Page 17 - ARUBA TODAY

A17
Friday 6 december 2019

BUCKS

SHOT

Team owner Joe Gibbs, left,
speaks after being given the Bill
France Award of Excellence
at the NASCAR Cup Series
Awards on Thursday, Dec. 5,
2019, in Nashville, Tenn.
Associated Press
Joe Gibbs
honored

with

NASCAR’s

award of
excellence

JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) —
Joe Gibbs was honored
with the Bill France Award
of Excellence, capping
a year in which he was
elected to NASCAR’s Hall
of Fame, won his fifth Cup
championship as a car
owner and thoroughly
dominated the competi-
tion. Gibbs was surprised
with the honor, given at
the start of Thursday night’s
season-ending awards
ceremony. “Our family,
we just appreciate every-
thing about this sport,”
Gibbs said. “We were wor-
ried about coming into Bucks’ winning streak at 13
NASCAR, and we were
welcomed in. It’s a thrill after 127-103 rout of Pistons
for us.” The award named
for NASCAR’s late founder
is not given every year. Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the (34) attempts a layup as Detroit Pistons guard Tony
last recipient in 2017 and it
was not awarded last year. Snell (17) defends during the first half of an NBA
There have been only 26 basketball game, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019, in
winners since the award Detroit.
began in 1965. Gibbs re- Associated Press
ceived the award from Ben
Kennedy, the great-grand- Page 20
son of its namesake.q