Truth & Rumors > Auto Racing

05:19 PM ET 03.25 | Denny Hamlin has been diagnosed with a fractured back -- more specifically an L1 compression fracture. After racing hard for the win with Joey Logano, who he was already having issues with, the two wrecked, handing the win to Kyle Busch. Hamlin went spinning toward the infield and hit a concrete wall head on sending his car airborne before slamming back down on the ground. The wall was not a safer barrier which is most likely why Denny suffered this injury. Will Power had a similar injury back in 2011 during the tragic crash that killed Dan Wheldon. It took him just under a month to recover from it. There is no word yet if Denny will need surgery or if he will actually miss races but I'm assuming he will miss one or two. Joey Logano, who was unaware that Hamlin was injured, said, "he got what he deserved" soon after the wreck. This feud has turned into a rivalry -- a very ugly one at that. There is no turning back now and saying I'm sorry; the damage is done. Hamlin recently tweeted one short sentence saying "I just want to go home." He then tweeted a picture of himself in the hospital.

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10:58 AM ET 03.24 | To contend at Auto Club Speedway, Greg Biffle will have to come from the rear of the field due to an engine failure in opening practice on the 2-mile track. And car owner Jack Roush believes his driver has enough under the hood to do it. Roush said Saturday the engine failures suffered by Biffle and Ford stable mate Brad Keselowski appeared to be due to lost bearings, and the No. 16 car's strength in practice Saturday gave him confidence the issue would not rear its head again in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event. "Both of those problems are something we characterize as an infant mortality problem," Roush said after Biffle topped the first of Saturday's two practice sessions. "The fact that we've gotten the rest of the practice today, that we had one practice today and had no further problems, gives me confidence that we're going to be OK. We have adequate spare engines, and if we have more trouble in practice, we can make changes. But right now, I'm believing it's behind us."

NASCAR

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11:48 AM ET 03.23 | Denny Hamlin hasn't lacked on his publicity lately. This weekend he and Joey Logano are in the media hangover of their feud, but Hamlin also will gain much attention until the green flag falls on Sunday. Hamlin ran the fastest lap of 38.410 seconds at 187.451 miles per hour. He and Clint Bowyer had been fastest in practices earlier today showing Toyota strength early on this weekend. Toyota has not won a Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway yet, but there could be a chance they do so this weekend. Rounding out the top 10 qualifiers for Sunday's Auto Club 400 are: Greg Biffle, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, and Kurt Busch.

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11:14 AM ET 03.23 | Denny Hamlin apologized Friday for making two mistakes involving former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. The first mistake was bumping Logano too hard on Lap 349 in retaliation for the way the Penske Racing driver raced him earlier. The bump sent Logano into a spin when he was battling Jeff Gordon for the lead and ruined any chance he had of contending for the victory. The second was for attacking Logano personally after a postrace shoving match between the crews that began when Logano approached Hamlin at his car. "He said he was coming for me," Hamlin said after the incident. "I usually don't see him, so it's not a factor." On the first mistake, Hamlin said he was trying to send Logano a message with a tap after Logano pinched down on him too hard earlier. "I felt bad, and really if you could watch my in-car camera, you could see how frustrated I was to see he had damage to his car," Hamlin said before the first practice at Auto Club Speedway. "I banged the steering wheel because I was, 'Man, I didn't mean to do that.'"

ESPN

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12:29 PM ET 03.22 | As the camera follows the lead car as it comes across the front stretch, you can't help but notice the empty seats in the stands. When the camera pans the crowd, the outline of the colored seat patterns can be clearly seen. Attendance on race weekends have been dipping for years and that was clearly evident this past weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. During Sunday's race broadcast, all around the track, you could see empty seats. It almost looked like there were more empty seats than there were seats filled. Bristol Motor Speedway is one of the most iconic tracks on the schedule and if they are struggling to fill seats, then something needs to be done. Looking at various ticket prices for racetracks across the country, the dollar amount isn't unreasonable. The average ticket package is under $100 for the weekend. Most tracks allow you to bring in your own coolers and some, like Kansas Speedway, even offer free parking at their venue. Once you get to the track, you definitely get what you pay for, if not more. There is always something you can do and things to see and as a race fan, you couldn't ask for more.

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