WATCH: Martin Truex Jr. and others react to Denny Hamlin’s qualifying spin

NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 - Qualifying
Martin Truex Jr. in the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 - Qualifying (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. barely missed out on advancing into the second round of qualifying session at the Charlotte Roval. His teammate Denny Hamlin however had an adventurous outing in the top-10 shootout on Saturday.

Hamlin managed to advance into the second round of the qualifying session at the 2.28-mile track at Charlotte Motor Speedway before he spun around in the final minutes of the session without posting a time on the board.

The #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver was making his first attempt at a flying lap when he lost control entering the chicane on the backstretch. Hamlin's car entered the chicane sideways, clipped the curbs, and sent it airborne with just one wheel in contact with the ground.

Martin Truex Jr., who was eliminated in the second round, was in the middle of his media session when he gave a live reaction to Hamlin's crash, calling out the 'damn turtles' (curbs) for the accident.

Here is the clip shared by Stephen Stumpf on X (formerly Twitter):

Following the incident late in the session, Denny Hamlin was unable to set a lap time and will start on the fifth row. Hamlin's spin also thwarted his JGR teammate Ty Gibbs from posting a time on the board. The rookie will also start beside his teammate in the fifth row.

Martin Truex Jr. follows close behind as he will start in the sixth row while Christopher Bell, the defending winner at the Charlotte Roval, will be starting on the front row alongside polesitter Tyler Reddick.


Martin Truex Jr. hopeful of a solid run at Charlotte to advance into the Round of 8

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season champion has had a dreaded run in the playoffs, as he is yet to score his first top-15 finish after five races.

Martin Truex Jr. is currently sixth in the standings 17 points above the cutline. Heading into the elimination race at Charlotte, he reckons there is no room for errors with close and tight racing with the next-gen cars.

“Ever since we went to the NextGen car, everything has been closer and it makes it challenging, for sure. It’s harder to find an advantage. It’s harder to run at the front every week, consistently."

The #19 JGR driver is hoping for a solid run on Sunday to keep his title hopes alive.

“Everything is tighter, closer together, less room for error—and you really have to be on top of things. The points situation is the same as every other race. It’s really, really hard to be at the front all of the time, and this weekend, we just need a solid day to hopefully, get us through with some good tracks for us coming up.”

Catch Martin Truex Jr. and others live in action in the Bank of America Roval 400 this Sunday, October 8 at 2:00 pm ET.

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Edited by Prathik BR
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