Denny Hamlin hoping organizational test will help him rekindle Martinsville magic

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – In years past, Denny Hamlin has excelled in races held at Martinsville Speedway. Unfortunately for Hamlin, this isn’t years past. “If you just try to go to the same race track and have the same techniques that you had for 20 years, with a new car and new tire, that’s just not going to work,” Hamlin, the driver of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota, said Tuesday at the track. “This is not a track that is going to be in our wheelhouse (in the playoffs), which is unfortunate knowing the knowledge that I have here and knowing what I need to get out of the car for speed.” That’s what makes Tuesday and Wednesday’s organizational test at Martinsville Speedway so important for Hamlin and many other teams and drivers as they look to find speed and improve handling in advance of the Xfinity 500 on Oct. 30. RELATED: Photos from Tuesday's Martinsville test The Xfinity 500 is the last race in the Round of 8 during the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs and will set the stage for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 6. Hamlin is the active wins leader at Martinsville with five victories in 33 NASCAR Cup Series starts at the track. However, he was noticeably slow during April’s Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 and finished 28th, three laps behind winner William Byron. Teams utilized the new tire compound from Goodyear during Tuesday’s portion of the test. That new compound for the fall race was decided upon following a Goodyear tire test held at Martinsville at the end of June. Alex Bowman said it was hard to tell a difference between the new tire and the one used in April due to the significantly different track conditions. “It was a long time ago and I think the track conditions were so different,” Bowman said. “Hard to directly compare it. There is maybe more falloff than there was, which I think is pretty important to have a good Martinsville race."   [caption id="attachment_363840" align="aligncenter" width="1500"] Kyle Larson drove the No. 5 Chevrolet to the fastest time during Tuesday's organizational test at Martinsville Speedway. (Adam Fenwick | NASCAR Digital Media)[/caption] Kyle Larson, the most recent winner in NASCAR Cup Series competition at Watkins Glen International, was fastest during Tuesday’s portion of the test with a best lap time of 20.128 seconds. It’s a positive sign for Larson, who admits that Martinsville is not his best venue on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. “Martinsville is my worst race track,” Larson said. “I just don’t have a good feel for this place. Anytime I can get more laps it’s definitely beneficial just to help me get into a rhythm quicker back here later this year. There are a lot of reasons why I suck here, but I just feel like getting into a rhythm is tough for me to do, so hopefully this will help.” Ryan Blaney was second fastest Tuesday, followed by Daniel Suárez, Harrison Burton and Corey LaJoie. Burton turned more laps -- 374 -- than any other driver Tuesday. He was the only driver to turn more than 300 laps during Tuesday's test. Seventeen race teams and 18 drivers took part in Tuesday’s portion of the test. Drivers participating Tuesday included Larson, Hamlin, Bowman, Blaney, Suárez, Burton, LaJoie, Christopher Bell, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chase Briscoe, AJ Allmendinger, Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick, Austin Cindric, Erik Jones and Ty Dillon. Jones and Dillon split time in the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro for Petty GMS, which was the only team to utilize two drivers for one car during Tuesday’s portion of the test. Organizations fielding one or two cars in the Cup Series are allowed to test one car this week at Martinsville; organizations with three or four Cup Series teams may test two cars. Multiple drivers from the same organization may test the same car. The organizational test at Martinsville will continue Wednesday, with the same race teams expected to participate. Drivers for Wednesday’s portion of the test will be announced later.