not what I had in mind, Denny Hamlin

So when I wrote about Denny Hamlin atop the NASCAR buzz for the past 2 weeks, an injury is not what I had in mind...

Denny & Joey get into it @ Auto Club Speedway

...I thought maybe he would win from the pole at Auto Club Speedway and then head to his best track on the NASCAR schedule - the "paperclip" known as Martinsville Speedway .  Denny has an average finish of 7.7 at the track w/ 4 wins (12 top 10 & 9 top 5 in 16 starts).  What I'm basically saying is Denny Hamlin most likely owns a share of the track due to his domination.

Denny spent most his childhood in Virginia and loves racing at Martinsville & Richmond International Raceway - the track he hopes to return as the driver of the #11 FedEx car.  His doctor said the back injury he suffered at Auto Club Speedway on March 24 will sideline him for 5 races, which would bring him back for the race at Darlington Raceway on May 11.

Denny has other plans - see Denny Hamlin hoping for an early recovery to race at RIR on April 27.  I'll be there to see it live!  I'm not a Denny fan (and also don't dislike him) but when you have a driver that is so dominating, you want to see him at the track for every race - he makes racing that much better.

Seeing Denny behind the wheel at RIR won't surprise me the least bit considering his 2010 campaign.  In 2010 he raced with a torn ACL, had mid-season surgery without missing a race and finished the season with 8 wins - the man is a doer.

                                                         c/o @pixelcrisp

                                                 c/o @CopaCavanna

He is currently at Martinsville supporting his team so let's hope the crews can maintain balance in the garage.

                                                c/o @HHinsonPhoto

We'll see you in Richmond, Denny!