UPDATE (4 p.m. ET): A bad day has gotten worse for Denny Hamlin on Lap 180 of today’s Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Hamlin was collected in a multi-car pileup in Turn 2 that also involved David Ragan, Martin Truex Jr., and Cole Whitt. The damage sustained to Hamlin’s car was enough to send him to the garage.
Fuel probe issues around Lap 100 had caused him to fall several laps down earlier in the race.
Hamlin was running second when he pitted under green at Lap 95. His Joe Gibbs Racing team later confirmed on Twitter that the stop was due to a problem with the fuel probe.
The fuel probe on the car is not engaging, disallowing fuel to flow. Crew trying to prepare a repair. #NASCAR
A caution on Lap 105 for debris gave Hamlin and the No. 11 team a chance to fix the problem. The deck lid on Hamlin’s Toyota went up as the team replaced the fuel-filling apparatus.
The problems caused Hamlin and crew chief Darian Grubb to have a mini-spat over the radio. From MRN’s Dustin Long:
#NASCAR … Hamlin: "Dude, we suck at this." Grubb responds: "I don't need U doing that. Keep your month shut until we get it fixed." #AskMRN
Hamlin returned to the track in 41st place at four laps off the leaders’ pace. He lost a fifth lap on the race track before he was caught in the Lap 180 incident.
He entered today sixth on the Chase Grid at 12 points above the cutoff of the Top 12 that will advance to the Contender Round.
But with this setback, next week’s Challenger Round finale at Dover International Speedway may become his biggest race of the season depending on how his fellow Chasers fare this afternoon.
Three riders remain locked in a tight battle with 17 points separating the leader Cooper Webb from third-place Chase Sexton and these are only a few Supercross numbers to consider entering Seattle.Chase Sexton made a statement in Detroit with his second win of 2023. – Feld Motor Sports
Webb and Tomac won the last four championships with two apiece in alternating years, but they were not one another’s primary rival for most of those seasons. On the average, however, the past four years show an incredible similarity with average points earned of 21.0 for Webb and 21.3 for Tomac. With five wins so far this season, Tomac (23 wins) leads Webb (19) in victories but Webb (43) edges Tomac (41) in podium finishes during this span.
Tomac has won two of the last three Seattle races and those two wins in this stadium are topped only by James Stewart. Fittingly, if Tomac gets a third win this week, he will tie Stewart for second on the all-time wins’ list. Tomac tied Ricky Carmichael for third with 48 wins at Oakland and took sole possession of that spot with his Daytona win.
Sexton still has a lot to say and after winning last week in Detroit, he is speaking up. The Supercross numbers are against him entering Seattle, however, because a points’ deficit this large after Round 10 has been erased only once. In 1983 David Bailey was 47 points behind Bob Hannah, and like Sexton he was also in third place. Bailey took the points’ lead with one race remaining.
The seven points Sexton was penalized last week for jumping in a red cross flag section in Detroit could prove extremely costly.
In fact, it has been a series of mistakes that has cost Sexton the most. In the last two weeks, he lost 10 points with a 10th-place finish to go with his penalty. Erase those, and all three riders hold their fate in their hands.
Plessinger’s heartbreak in Detroit is still fresh, but the upside of his run is that was his best of the season and could turn his fortunes around. Prior to that race, he led only seven laps in three mains. He was up front for 20 laps in Detroit with five of those being the fastest on the track.
Last week’s win by Hunter Lawrence tied him with his brother Jett Lawrence for 17th on the all-time wins’ list. With the focus shifting to 250 West for the next two rounds, Jett has a great opportunity to pull back ahead. The real test will be at the first East / West Showdown in East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 22.
Last Five Seattle Winners
450s 2022: Eli Tomac
2019: Marvin Musquin
2018: Eli Tomac
2017: Marvin Musquin
2014: Ryan Villopoto
