The 2024 season for JGR veterans Martin Truex Jr and Denny Hamlin has been full of ups and downs. MTJ previously this year announced his retirement after the current season and was hoping to end his Cup career on a high note. But after a mediocre regular season, the JGR driver remained winless and barely made it to the playoffs on points. And the playoffs were no different either; Truex Jr, in the very first round, got eliminated.

Can you imagine that the Series is heading to its penultimate race and the 2017 Cup Series champion has only recently won his first pole position of the season at Martinsville? Maybe NASCAR’s shortest short track can give the #19 a chance of redemption and end his Cup career with a win. While Jr. is pleased, Hamlin’s Martinsville weekend is not off to a good start. Hamlin is entering the race in a must-win situation and has gotten the worst possible starting position. MTJ recently expressed his concerns for the #11 team.

Martin Truex Jr opens up on Hamlin’s Martinsville situation

What happened was, in the practice session on the track, Hamlin was the fastest car before a chunk of rubber got stuck in his throttle body, and his car coming into turn 3 spun and the rear crashed into the wall. Unfortunately for Hamlin, the car was beyond repairable and he missed out on qualifying, now starting the race from P37. After not having an ideal playoff season, the Florida native has found himself in the elimination zone entering Martinsville as he is -18 points below the cutline.

And Martinsville is one of Denny Hamlin‘s best tracks where he also happens to be the winningest active driver with 5 wins. Hamlin, detailing the crash, said, “I went in Turn 3, and the car just didn’t slow down, and the throttle hung on us. So that certainly caught me off guard. But it happens, you know. We just got unlucky.” Martin Truex Jr. knows how disappointing it must have made Hamlin to watch from the sidelines as others ran their laps, knowing he could have easily taken a top 5 spot. Putting himself in the perfect position for a win.

After the qualification, MTJ, in a press conference, spoke about Hamlin’s practice crash as he dwelled on the time he faced a similar problem. Truex Jr. said, “I had my throttle stick here one year. I guess 2010 and it wasn’t pretty. That was a mechanical thing, that wasn’t bad luck. I mean I can’t even believe that happened to him today. His whole season is on the line, one of his best tracks.“

Yet, Jr. is hopeful that the #11 team will bounce back. “I hope their backup car is as good as their primary because you can never count Denny (Hamlin) out, here. They could come from the back, no question about it. No question if that car’s right. I hope for them that they had a backup that’s just as good.”

In the press conference, Martin Truex Jr. kept reiterating that, hopefully, Hamlin’s backup car is just as good as the primary one. However, Jr. had to be corrected by the journalists present that Hamlin would be running the same car. This had the #19 driver puzzled. It is because the car that crashed is really fast and will give Hamlin his best shot at the track to win and reach Phoenix.

Why does the #11 team want the wrecked car back?

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The reason why Hamlin was so bummed out was also because his Toyota Camry was possibly the fastest one on the grid. After the crash, the veteran said, “The car was phenomenal. It was doing everything it needed to do. We had just made a change and then went back out to assess the change and thought it was right where it needed to be.” And this is why the #11 team and crew chief Chris Gabehart are doing everyone in their power to bring the same car into the race on Sunday. And if it performs the same, Hamlin might still have a chance at winning the race.

Gabehart, on the car’s condition, said, “Most of the (rear) clip looks fine, we think. We’re gonna go take a couple measurements here in a minute, and then it would just be replacing some body panels and a bumper and getting back to it. There were a lot of good things about this car. Obviously, it fired off really fast and then was even better yet there. We’re going to do the best we can to get this fixed.” This is quite literally a do-or-die situation for the #11 team and if repairing a crashed car is what it takes, then be it!

However, it’s beyond MTJ’s understanding why they are using the same car, and cautions the team to be careful with it. “How does your throttle stick Martinsville and you don’t go to a backup car…” He was then told the #11 Team was fixing it. A puzzled Jr. said, “Alright. Your throttle can stick at Martinsville and you can continue to use the same car. I have no idea what I am talking about (laughing). Clearly. I hope they get it fixed right. It could be bent and they don’t know it. These things are very sensitive. Hopefully, it works out.”

Well, only time will tell if Hamlin can bring his best performance to Martinsville or not and climb up to take the win. What do you think? Can he? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.