Denny Hamlin wins at Martinsville for first time since 2015. ‘Felt like the old days’

Denny Hamlin is a NASCAR Cup Series winner for the first time in nearly a year.

The 44-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing veteran dominated the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway, grabbing the lead during the middle of the race and holding off the packed field on Sunday afternoon.

Hamlin led 274 of the 400 laps at Martinsville. While it’s his sixth win at the iconic short track, this marks his first in 10 years there — Hamlin’s last one came in 2015.

“Felt like the old days,” Hamlin said in the post-race news conference. “They did such a great job with the car, and we spoke about trying to do something a little different this time around to try and get better. We’ve just been stuck in a rut, really, over the past three years or so. The fall of ‘22 was the last dominant car I thought I had at this race track.

“We came with something different. Just trying to get better, and obviously, turn back the clock.”

This is the 23XI Racing co-owner’s first victory since last April when he won at Dover, his third win of last year’s Cup Series season.

Hamlin, whose No. 11 Toyota Camry is now primarily sponsored by Progressive, climbed on top of his race car during his celebration, and his pit crew stood lined up on the half-wall in their new blue firesuits. After high-fiving all of them, Hamlin celebrated with a blue flag that read: “11 Against the World.”

“I’ve been surprised at how hard he does work,” crew chief Chris Gayle said of his first year with Hamlin. “Like Coach (Joe Gibbs) was talking about, we were texting last night late. He was watching 2022 SMT data from here. ... As he’s gotten older, he’s had to almost ramp up the amount of work he’s done, where he may have gotten by earlier without doing that.

“I think he still has a drive and determination to win. It think it’s probably no secret. You’ve seen the wins. He wants to get beyond 60 wins. There are still goals left for him at this age.”

Christopher Bell finished in second place, Bubba Wallace came in third, Chase Elliott finished fourth and Kyle Larson took fifth.

Official results from the Cook Out 400

Following post-race inspection in the Cup Series garage, the No. 43 car has been disqualified for failing to meet the minimum weight requirement after Erik Jones’ initial 24th-place finish.

Both the Nos. 10 (Ty Dillon, who finished in 15th) and 43 cars are returning to the Research & Development Center in Concord for further inspection.

Lap-by-lap updates from the Cook Out 400

Lap 400: Denny Hamlin wins at Martinsville!

Lap 393: Denny Hamlin’s lead is nearly 3.5 seconds, as Christopher Bell looks to hold off Bubba Wallace for second place.

Lap 385: Denny Hamlin remains the leader with 15 laps to go, looking for his first victory at Martinsville in a decade.

Lap 376: Austin Cindric’s day is done with a dead battery.

Lap 375: Denny Hamlin runs alongside the lapped car of Erik Jones, and Christopher Bell is pulling closer to the leader.

Lap 359: Denny Hamlin continues leading, while Christopher Bell and Bubba Wallace run within roughly a second of him.

Your Top 10: Hamlin, Bell, Wallace, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, Ryan Preece, Chase Briscoe, Todd Gilliland and Ryan Blaney.

Lap 336: Denny Hamlin has led 208 laps and counting, his most in any race in four years — Martinsville in spring 2021.

Lap 328: And Denny Hamlin gets back into the lead.

Lap 325: Christopher Bell gets around Denny Hamlin for the lead!

Lap 324: Back to green once again!

Lap 316: Chase Briscoe turns Joey Logano! The No. 22 car goes around. Caution flag is out for the 10th time.

Lap 315: Back to green! Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain and Chase Elliott are your Top Five.

Lap 308: Caution is out once again, this time for Noah Gragson. The No. 4 spun and appeared to make contact with Chris Buescher.

Lap 306: Denny Hamlin brings us back to green!

Lap 303: Alex Bowman gets penalized for being too fast on pit road and will go a lap down.

Lap 297: Ty Gibbs spins! Caution comes out as the No. 54 goes around in the middle of the field after making contact with Tyler Reddick.

Lap 286: Back to green! Denny Hamlin still leads, and Christopher Bell is up to second place. Bubba Wallace runs third, Chase Elliott is in fourth and Kyle Larson in fifth.

Lap 275: Caution! Shane Van Gisbergen did not have the strongest pit stop; The car dropped to the ground on pit road as the team removed the jack. The No. 88 car spun after leaving the pits and lost a wheel — which will result in a two-lap penalty to SVG and a two-week suspension for two of his pit crew members.

Lap 264: The leaders are starting to run into lapped traffic, and Chase Elliott pulls a little closer to Denny Hamlin in the lead.

