Denny Hamlin will make his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start of 2012, driving the #18 GNC Franchising Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports in Saturday’s Pocono Mountains 125 at Pocono Raceway. KBM’s flagship Tundra will be sporting a new primary sponsor this week, GNC Franchising. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., GNC Franchising has been the #1 Vitamin Retail Franchise for 22 years in a row with more than 7,100 retail locations throughout the United States and 45 international markets. Hamlin, who has competed in 13 career Truck Series races, made two starts in his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate’s Tundra during the 2011 season. In his KBM debut last October, he became the 23rd driver in history to collect at least one win in each of NASCAR’s top three divisions when he drove the #18 Toyota to victory in the Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway. He returned to the truck for the series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway last November, and came home with a runner-up finish in the rain-shortened event. The third-year team is hoping that Hamlin’s expertise at the “Tricky Triangle” can help propel them to their first win in the Pocono Mountains, as the challenging three-turn track is one of just seven venues on the 2012 Truck Series schedule where KBM has yet to claim victory. The #18 Tundra has come up one spot short in each of its first two Truck Series starts at Pocono Raceway – Kasey Kahne piloted the team’s Toyota to a runner-up finish in the inaugural event and owner-driver Kyle Busch duplicated that finish in last year’s race.(Kyle Busch Motorsports PR) [Image of the #18-GNC Franchising Toyota is posted on the #18 NCWTS 2012 Paint Schemes page.(7-31-2012)
