Even with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee, Denny Hamlin still had what it took to post his second-ever victory at the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 at the Martinsville Speedway at the end of March. Hamlin cruised into Victory Lane on March 29, enduring a rain delay that postponed his ACL surgery by two days. Hamlin’s first-place finish at Martinsville was his first of the year, and the Joe Gibbs Racing superstar now stands at No. 15 on Sprint Cup standings for the season.
Denny Hamlin finished in first place for the second time in three years at the recent Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500, beating teammate Joey Logano in the final stretch of the NASCAR showdown. Jeff Gordon finished third at Martinsville, with Ryan Newman in fourth and Martin Truex Jr. in fifth place. The race, delayed a day due to rain, went back and forth on possession from Hamlin to Jeff Burton for most of the day, but in the end a last-minute gamble with a tire pit paid off for No. 11, who ultimately regained his race-leading position and stole the show in Martinsville.
For everyone with <a href=”http://www.stubhub.com/nascar-tickets/”>NASCAR tickets</a> to this year’s Martinsville Sprint Cup race, the excitement only grew with seven laps left to go in the race, when Hamlin went in to pit. The green-white-checkered flag finish was a rousing way for the Martinsville race to go out with a bang, and at the end of the day race winner Denny Hamlin told the USA Today, “It was an eventful day for us. I didn’t think it was going to be this hard or that dramatic at the end. Nonetheless, it’s a good feeling.”
Hamlin started the Martinsville race in 19th position, making a steady back-to-front flip during the 508 laps of the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500. Now that he’s a bona fide NASCAR winner this year, Hamlin will look forward to the next stretch of Cup Series races as they take the racing circuit into the summertime months. Next up for NASCAR’s biggest and best drivers will be Phoenix (April 10), Texas (April 18) and Talladega (April 25), with several more big-time races smoldering through the month of May.
If Martinsville’s results were any indication of how the next segment of the NASCAR schedule will play out, Denny Hamlin is in for one wild ride. The Chesterfield, Va. native has had only lukewarm success in the first part of racing season, placing 17th at Daytona, 29th at Fontana, 19th at Las Vegas, 21st at Atlanta and 19th at Bristol. Now that he’s crossed into winning territory, however, Hamlin is revved up and ready to go – after his knee surgery, that is.
Hamlin underwent surgery for a torn ACL, which he endured while playing basketball in January, just two days after his Martinsville victory, but taking time off for recovery just isn’t in his plans. Hamlin is scheduled to be back in action at the next Sprint Cup Series race on April 10 in Phoenix, though backup Casey Mears will be on standby for the race as a relief driver should Hamlin need one.
Jenna Jay wrote this article, which is sponsored by StubHub.com. <a href=”http://www.stubhub.com/”>StubHub</a> is a leader in the business of selling <a href=”http://www.stubhub.com/nascar-tickets/”>NASCAR tickets</a>, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.
