Martinsville Preview: 2013 STP Gas Booster 500

Hamlin will be missed at his home track of Martinsville this week 

Denny Hamlin is a four-time winner on Martinsville's flat half-mile track, but he won't be one of the favorites this week because he won't be racing due the scrum he and Joey Logano got into two weeks ago at California Speedway that injured his back. Hamlin surely would have been one of the favorites to win on his home track and also would have moved higher in the standings.

Under past season points scoring, his championship hopes would have been finished by missing a race.

But under the current rules that reward the final two positions of the Chase for drivers within the top-20 who won the most during the first 26 races, Hamlin still has a glimmer of hope. This is why the LVH Super Book still has Hamlin posted at 18/1 odds (Bet $100 to win $1,800) to win the championship. That may seem like low odds considering Hamlin is expected to miss up to five races, but there is that small window of opportunity that makes it a possibility.

The bottom line for Hamlin when he does come back is to simply win as many races as possible and hope he can climb into the top-20. Last season, Hamlin had five wins -- good enough to tie for the most in the Sprint Cup Series.

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