Denny Hamlin passes inspection with repaired car after wreck in practice at Martinsville

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? Here is the crew leaving the inspection tent, via Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports.

Denny Hamlin car is good in tech. pic.twitter.com/yokYN9PqZo

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) November 3, 2024

Denny Hamlin won’t be the only driver going to the rear of the field for adjustments. There were two others that NASCAR decided made unapproved adjustments and acted accordingly.

Denny Hamlin, others sent to 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.

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.