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Stock Car Scoop: What Could Denny Hamlin Have Done Differently at Martinsville?

After 400 laps at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday (April 7), William Byron emerged victorious at The Paperclip for his third triumph of the season and a milestone win amid Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary celebration.

See also
William Byron Victorious in Overtime, Wins in Martinsville

Adam Cheek and Alex Gintz discuss the largely uneventful race, from what Denny Hamlin could’ve done to salvage a better finish to how racing at the track could be improved.

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About the author

Adam Cheek joined Frontstretch as a contributing writer in January 2019. A 2020 graduate of VCU, he covered sports there and later spent a year and a half as a sports host on 910 the Fan in Richmond, VA. He's freelanced for Richmond Magazine and the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and also hosts the "Adam Cheek's Sports Week" podcast. Adam has followed racing since the age of three, inheriting the passion from his grandfather, who raced in amateur events up and down the East Coast in the 1950s.

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Kevin in SoCal

Why do we care what Denny Hamlin could have done differently? Byron was the most dominant car.

wildcatsfan2016

Yes! Totally agree with you, Kevin. Denny got a gift last week when he jumped the restart & NASCAR didn’t act to pull it all back, reset the field and start again.

Bill B

I was wondering the same thing for the same reason.
DH sure seems to get more covered than he should, but maybe that’s because he seems to be much more prone to air his grievances in the press that most of his peers. If you keep feeding the press, they will come back for more every time.

Echo

Has bubba become a better driver or is it the Gibbs car !!!

DoninAjax

That’s a rhetorical question, right?

sdelfin

When I try to guess on strategy, I get things wrong plenty, but this time I thought the call to get tires was baffling. There was every indication up to that point that tires were less important for such a short run than at other tracks. With passing as difficult as it was, and it’s alayws difficult at Martinsville, I suspected it wasn’t going to work. They probably expected more people to pit and they’d start maybe sixth or seventh. I guess, with some wins, they figured they’d try something to win, but they likely did throw away a top-five and top-ten.

Kevin in SoCal

Yes, I read elsewhere they expected more people to pit and Hamlin would start 5th or 6th.

wildcatsfan2016

glad they guessed wrong!

Echo

Those 3 Hendrick cars weren’t going to pit no matter what. Quit giving whiner Hamlin ink, the end of this race had nothing to do with him.

DoninAjax

Denny probably believes he deserved to win that event too!

Shayne

Hamlin was told to stay out if the leaders pitted, come in if they don’t. They stayed out. Unless there were going to be multiple overtime restarts, stopping for tires was a waste.