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Richard Petty said Denny Hamlin‘s day at Martinsville Speedway “was really disappointing,” and TV analysts said the wrong strategy and a car that faded on long runs cost him his best chance to catch Kyle Larson.
Hamlin started on the pole and finished sixth. He is third in the standings, 70 points behind Larson with one race left.
Petty: ‘If Denny was ever going to show anything’
Petty, the seven-time Cup champion, said on the Petty Racing Recap with Dale Inman that he expected Hamlin to take a big bite out of Larson’s lead.
“I figured if Denny was ever going to show anything, it was going to be at Martinsville,” Petty said. “When he started on pole, I said, ‘Okay, they’ve got their stuff together, and the 5 car is going to be hard-pressed to gain any points on him.’”
His verdict: “That was really disappointing.”
Petty said Larson can play it safe at Homestead. “All he’s got to do is have a good start and he can stop halfway through the race and still win a championship,” he said.
Letarte: ‘Wrong strategy with a car that was not good on that long run’
Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team kept him out during the green-flag pit stops in Stage 1, while William Byron and many others pitted for fresh tires. Hamlin dropped to 17th by the end of the stage, and Larson, who also stayed out, was a lap down in 23rd.
“The most successful, the pitting group, William Byron pitted, drove up, won the first stage, never looked back, controlled the race,” Steve Letarte said on Inside the Race. “The other side, the 11 of Denny Hamlin, got passed by the 60, and then that 11-car fell off the cliff. So now, wrong strategy with a car that was not good on that long run.”
https://x.com/SteveLetarte/status/2117369435623191029
Jamie McMurray said that was unusual for Hamlin’s team. “The thing that has played into the 11’s advantage a lot of times is that they’re exceptional in the long run,” McMurray said. “At a place like Martinsville, where it’s this little small racetrack, when you lose drive or rear grip, you’re just out to lunch and you can get lapped and lose track position so fast.”
Hamlin’s take
Hamlin was later spun in a Lap 216 crash with teammate Christopher Bell after contact from Joey Logano. He said after the race that staying out in Stage 1 was “an absolute killer” and that winning the title is now “unrealistic,” as Pit This Time reported.
The Cup Series finale is Sunday, November 8, at 3 p.m. ET on NBC from Homestead-Miami Speedway.
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