MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Denny Hamlin had the fastest car at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday afternoon, and he will have to hope it remains this way after a hard crash caused significant damage.
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Hamlin, who led all drivers early in the extended 45-minute practice session, hit the wall hard and crumpled the rear of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry XSE. He immediately yelled over the radio that the "throttle stuck."
The team then told him to take the car to the garage. They initially said that he would have to go to the backup car. However, the team pushed the severely damaged No. 11 Toyota Camry through inspection and determined that they could make repairs.
Hamlin still missed qualifying, which meant he will start from the rear of the field on Sunday afternoon.
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"We'd just made an adjustment to the car, and it was doing everything it needed to do, maneuvering through the pack pretty well," Hamlin told media members at his hauler after practice.
"And I went into Turn 3, and the car just didn't slow down and the throttle hung on us."
What caused the throttle to stick? The answer was an unexpected byproduct of the tires that had more wear during practice. Hamlin said that the team had found some rubber in his car.
"There was a large chunk in the throttle body that was still sitting there when we pulled in (to the garage)," Hamlin said.
Regardless of the cause of the crash, Hamlin will have to start the race from the rear of the field. He will also miss out on pit stall selection, so he will be at the mercy of the cars around him while making numerous pit stops.
The good news for Hamlin is that the softer tires appeared to benefit him during practice. He said that he could potentially work his way through the field if the race features long, green-flag runs.
"I thought that the tire was definitely an improvement from what we've had here in the past," Hamlin said. He added that it had about "twice the falloff" of previous tires used at the Virginia short track.
Hamlin enters Sunday afternoon's race below the Championship 4 cutline. He is 18 points behind William Byron, who currently holds the final spot above the cutline.
