Kyle Petty looks ahead to crucial weekend for Joe Gibbs Racing drivers at Martinsville

Joe Gibbs Racing experienced some awesome highs at Homestead, but the team also had some demoralizing lows on Sunday.

While Christopher Bell won the race and locked himself into the Championship 4, teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin ended up not finishing the race, and now face must-win scenarios at Martinsville. The dream of getting three JGR cars into the Championship 4 died last weekend.

Ahead of what’s to be a fascinating battle at Martinsville, NBC Sports’ Kyle Petty took some time to look at the crucial weekend for Hamlin, Truex Jr. and one of NASCAR’s top teams.

“Here’s the deal, when I look at Martinsville I think, ‘Okay, what’s the biggest day at Martinsville?’ The biggest day at Martinsville is going to be qualifying. Where you qualify is kind of where you’re going to finish,” Petty theorized. “You’ve got to have a great, solid day. It starts on Saturday. It’s going to be interesting to see what Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex do.

“Of the contenders, Martin Truex has three wins. William Byron has a win. Christopher Bell has a win. [Kyle] Larson has a win. It’s going to be tough, especially with this new car, to make up a 17-point deficit. Even if one of them does, the other one’s going to be eliminated. That’s the crazy part about this. Two title contenders from JGR are eliminated, maybe, at Homestead.”

Alas, the two drivers who competed for NASCAR’s regular season title could be on the outside looking in come Phoenix. Moreover, Petty continued to elaborate on JGR’s tough day at Homestead, and why it’s going to make Martinsville so difficult for the team.

“A horrendous day for Joe Gibbs Racing even though Christopher Bell wins the race,” Petty said Monday. “Two of their contenders, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr., they were gonna be good in points and all of a sudden within one lap, from Lap 236 to 237, both eliminated. Denny Hamlin breaks something going into Turn 1 and eliminates his day, gets in the wall. Martin Truex has engine failure. Now Martin Truex had a horrendous day on pit road, and that’s what put him in a bad position all day long. 

“The third thing that happened bad for Joe Gibbs Racing is Christopher Bell wins the race because that puts Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex at a deficit of minus 17. If Ryan Blaney or someone else won the race, it was a little bit tighter. Best-case scenario, Kyle Larson wins the race.”

Time will tell if Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. or neither make it to the Championship 4, but this is far from the best case scenario for Joe Gibbs Racing at the moment.