(USA Today Sports Images)

Joe Gibbs Racing has found its replacement driver for the No. 11 while Denny Hamlin is out and it's Mark Martin.

The 54 year-old, who is driving a partial schedule for Michael Waltrip Racing in the No. 55, will fill in for Hamlin while he's out because of the L1 vertebra compression fracture he suffered in Sunday's last lap crash at Auto Club Speedway. Hamlin will be out a minimum of five races.

“We’ve been real fortunate to have never been in this situation with the need to find someone to fill in for an injured driver,” Joe Gibbs Racing president JD Gibss said in a statement. “A lot goes into a decision like this but we are really pleased to have someone of the character and caliber of Mark Martin to fill in while Denny is out. Obviously we’re not exactly sure how long that is going to take, but Mark’s career speaks for itself and our team knows it will have the opportunity to compete for a win every week.”

Martin was slated to drive in 26 races for MWR this season, including three

Obituaries. We all have one in our future, hopefully much later rather than sooner. And while some obituaries can rise to the level of art, making the life examined one worthy of admiration, some make us look forward to the afterlife. Like this one, from the Northeast Mississippi News:

Timothy Wayne "Tim" Hopkins, 54, went to be with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and Dale Earnhardt to contribute his building and painting expertise to the constructing of many heavenly mansions on Saturday, March 23, 2013, in Memphis.

We should all be so lucky to get such a sendoff. Godspeed in your journey, Mr. Hopkins. But you might not want to tell Mr. Earnhardt too much about what's happening with Twitter wars and the Chase. You don't want to see tears in heaven.

-Follow Jay Busbee on Facebook and Twitter at @jaybusbee.-

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Welcome to Warped Wednesday, our new feature at From the Marbles. On it, we'll put out the rush to judgment map, go a little too far and have a little fun. Will it be funny? Sometimes. Will it be crazy and largely unbelievable? Probably. Will not everyone get it? Definitely.

NASCAR has done it again.

Shortly after they raised the ire of many fans and media members with its fine of Denny Hamlin after the Phoenix race, they've gone and done the wrong thing again by not issuing any penalties in the aftermath of Sunday's race at Auto Club Speedway.

[Also: NASCAR Power Rankings: A (Junior) Nation rises]

Let's begin with Tony Stewart. In no way shape or form should a man be allowed to go after another man half his weight and half his age and half his body hair on pit road and not be punished for it. That's assault and battery if I've ever seen it. That open handed, weak-wristed punch that Stewart threw? Unacceptable. That's at least a six-figure fine and a suspension right there. Come on,

(Getty)

Denny Hamlin will miss at least five races but won't require surgery after being evaluated on Tuesday after his last-lap crash on Sunday at Auto Club Speedway.

In the impact with the inside wall, Hamlin suffered a compression fracture of his L1 vertebra. Joe Gibbs Racing said in a statement Tuesday night that Dr. Jerry Petty determined that Hamlin would need approximately six weeks to heal. Petty will make the decision to clear Hamlin to resume racing activity when he is fully healed.

Because of the Sprint Cup Series off weekend this week, the minimum five races Hamlin will miss are Martinsville, Texas, Kansas, Richmond and Talladega. The race following Talladega is the grueling Southern 500 at Darlington before the non-points Sprint All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600.

[Also: NASCAR Power Rankings: A (Junior) Nation rises]

A replacement driver has not been named for the No. 11 for Martinsville or any other races. The logical in-house option at JGR would be Elliott Sadler, who is

It's time for Power Rankings! After every race, we'll opine about who we think is at the top of the Sprint Cup heap and how and why they got there. Remember, this isn't scientific, as our formula is the perfect blend of analytics and bias against your favorite driver. So let's get on with it, shall we?

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 2): Heeeeeeeere's Junior! He's the only dude to finish in the top five in every race this season and there's absolutely no way he can't be atop Power Rankings as we head into the first week of the offseason. If his potato chips are as good as he's performing, then he's really rocking it right now. And maybe the Gonzaga comparison in last week's rankings was a bit unfair. The Zags collapsed late on Saturday night. Junior surged forward on Sunday.

2. Kasey Kahne (LW: 3): Kahne quickly moved his way to the front after starting 16th and was one of the handful of drivers who tattooed (ha!) the wall off turn two thanks to the oil that was put down from Timmy Hill's

NASCAR fans have long said that noted temperamental driver Kyle Busch could use some anger management. Now — heads up, terrible pun coming out of Turn 4 — he's about to get some, courtesy of FX and Charlie Sheen.

Yes, the NASCAR driver everyone loves to hate is headed for Sheen's FX show "Anger Management," according to TMZ. No info yet on a date or plotline, but we'd bet it has something to do with either driving or those little dogs hanging around the hauler. You never know.

And hey, if this works out for Kyle, maybe Sheen could work his mojo on Tony Stewart ... or Joey Logano ... or Kyle's brother Kurt ... or pretty much every NASCAR fan ...

Not too much to talk about, is there? Geoffrey Miller and yours truly, Nick Bromberg, discuss the happenings from California, including, and not limited to Joey Logano, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Danica Patrick and even some F1 talk of all things.

Buckle up, folks, it's a long one. Click here to download the podcast or here to listen to in your browser. And we're now on iTunes! Find us in the Podcast section right here and subscribe. It'll soon be #1 in comedy.

As always, we'd love to hear from you. Email us your thoughts, questions, rants, etc here and we'll talk about them on our next episode.

Sunday's final-lap wreck with Joey Logano caused significant injury for Denny Hamlin. After Hamlin spent the night in the hospital, his team released the details on his injury: a L1 compression fracture. Following is the statement from Joe Gibbs Racing:

Via @dennyhamlin"Hamlin suffered a L1 Compression Fracture following an accident on the final lap of Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway.

"Hamlin hopes to be released today to fly to his home in North Carolina where he will be evaluated by Dr. Jerry Petty of Carolina Neurosurgery & Spine Associates later this week."

NASCAR has an off week this weekend. At present, it is not known if Hamlin will miss any races.

Hamlin and Logano collided on the final lap of the race. Hamlin spun down into the infield and hit a section of the wall that is unprotected by a SAFER barrier. He got out of his car and immediately collapsed to the ground. He complained about back pain and was helicoptered out of the track because of traffic