Lap 253: Most cars have been on their current tires for 67 laps now. Nearly 150 laps remain in this final stage.

Lap 231: Denny Hamlin continues leading the race over Chase Elliott and Bubba Wallace.

Your Top 10: Hamlin, Elliott, Wallace, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs and Joey Logano.

Lap 207: Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace and Chase Elliott lead as the green flag is back out! More than halfway through this Cup race at Martinsville.

Lap 200: Riley Herbst spins in Turn 1, bringing out another caution. Austin Cindric made contact with him.

Lap 194: Denny Hamlin brings us back to green for the final stage!

Lap 183: Your points-getters after the stage win by Denny Hamlin, who’s led 57 laps today (his most of the season): Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, Ty Gibbs, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick.

Stage 2

Lap 180: Denny Hamlin wins Stage 2!

Lap 170: Denny Hamlin’s finally getting into lapped traffic, and it’s much more difficult to put cars a lap down on this short track. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Cody Ware are in front of Hamlin, whose lead over Bubba Wallace is shrinking as Stage 2 nears its finish.

Lap 159: Denny Hamlin continues leading Bubba Wallace. Chase Elliott flies up the track into P3, passing Ty Gibbs, Chase Briscoe and Ross Chastain.

Lap 140: Denny Hamlin’s lead is less than two seconds over Bubba Wallace, Ty Gibbs, Chase Briscoe and Ross Chastain.

Lap 131: Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace bring us back to green!

Lap 128: Alex Bowman came back down pit road with a loose wheel.

Lap 127: Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, Ty Gibbs, Cole Custer and Daniel Suárez all stayed out during this pit cycle under caution. Kyle Larson won the race off pit road, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got a speeding penalty and will drop to the rear.

Lap 122: Caution is out — this time for Burt Myers. The Bowman Gray Stadium legend seemingly lost power.

Lap 110: Chase Elliott has held the lead since restarting on the front row following the stage break. Denny Hamlin has speed and is up into second place.

Lap 94: Chase Elliott gets around his teammate to take the lead once again!

Lap 93: Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott bring us back to green! The No. 48 moves into the initial lead.

Lap 82: Joey Logano took two tires, while Alex Bowman opted to change all four, and rode to his third stage win of the year.

Earning points following the opening stage: Logano, Bowman, AJ Allmendinger, Brad Keselowski, Erik Jones, John Hunter Nemechek, Ryan Preece, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin and Cole Custer.

Stage 1

Lap 80: Joey Logano holds off the pack to win Stage 1!

Lap 78: Shootout to the end of the stage! Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, AJ Allmendinger and Brad Keselowski are in front!

Lap 76: Josh Berry appears to have a dead battery! The race leader came to a stop on the backstretch, saying his “dash is black and acts like it has no power.”

Lap 71: Another caution comes out late in the opening stage as Chris Buescher goes around.

Lap 61: The Hendrick Motorsports cars have risen behind Josh Berry, Cole Custer and Joey Logano. Alex Bowman runs in fourth, and Chase Elliott is back up to fifth place.

Lap 50: Josh Berry continues leading. Cole Custer runs in P2, roughly 2.3 seconds back of Berry, while the Team Penske cars race behind them: Joey Logano is up to third, Austin Cindric is in fourth and Ryan Blaney runs fifth.

Lap 39: Back to green! Josh Berry, Austin Cindric, Cole Custer and Ryan Blaney — who started in 32nd — are out in front of the pack.

Lap 33: This early caution wasn’t expected, and pit stops end up coming under yellow. Looks like it’s Josh Berry — the crowd favorite as the Virginia-based Wood Brothers celebrate their 75th anniversary — who will restart in the lead following this pit cycle.

Lap 31: First caution of the day — debris on the track in Turn 4.

Lap 23: Chase Elliott gets around Christopher Bell for the lead!

Lap 15: Form is holding up early at the short track.

Your Top 10: Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Chris Buescher, Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace, William Byron and Tyler Reddick.

Green flag, 3:13 p.m.: We’re off from Martinsville!

3:02 p.m.: “Drivers, start your engines!” Roo Reaves, an 8-year-old who’s competed in Charlotte’s Cook Out Summer Shootout in Concord, gives the command to fire the engines for the Cook Out 400!

2:53 p.m.: Drivers have been introduced! Pre-race festivites are coming up soon from Martinsville.

2:45 p.m.: No cars are dropping to the rear for today’s race.

2:25 p.m.: A fan favorite in the Martinsville crowd today? Josh Berry. Wood Brothers Racing’s shop is located less than 30 miles away in Stuart, Virginia, and the driver of the No. 21 is well-represented as the iconic NASCAR team celebrates its 75th anniversary.

