November 3, 2024

Denny Hamlin's Championship hopes took another hit on Saturday afternoon when the No. 11 Toyota suffered a stuck throttle in practice and backed in the wall at Martinsville Speedway. The damage wasn't severe enough to warrant a backup car, but Hamlin wasn't able to complete a lap in qualifying and will start from dead last in Sunday's Xfinity 500 race. The No. 11 team will also pick last when it comes to pit selection, which could be huge at a small track like Martinsville, where the pit stalls and tight. And while this situation isn't ideal for Hamlin and his Championship hopes, it's not a "for sure doom" scenario either. Hamlin is a five-time winner at Martinsville Speedway and had one of the fastest cars in practice before disaster struck. If his race car is in-tact and handling well for Sunday's race, Hamlin should be able to come through the field and potentially challenge for the race win. When it comes to Place Differential upside, the sky is the limit for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver this weekend, but his high salary on DraftKings ($11,300) likely means he will need to grab some dominator points as well in order to make it into the optimal lineup. If you're looking to be contrarian in DFS contests, this weekend, staying away from Hamlin and going a different direction with the expensive drivers could be the move.--Jordan McAbee
Source: Jayski