Hamlin captures pole; Elliott changes engine
MARTINSVILLE, VA. » Denny Hamlin has won the pole at Martinsville Speedway, where the five-time winner will attempt to lock himself into NASCAR’s championship race.
Hamlin turned a lap at 97.840 mph in his Toyota from Joe Gibbs Racing to earn the top starting spot in Sunday’s playoff race. It is the opening event of the round of eight and the field will be whittled over the next three races to the four drivers who will compete for the championship.
Chase Elliott qualified second but will forfeit that position at the start of the race as punishment for an engine change. He will drop to the back of the field, but his strong qualifying effort still gave him a very good pit stall that should ease his Chevrolet’s battle from the back.
“It’s pretty simple, we need to try to win,” NASCAR’s most popular driver said.
The engine made by Hendrick Motorsports failed just five laps in to the first of Saturday’s two practice sessions.
Elliott is now susceptible to dropping a lap down at NASCAR’s shortest track if his Chevrolet is not perfect at the start. The paperclipshaped 0.526-mile oval takes under 20 seconds per lap, and the leaders could be on Elliott’s bumper in no time.
“We broke a motor there, five laps in, and yeah, unfortunate way to start the day and it is what it is at this point,” Elliott said. “Starting in the back will be unfortunate in the first stage, but there’s nothing I can do now.”
Martin Truex Jr., Hamlin’s teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, qualified third and was followed by four Ford drivers, with Ryan Blaney at sixth the best of the contenders.
Kyle Larson qualified 14th, a spot behind points leader Kyle Busch, and confirmed he’s been racing with a fractured rib suffered in a crash at Talladega Superspeedway two weeks ago.
Kevin Harvick was the lowest qualifying playoff driver at 22nd.
Tifft taken to hospital
MARTINSVILLE, VA. » Matt Tifft fell ill before practice at Martinsville Speedway and was taken to a hospital for tests.
Matt Crafton replaced him. Crafton drove the No. 36 for Front Row Motorsports in both of Saturday’s practices.
Tifft is in his first Cup season and has one top-10 finish in 32 races this season. Front Row Motorsports said any updates on Tifft’s condition would come from the team.
Verstappen stripped of pole at Mexican GP
MEXICO CITY » Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has been knocked from the pole position to fourth for the start of Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix after race stewards determined he drove at unsafe speeds after Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas crashed late in qualifying.
The change will put Ferrari 1-2 with Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton will start third as he chases the season championship.
Verstappen, the two-time defending race champion, had pulled out a stunning lap to dislodge Ferrari, but he did it while driving past the crashed car of Bottas, who was just ahead of him went he went into the wall in the final sector.
Race stewards imposed the penalty more than three hours after qualifying ended.