Denny Hamlin's championship bid was derailed by a mechanical failure and wreck during practice for the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

Yesterday after wrecking in practice, Denny Hamlin’s team has repaired the primary car and passed through inspection. Hamlin will still start today’s NASCAR Playoffs elimination race at Martinsville in the rear of the field.

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Denny Hamlin concedes that his quest to make the Championship 4 “got infinitely harder but it’s not impossible” after his crash in practice Saturday at Martinsville Speedway. Hamlin, who is 18 points below the cutline entering Sunday’s Round of 8 elimination race, had one of the fastest cars before his incident in practice.