MARTINSVILLE, Va. – It’s a perfect weather weekend for racing at Martinsville Speedway, and today’s Cup Series practice session delivered plenty of action. Denny Hamlin hit a snag when his car got loose in a turn, causing him to spin out and hit the wall. Fortunately, Hamlin was unharmed and attributed the mishap to rubber buildup around his throttle. After passing inspection, his team repaired the car, allowing him to keep his primary vehicle, though he’ll start from the rear.
Hamlin’s incident is another tough break for him at Martinsville, a track where he consistently has one of the fastest cars. He’s not alone in speed, however—teammate Martin Truex Jr. earned the Busch Light Pole Award, making this weekend even more meaningful as he prepares to retire from full-time racing at the season’s end.
“Anytime you win anything in this, it’s exciting,” Truex said. “Practice was awesome and fun, and to back it up in qualifying felt good. I still know how to go fast around here, which is great. We just need to figure out how to go fast on the long run tomorrow.”
Hamlin reflected on the challenges of the fall race at Martinsville, saying, “It seems like the fall race everyone brings their best, and certainly we’ve had some unfortunate circumstances at the end of the races here that have kept us out of victory lane.”
Playoff drivers Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Kyle Larson will also start in the top 10 on Sunday, adding more excitement to this weekend’s race. The XFINITY 500 is Sunday at 2 p.m. on WSLS.