"He’s not going to lose the car like that": Richard Petty rallies behind Denny Hamlin after JGR driver's uncharacteristic Homestead crash

Hall of Famer Richard Petty has backed Denny Hamlin after his recent crash at Homestead.

Denny Hamlin had reiterated his promise that this season would be his after the victory at Bristol. He had posted on social media, "It's our year" and went on to discuss how he felt that 2023 would be different for him.

However, things started to change quickly for Hamlin heading into the playoffs at Martinsville, where he found himself right below the cutoff line. Last week at Homestead, after something broke off from the No.11's steering wheel, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver slammed into the outside wall.

With just two points separating him from teammate Christopher Bell and tying him with another driver Martin Truex Jr., Hamlin will almost certainly go to the elimination race below the cutline.

In a recent interview, Richard Petty shed some light on what Hamlin can do to still fight for the championship.

“He needs to improve his finishing in order for him to win a championship,” Petty said on X (formerly Twitter).

He added:

"If you look back at the last 3 or 4 races, he’s probably been as dominant of car that’s been out there."

His luck just hasn’t been with him where he was able to finish off the races and just like Sunday, he had a little bit of different strategy than everybody and it was working for him and something broke on the car because he’s not the kind of a driver that’s gonna lose the car like that.”

Hamlin's attempt to make it to the final four of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will be heavily impacted by his 30th-place finish in Homestead.

---

Can Denny Hamlin turn all odds against his favor at Martinsville?

Going into Martinsville this weekend, Denny Hamlin finds himself outside of the top four after his crash at Homestead due to a steering wheel failure.

NASCAR Cup Series 4EVER 400 Presented by Mobil 1

For the fourth and final position in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Championship race which is scheduled on November 5 in Phoenix, Hamlin is currently 17 points behind Ryan Blaney going into Martinsville.

Winning is the best chance for Hamlin to secure his place in the top four. Ahead of Martinsville, Hamlin is clearly the favourite to take a win.

Martinsville happens to be Hamlin's favourite track. He has won five times and has 18 top-five finishes from his 35 starts on the track.