Ground To Gain: Hamlin Seeks Martinsville Rebound
Roadblocks.
That’s 2011, thus far, for Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota) who’s been stymied nearly every time he’s taken a green flag. Definitely not the preferred path for the reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series runner-up, who gets, this week, perhaps the perfect prescription for his competitive ills:
Martinsville Speedway.
Hamlin rocks the venerable, .526-mile venue. He’s won three consecutive events at the Virginia short track, where a victory in Sunday’s Goody’s Fast Relief 500 would provide the perfect tonic, plus tie a record. If he prevails, the Virginia native will join Fred Lorenzen as the only drivers to win four consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Martinsville. Lorenzen did so from 1963-65.
Such karma would be welcomed. Hamlin heads to Martinsville 21st in the series standings, the worst start of his six-year career. Finishes of 21st at Daytona International Speedway, 11th at Phoenix International Raceway, seventh at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 33rd at Bristol Motor Speedway and 39th at Auto Club Speedway have necessitated a serious game of catch-up, somewhat exacerbated by Joe Gibbs Racing engine woes.
Hamlin’s team changed engines before both the season-opening Daytona 500 and the schedule’s third race at Las Vegas, where he finished a season-high seventh on backup power. And engine failure knocked Hamlin to a 39th-place result last week in California, costing him four places in the standings and tightening the Martinsville microscope. Click here to Read more at Speedway Meadia Racing News
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