OPINION: Thoughts Left to Ponder Following Martinsville

Looking at both the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Martisnville Speedway this past weekend, here are some thoughts are left on my mind to ponder.

Racing for the Win: The Right Way vs. The Wrong Way

Both races featured close battles for the victory, but each took a slightly different turn. One route was the right way, while the other route was the wrong way.

The Sprint Cup Series race was the right way to go about it as Brad Keselowski did everything that he could do to try and pass Denny, include a couple bumps along the way, but did not wreck Denny Hamlin. In his words, he raced Hamlin like he would’ve wanted to be raced himself.

On the flip side, you can’t say the same for the truck race. Cole Custer used a bump to get by both Matt Crafton and Joey Logano, sending them up the track. In retaliation, Crafton spun Custer off of turn four to take the lead. When you bump, you risk making your competitor angry, and retaliation. It was to be expected, partially. However, Crafton could’ve made the pass with less contact and instead not drawed a caution. Let’s face it – no caution, Crafton gets away and win the race. Howeer, due to the caution, Logano gets the restart opportunity and boom – he wins the race.

As they say, sometimes it’s better to not retaliate and focus on the job at hand.

Hendrick Motorsports Struggles at Martinsville

Entering Martinsville, all the talk was surrounding Hendrick Motorsports’ dominance. That wasn’t the story after the race, though. In contrast, there were a lot of struggles to be had. Jimmie Johnson spent multiple laps on pit road with the hood up, looking for something that broke. Meanwhile, Earnhardt Jr. had issues with a broken shifter, getting him stuck back in traffic and eventually wrecked. It doesn’t mark the first time that the type of issue has been had, either, as that was something that popped up for Earnhardt last season.

Earnhardt Jr. mentioned something about the transmissions breaking due to the gears they’re pulling, which could be a possibility. Teams look to extend the limits of their parts, trying to keep things as light as possible, and also able to move quickly as possible to produce the most power possible. Are they pushing the limits too far, possibly?

Denny Hamlin’s Victory and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Struggles

The big talk has been the struggle of Joe Gibbs Racing vs. Hendrick Motorsports, Stewart-Haas Racing and Team Penske. Though are they really struggling?

In six races thus far this season, Hamlin has a win and three top-fives. The other three races this season – 38th at Atlanta due to a wreck, 23rd at Phoenix due to pure struggles, and 28th at Fontanta due to a pit road penalty. Though it should be noted that when he suffered the penalty, he had ran in the top-five all day.

While Hamlin struggled at Phoenix, he has been solid at each of the other races thus far this season, proving that he could be part of the championship discussion. But, while he has been solid, he hasn’t been as quick as Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski or Joey Logano. Could it be due to getting used to a new driver-crew chief combo in Hamlin and Dave Rogers? Could it be due to JGR not having cars to equal the others? Needless to say, there may be truth to the story.

Now with a win under his belt, though, he helps those problems. He’s locked in the Chase for the Championship. He doesn’t have to worry as much as other drivers throughout the year. As Dave Rogers said, the monkey is off their back and now they can focus simply on improving as a team before September.