 4. Hamlin’s car imploded as he rolled to pit lane and came to rest in a ball of fire. MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.