2:15 p.m.: “Based on the Truck (Series) race and last night, my key word for today is, ‘respect,’” Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, says in the drivers’ meeting. Saturday’s Xfinity Series race had 15 cautions that kept 102 of the 256 laps run under a yellow flag, following a Truck Series race that needed 10 cautions for 69 of 200 laps Friday night.

2 p.m.: Happy Race Day!

It’s warm and sunny here in southwest Virginia, where the chances of rain are diminishing. There’s still a 30% chance of showers Sunday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service, and the race is expected to start on time while delays remain possible.

Christopher Bell wins first pole of Cup Series season

The NASCAR driver who’s won half of the Cup Series races will lead the field Sunday.

Christopher Bell, already a three-time winner this season, is set to start the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway from the pole position after a strong qualifying effort.

The 30-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver will bring the Cup Series field to green alongside Chase Elliott on the front row. All four of the Hendrick Motorsports drivers earned starting spots in the Top 10, including Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson on the second row.

“Whenever we do it right, we’re certainly as capable as anyone,” Bell said. “There are probably upward of five teams that can say the same thing. Look at Ryan Blaney, he’s been incredible every race this year, and really has nothing to show for it. So at some point they’re going to start getting a little bit of luck fall their way, and they’re going to be winning races, too.”

Even though there’s a 30% chance of rain at Martinsville, the race is not expected to begin any earlier than 3 p.m. — such a decision would have been made within 24 hours of the scheduled start — and NASCAR will determine whether its teams will start on wet-weather tires.

“Every time it’s rained, we’ve been super competitive and driven right to the front,” Bell said. “I do certainly have a lot of confidence when it comes to the wet-weather procedures.”

Perfection on pit road will be key at short track

Races can be won or lost on pit road, and that should be no different at this half-mile track.

There were 15 cautions throughout the Xfinity Series race Saturday, which saw 102 laps be run under yellow, the most in a race since 2007. Austin Hill only led one lap in a controversial victory, which marks No. 100 in the series for Richard Childress Racing.

It sets up a Cup Series race on Sunday that drivers expect to be competitive. Racing continues getting more packed together, especially at a short track like Martinsville, making pit stops even more critical as drivers will look to gain ground against one another.

“Pit road is very important, whether you’re speeding on pit road or whether your pit crew has a misstep,” Kyle Busch said. “It can be very costly, especially with just how hard it is to pass on the race track. Losing two or three spots on the race track may not sound like a lot, but it’s a big deal when you get out there for the ‘choose’ cone.

“Especially when you’re jumping. I always think man, if you’re fourth on the racetrack, you’ve got a shot to win, but if you’re sixth on back, you’re in such dirty air that you can’t ever break through.”

Odds and prediction for the Cook Out 400

Ryan Blaney is the favorite to win Sunday’s race at +375 odds, according to BetMGM, followed by Kyle Larson (+575), Chase Elliott (+700), Denny Hamlin (+750) and William Byron (+800).

Charlotte Observer NASCAR reporter Shane Connuck is picking Blaney. The Team Penske star and recent series champion has a trio of Did Not Finishes, keeping him 10th in the standings, but make no mistake about it: The No. 12 car is among the most dominant in the sport once again. Blaney has led 147 laps this season, the third most in the field, trailing only his teammates Joey Logano and Austin Cindric — both of whom are beneath him in the standings.

“In this car, you’re 100% each and every lap, except for Blaney — he rides around at pace car speed and laps the whole field,” Bubba Wallace quipped. “What’d he qualify? Last (32nd)? Give him 20 laps, and he’s Top 10.”

How to watch and stream the NASCAR race at Martinsville

Race: Cook Out 400

Place: Martinsville Speedway (Ridgeway, Virginia)

Track Length: 0.526-mile asphalt oval

Date: Sunday, March 30

Time: 3 p.m. ET (Green flag scheduled for 3:11 p.m.)

Purse: $11,055,250

TV: FS1, 1:30 p.m. ET

Streaming: FOX Sports

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)

Distance: 210.4 miles (400 Laps)

Stages: Stage 1 ends on Lap 80; Stage 2 ends on Lap 180; the Final Stage ends on Lap 400.

Starting lineup for the Cook Out 400

This story was originally published March 30, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Denny Hamlin wins at Martinsville for first time since 2015. ‘Felt like the old days’."

Shane Connuck

The Charlotte Observer

Shane Connuck is a former journalist for The Charlotte Observer