Kyle Petty Delivers Reality Check for Denny Hamlin & Martin Truex Jr. Ahead of Make-or-Break Martinsville Race

Heading into this weekend’s race at Martinsville Speedway, the pressure is at an all-time high for Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. Both of these drivers were favorites for the championship when the playoffs began until they went south with whatever plans they had. But after a string of poor races, now is the time to strike back and claim the final two remaining spots for the race at Phoenix.

In light of this, NASCAR insider Kyle Petty recently shared his thoughts and shattered all the hype behind Hamlin and Martinsville is his playground. He threw in an interesting point regarding former HMS teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, that put Hamlin’s chances to win on Sunday into perspective.

Kyle Petty granulates Denny Hamlin’s expectations with ex-HMS teammate’s example

While speaking on the Motorsports on NBC Podcast, Petty mentioned, “Every time we go to Martinsville, we hear Denny Hamlin, Denny Hamlin, Denny Hamlin. Let me just throw two names at you: Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have won at Martinsville since Denny Hamlin has.”

“Okay, so let me just throw that out there. Martin Truex has three wins. I think some of those other guys have one win-a-piece. Some of the other guys in the playoffs. My point is, is that’s not Denny’s playground anymore. It wasn’t one point in time. So I think there’s pressure on Denny Hamlin coming in here.”

Hamlin holds five race wins throughout his career at Martinsville, and has also called the track to be his favorite place to race in. However, heading into the race, he would have to win to make it to the championship finale, even though it is not really a must-win situation for him considering his points cushion. But he does need to have a good race this weekend, or this will no longer be his year.

Kyle Petty shares his stance on Martin Truex Jr. heading into Martinsville

Speaking further into the podcast, Petty explained, “I also think even though Martin Truex has won three races there recently, I think there’s pressure on Martin Truex. This is going to test their mettle as a team. Can they climb back in? These are two guys that 90% of the population had in the Final Four.” 

Additionally, Petty stated that Ryan Blaney seemed more like a championship prospect over the two JGR teammates. This had been after witnessing consistent results from the Team Penske driver. Although considering the points deficit at the moment, he would have to perform really well and challenge the likes of Hamlin and Truex to make way for himself at Phoenix.

At the start of the postseason, Truex Jr. had been a championship prospect. But as the races progressed, he only managed to descend into a downward spiral, at one point he was on the verge of being eliminated as well. If there is any hope of seeing the regular season champion and his teammate, who has been confident about this being his year all this while, get into the race at Phoenix would be to finish as high as possible this weekend.