Martinsville Preview

March 30th is a day that Denny Hamlin will always remember. When he is retired, with a bunch of grandkids climbing on his lap, he will talk about that day in 2008 when he won the Goody's Cool Orange 500 in front of his hometown crowd. It's the day he took home the Grandfather clock his team had teased him about until he finally won it. Every time he winds it he will recall the champagne flowing and the Gatorade showers he endured as he climbed from his winning race car.

This weekend he returns to Martinsville Speedway to attempt a repeat. This weekend will mark Hamlin’s seventh career Sprint Cup start at Martinsville Speedway and a return to site of his lone Cup victory this season. Hamlin led a total of 82 laps in March to claim his fourth career Cup win and add to his pole win here in the spring 2007 race. Last year Hamlin sat on the pole for the spring race and led 125 laps before finishing third. In his previous starts Hamlin has only finished out of the top-10 once, a 41st place finish when he wrecked out of the spring event in 2006.

Few drivers can say they have raced Late Models, had late-race shootouts with Cup champions as a rookie, and claimed a win all on the same track but that's exactly what Hamlin has experienced at Martinsville. His history at the "paper clip" dates back to his Late Model career and racing in the annual “Taco Bell 300” and “Bailey’s 300” on five occasions from 2000-2004. Hamlin won the pole for the race in 2003 and recorded finishes of 15th, 12th, 7th, 10th and 3rd, respectively.

Martinsville Chassis – JGR 214 & 166: The FedEx team will unload Chassis JGR 214 this weekend at Martinsville. This car started both races at New Hampshire this season, posting finishes of 8th and 9th. Hamlin also drove this car to a 23rd-place finish at Pocono in August. JGR 166 delivered Hamlin's win at Martinsville in March and then dominated at Richmond in May before a cut tire lead to a 24th place finish.

HAMLIN CONVERSATION - MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY

It's no secret that Martinsville is a special place for you - Talk about the win in March and what it means to race here: "Well we definitely didn't think that win in March would be our only win of the season coming back to Martinsville six or seven months later but it just reminds you of how hard it is to win races in the Cup Series. To win at Martinsville was huge for me because, like Richmond, it's a home track for me. I know so many of my fans are here and they have been supportive of me from the days when I was running Late Models here. So to come back here after making it to the Cup series, to win a pole here last season and then to take the grandfather clock home this Spring was unreal. That clock went right to my parent's house in Chesterfield. It just seemed right that it go there. Of all the trophies we talked about winning when we were starting out and racing all over Virginia, it was that clock we always wanted for the house."

With five races to go, there is still time to end this season on a high note. Can Martinsville be a launching pad?: "The spring race here (Martinsville) helped turn around some bad luck from the week before at Bristol - where we ran well and had mechanical issues at the end - and then gave us some momentum for a really good stretch of races for this team. There is something about coming back to a familiar place like Martinsville. I'm sure I have turned more laps here than I have anywhere else considering I raced here growing up and just coming back to a place like this gives me and this whole team confidence. It's a track I know well and it's the kind of track that I still think is my strongest - short, flat tracks that really test your car control. We're not at all happy about the way this Chase has gone for us but it's not about a lack of effort. A good run here could go a long way toward having a strong end to the season because we like the tracks we have left on the schedule and would like nothing more than end this season on a high note."

As a die-hard Denny Hamlin fan, I like to think that my driver has the inside track to Victory Lane. I know what he's capable of and while I realize his flaws unlike anyone else, I also realize his desire to win at this track more than any other. Denny and I have talked about Martinsville and he knows he has had good luck and good runs there. It's a track he is familiar with and given the right combination of things, I am positive that I will see the Fed Ex Toyota in Victory Lane when the checkered flag waves.

I like to think that history has a habit of repeating itself. I also like to think that fire and determination give a driver a distinct advantage. Given the string of bad luck D Ham has gone through over the last few weeks, I know he is hungry for that Chase victory. I for one can't wait to see what he's got for the circuit's oldest track. Qualifying should be interesting. I think the first practice will show what he's got for the rest of the field. I predict a fast race car and perhaps a pole sitting time when time trials are completed. I have an undying devotion to Chesterfield, Virginia's native son and I know he will be stout come race day. So fierce, I like that!