Martinsville NASCAR Practice Notes

NOTE: Practice was a unified 45-minutes due to the new tire.

Denny Hamlin – Denny Hamlin unloaded fast and climbed to the top of the leaderboard early. Hamlin had great speed over a run. 20-minutes into practice, Hamlin’s throttle struck, and he backed into the wall. Hamlin will be starting in the rear of the field. Before his practice crash, Hamlin ranked #1 for 10,15 and 20-lap averages. Hamlin said his car was phenomenal during an interview following his crash. The #11 team will repair their primary car.

Martin Truex Jr. – Martin Truex Jr. jumped up to #1 overall during a run in the second half of practice. Also, during that run, Truex jumped up to #1 for 10,15 and 20-lap averages. The #19 looked pretty strong. Truex said his car was fast during an interview, but he needs to be better over a long run. Truex said he thinks he’ll be in good shape during the race.

Christopher Bell – Christopher Bell feels more prepared for Martinsville than any previous race here. Bell had the best 30-lap average following the first run of practice. Bell’s opening run was 34 laps. Jeff Burton liked Bell’s speed. When practiced ended, Bell ranked #1 for 25 and 30-lap averages.

Chase Elliott – Elliott looked strong and had good speed. Elliott started with a +40-lap run so he should have a great feel for his car, and he likely liked how it ran. Elliott had the 2nd best 25-lap average following his opening run. Elliott felt like he might be too tight in traffic in terms of the feel for the #9. Jeff Burton viewed Elliott as having one of the best cars in practice.