Denny Hamlin, Austin Cindric, Corey LaJoie starting in rear at Martinsville

Before the start of today’s race, Denny Hamlin, Austin Cindric, and Corey LaJoie are all being moved to the rear of the field. Each team made adjustments to their cars. So, NASCAR has moved them to the back as is the rule.

We knew that Denny Hamlin would be in the back. He wrecked his car in practice and his team spent hours repairing it for the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville today.

Austin Cindric already had inspection issues this weekend. He will be at a deficit to start. Corey LaJoie, who had a fast car in practice, took damage to the right rear and had repairs made as well.

Cindric LaJoie and Hamlin to the rear for adjustments.

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) November 3, 2024

Denny Hamlin and his team had a long day on Saturday. His wreck in practice set them back. For whatever reason, Chris Gabehart and the crew wanted to fix the primary instead of pulling out the backup.

With a win likely needed to make the Championship 4, Hamlin has his hands full. Of course, Cindric and LaJoie will be busy as well, but they don’t have playoff implications hanging over their heads.

A piece of tire rubber from these softer compound tires wedged itself into the throttle body on Hamlin’s Camry. That left his throttle open and put him in the wall. Most of the car was salvaged, and the team passed inspection this morning. Now they just have to make their way through the field.

Denny Hamlin passes inspection with repaired car

Yesterday after wrecking in practice, Denny Hamlin’s team has repaired the primary car and passed through inspection. Hamlin will still start today’s NASCAR Playoffs elimination race at Martinsville in the rear of the field.

Denny Hamlin had one of the fastest cars in practice prior to his wreck. A piece of tire rubber lodged itself into the throttle body, holding his throttle open as he entered Turn 3.

To his credit, Hamlin managed to back the car into the wall rather than hitting it head-on. That saved the car for repairs, something the team clearly wanted to do. No backup car here, this is the primary that the JGR crew spent so much time to make perfect.

Will it pay off? That remains to be seen. However, it is very interesting how much this team wanted to keep this primary car as their car. If Denny Hamlin pulls it off and races from the back to the front – it will be a genius move from Gabehart and his team.