J.J. Yeley finished 40th in the 3M Performance 400, one spot ahead of teammate Tony Stewart. Credit: Autostock

Two-thirds of Gibbs team left with ruined racecars

Hamlin's 12th-place finish leads JGR for second consecutive week

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- J.D. Gibbs, unknowingly, was a prophet in the drivers' meeting for the 3M Performance 400 on Sunday morning at Michigan International Speedway.

Denny Hamlin maintained ninth place in the standings. Credit: Autostock

3M Performance 400 Results Pos. Driver Make 1. Kasey Kahne Dodge 2. Carl Edwards Ford 3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevy 4. Greg Biffle Ford 5. Reed Sorenson Dodge 6. Jimmie Johnson Chevy 7. Casey Mears Dodge 8. Jeff Gordon Chevy 9. Kurt Busch Dodge 10. Kevin Harvick Chevy 11. Jeff Burton Chevy 12. Denny Hamlin Chevy • Complete results, click here • Driver standings, click here Yeley spinsJ.J. Yeley gets spun by Jamie McMurray to start a multi-car wreck Tony's troublesStewart's car looks worse than how his shoulder feels Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

At 11:30 a.m., Gibbs accepted a congratulatory handshake from a visitor to the meeting for last weekend's victory at Pocono Raceway by Gibbs' rookie driver, Denny Hamlin. He said, "I'll take it because you never know when things are going to [go the wrong way.]"

About three hours later, that's exactly what happened, as two of Joe Gibbs Racing's three cars -- Tony Stewart and J.J. Yeley -- were involved in accidents before 65 of the race's 400 miles were run, which relegated them to awful finishes.

Hamlin was Gibbs' beacon for the second week in a row. He finished 12th when the race was called after 129 laps due to rain, and maintained his ninth position in the standings on account.

Rookie teammate Yeley, whose No. 18 Chevrolet suffered the least damage of the team, returned to the race 49 laps down and finished 40th after getting spun by Jamie McMurray on Lap 31. He unofficially remained 27th in the standings, but lost 69 points to 26th place Jeff Green.

Defending Nextel Cup champion Stewart spent 70 laps in the garage area getting his No. 20 Chevrolet repaired and ended up 41st thanks to a Lap 22 crash at the hands of Green.

In the process, he fell from fourth to sixth, now unofficially 367 points behind Jimmie Johnson, who finished sixth behind race winner Kasey Kahne.

The two Gibbs drivers were frustrated because they deemed both accidents unnecessary.

Going into Turn 3 on Lap 22, Stewart's car was tagged in the left-rear corner by Green's No. 66 Chevy, which appeared to slide up the track before it made contact.

Stewart's car reversed direction and smashed into the wall backwards. Stewart drove it directly to the garage area for the race's third of a track-record nine cautions.

There was some concern about Stewart's fractured right shoulder blade, which he injured May 28 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

But not only did Stewart say he was "feeling OK," he got out of his car and immediately climbed beneath it, where he swung a heavy hammer to effect repairs.

Tony Stewart's Lap 22 spin left him with a 41st-place finish. Credit: Autostock / Autostock / Steve Snoddy

"We got taken out by a pretty stupid move," Stewart said when he emerged. "I just got turned around -- something that didn't really need to happen that early in the race."

After the race was red-flagged after 129 laps, both Stewart and Green agreed the wreck was unnecessary as well as unfortunate, considering it occurred while they were racing for 28th position.

Stewart said that after he returned to the race, Green had driven his car up next to his to communicate his concern via hand signals.

"It's not what we wanted, by any means [but] it wasn't anything intentional," Stewart said. "Jeff was a little eager probably. That was just racing and no big deal. Jeff's a great guy [and] he and I have always got along good."

Green agreed with Stewart on virtually all counts.

"I apologized, I mean, I don't drive that way," Green said. "I just got in [to the corner] a little over my head, my car pushed, Tony held his line and I got up into him [and] I hate it.

"I wouldn't do anybody that way, and Tony's a good friend of mine. I know he's racing for the championship and that top 10, but our Best Buy Chevy was really good at that point and I just got a little eager, I guess, like Tony said.

"I just apologize to all those guys on the 20 car because they deserved better -- but my guys did, too, so I guess I just made a mistake today."

Stewart said the wreck didn't exacerbate his shoulder injury.

"[My shoulder] is fine -- didn't hurt it at all," Stewart said. "I probably did more damage to it back here swinging hammers trying to get [the car] fixed."

When the race restarted after Stewart's wreck, it ran for less than 10 laps when Yeley appeared to rapidly catch Scott Wimmer in Turn 2. When Yeley slowed, McMurray's No. 26 Ford ran into him from behind. Yeley spun and collected Ken Schrader.

The facts were no consolation to Yeley, who came into the race third in the rookie standings but unofficially fell two spots, to fifth. Yeley, who finished second in Saturday night's Busch race at Kentucky Speedway, was incensed when he discussed the crash.

"The 26 run me over -- I don't know why [because] we're 30 laps into a really long race," Yeley said. "It wasn't like he pushed up and got into me. I'm going to take it as something pretty blatant.

"I guess you consider him to be a veteran [but] I think it was a pretty ridiculous move that he made and he took out a pretty good car in the process. It definitely stinks."

Yeley started 14th, his eighth top-15 start in 15 races, and raced into the top 10 within the first 10 laps. He was as high as eighth by Lap 20 but was racing for 23rd position when the accident occurred.

"We've had some bad luck and it continues," Yeley said of his fifth finish worse than 30th, though only his second DNF this season. "I think we definitely, easily had a top-10 racecar. We made a couple adjustments there and made it a little too free.

"I was trying to be patient -- unfortunately I guess [McMurray] wasn't."

Mother Nature had other ideas, however.

And while the rest of the field dodged raindrops -- which delayed the start 45 minutes and caused two cautions before the final stoppage -- during the race Stewart maintained his wry sense of humor despite his disappointment.

"Just trying to get the darn car fixed so we can go out there and get back in the race -- just trying to help these guys get it fixed," Stewart said of why he picked up a hammer himself. "They are working hard [and I] don't have anything better to do. I didn't have anything else planned.

"I don't feel good about the day, obviously, but physically I feel great."