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A16 SPORTS
Tuesday 24 OcTOber 2023
With only 1 race left before NASCAR’s Championship 4 is set,

drama awaits in Martinsville

By TIM REYNOLDS Bell, Truex and Hamlin. “I
AP Sports Writer don’t think anything’s a
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — given … but we do have a
There will surely be elabo- chance.”
rate permutations to show Bell knows exactly what the
all the possibilities of what six hopefuls will be thinking
awaits this coming week- this week. He won at Mar-
end at Martinsville, when tinsville last year to earn
six drivers will battle for the his title shot in Phoenix. He
final two spots in NASCAR’s got his walk-off win a week
Championship 4. earlier this year.
If this guy does this, and this “Your outlook for the race
guy does this, or this guy is completely different. ...
doesn’t do this … the sce- Those guys have a lot more
narios are endless. to race for than what I do
So, perhaps a simpler mind- now going into Martinsville,
set, like the one Denny so the mentality is com-
Hamlin has right now, is the pletely different for them
way to go. Denny Hamlin (11) makes a pit stop during the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Homestead- than it is for me and you
“Try to win it,” Hamlin said. Miami Speedway, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023 in Homestead, Fla. just have to be aware of
That would work, too. Associated Press that,” Bell said.
NASCAR’s season has en- out what might happen coming weekend. Only two Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Homestead showed, once
tered its next-to-last week, over the 500 laps around of these six drivers Hamlin, Jr. and Chris Buescher will again, that nobody ever
and good luck figuring Martinsville’s tight oval this William Byron, Ryan Blaney, emerge with a chance has any idea what’ll hap-
to battle Kyle Larson and pen.
Christopher Bell in Phoenix Bell was about to go a lap
on Nov. 5 to win the Cup down and thought his car
Series title. was one of the slowest in
If any of those six win at the race at one point Sun-
Martinsville, they’ll have a day. He was not thinking
shot at the title. Any other about winning until the fi-
result, break out the calcu- nal 10 laps. He was 13th in
lators. qualifying, ninth in the first
“It’s nice coming in here stage, 22nd in the second
as far out as we did and stage and on top of all
leaving where we’re at,” that, Homestead is not a
Blaney said after finishing track he’s fond of.
second at Homestead- And he won. A caution flag
Miami on Sunday moving in the third stage gave him
from seventh in the eight- a chance, and he took full
driver playoff standings to advantage.
fourth. “A whirlwind,” Bell said, “for
“Just proud of that effort sure.”
and we’ve got to go and Larson’s day at Home-
perform well. Hopefully we stead ended when he
can go do it again in Mar- tried to evade Blaney en-
tinsville.” tering pit road and instead
Larson got his berth in the crashed into the 11 barrels
final by winning at Las Ve- of sand that protect drivers
gas, Bell got his by winning from directly smashing into
at Homestead. Byron by the wall separating that
far is in the best position of alley from the track itself.
the six remaining contend- A few tons of dirt went ev-
ers; he’s 30 points clear of erywhere, and Larson was
the top-four cutoff going literally out in a cloud of
into Martinsville. Blaney is dust.
10 points ahead of fifth. “I’m sorry,” Larson — who
Everyone else either needs took the blame for what
to win which would be an happened — said into his
automatic clinch for Phoe- radio. “I did not expect him
nix or get help. Reddick to slow down that much.”
is fifth, 10 points back of Not long afterward, two of
Blaney. Truex and Hamlin the JGR cars experienced
are both 17 points back their own misfortune. Ham-
and Buescher is 43 points lin’s steering failed and he
off the pace. wound up in the wall, and
“I think it’s hard to get in the moments later, something
Final Four. I’ll tell you that,” happened to Truex’s en-
said Joe Gibbs, the owner gine and smoke came out
of three of the playoff cars the back of his car.q