After setting the quickest time early in observe, issues went very mistaken for Denny Hamlin. The automobile fired off into Flip 3 as a excessive fee of velocity, spinning sideways and backing into the skin wall.
“Caught throttle! F****** caught throttle!” exclaimed Hamlin the radio. There was vital injury to the rear clip of the automobile. Hamlin drove the wounded No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota again to the storage. As he climbed from the automobile, he slammed his helmet down on the roof in frustration.
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry
Picture by: Bozi Tatarevic
After narrowly lacking out on the win at Homestead, Hamlin enters Martinsville 18 factors beneath the cut-line. It might have been tough, however he may have pointed his approach in with the advantage of levels, however that path is probably going gone now. Until one thing shocking occurs to the Hendrick Motorsports drivers in entrance of him, a win could also be mandatory on Sunday.
He won’t participate in qualifying and can begin from the rear of the sector. And Martinsville is a monitor the place passing is tough and people within the again are lapped reasonably shortly, so this actually places him behind for Sunday. The group has the selection to both make repairs to the first or go to a backup for the race. In the mean time, they’re making an attempt to repair the first and can run it via inspection to test the measurements.
Hamlin was the primary driver to overlook out on the ultimate 4 in each 2022 and 2023. He’s the winningest driver in NASCAR Cup Sequence historical past and not using a championship as effectively. It is a glass ceiling he merely can’t appear to brea and a myriad of points have plagued him all through the playoffs this 12 months.
Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick are the 2 drivers locked into the title-decider at Phoenix with Christopher Bell +29 factors and William Byron +7 factors on the cut-line.
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