Taillights fade: A look back at Joe Gibbs Racing's 2009

We've wrapped the season, and so it's time to wrap up our look back. In a feature shamelessly ripped from Puck Daddy's Death Watch and Big League Stew's Walk Toward The Light, we're looking back on all the drivers. In the interest of making sure that this feature doesn't last until April, we're stepping up the pace and covering teams. And yes, I know there aren't taillights on Sprint cars. It's a metaphor. Roll with it.

Team: Joe Gibbs Racing

Drivers: Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano

Record: Nine wins, two poles, 27 top-5s, 40 top-10s

Season summary: In a year in which the team's top draw -- Tony Stewart -- departed to run his own squad, this could have been a proverbial "rebuild" for JGR. And to some extent it was, but it looks like the rebuilding has been accomplished. Denny Hamlin proved he belongs among the elite drivers in NASCAR, and Kyle Busch proved that he needs to keep his head about him if he wants to stay among the elite drivers. Joey Logano, meanwhile, exceeded everybody's expectations and cake-walked to Rookie of the Year.

Where it went right: JGR was the only team in which every single member recorded at least one victory. And Hamlin was strong throughout, coming through big several times in the Chase. (He also flamed out big several times, but we'll talk about that in a moment.) Kyle, meanwhile, demonstrated that he's probably got the most pure talent of any driver in the sport, and when head and heart work together, he's one hell of a force.

Where it went wrong:  Kyle got himself in trouble once too often this year and ended up missing the Chase by eight points, an unbelievable underachievement considering the fact that he won four races this year. Hamlin kept getting himself into trouble during the Chase, and torpedoed his Cup hopes with several poor finishes. He also had a much-publicized dustup with Brad Keselowski that will likely extend into its third season in 2010. 

Prospects for 2010: Scary for everybody else. All three of these guys are only going to get better. And could there be a fourth car coming to JGR in the coming years? (I have no idea, but it's a good rumor, isn't it?)

Related JGR posts from 2009:
Kyle Busch, Joey Logano bring the pain at WWE Raw
Kyle Busch didn't make the Chase, and that's a darn shame
Hamlin pays back Keselowski, sort of

Next up: Stewart-Haas Racing