Denny Hamlin dominates at Martinsville
Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — It didn’t take Denny Hamlin long to find the recipe for success in Sunday’s Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway.
Hamlin grabbed the lead on Lap126 of 400 in the seventh NASCAR Cup Series race of the season and never looked back.
With flawless work from his pit crew, the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led 274 of the last 275 laps—with the only exception a lap credited to pole winner Christopher Bell, who raced side-by-side with Hamlin after the final restart on Lap 326.
Hamlin pulled away toward the end of the final 75-lap green-flag run and beat Bell, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, to the finish line by 4.617 seconds.
The victory was Hamlin’s sixth at the 0.526-mile short track, most among full-time active drivers, but his first at Martinsville since 2015. It was his first win of the season and the 55th of his career, tying him with Rusty Wallace for 11th on the career victory list.
The win was also Hamlin’s first with crew chief Chris Gayle, who took over the pit box on the No. 11 Toyota this season. Hamlin has now won Cup races with seven different crew chiefs.
“You know, Chris Gayle, all the engineers, the pit crew, everybody really on that wall right there, just deciding they were going to come here with a different approach than what we’ve been over the last few years,” said Hamlin, who won at Martinsville for the first time with the Gen 7 race car.
“It was just amazing. The car was great. It did everything I needed it to do. Just so happy to win with Chris, get 55… Obviously, back here in Martinsville where I spent so many years racing late models and whatnot—gosh, I love winning here.”
Bell’s No. 20 Toyota was too loose over the final run to keep up with Hamlin’s No. 11 Camry.
“We were back and forth on balance a little bit,” Bell said. “I asked to be freer throughout the whole race. That last run, I just went a little bit too loose and lost my drive off (the corners).
“It was a great weekend for Joe Gibbs Racing. Showed a lot of pace. All four of the cars were really good. Really happy to kind of get back up front. The last two weeks have been rough for this 20 team… Really happy for Denny. He’s the Martinsville master. Second is not that bad.”
Bubba Wallace finished third for the second straight race, as Toyotas claimed the top three finishing positions at the paper-clip-shaped track.
“That final restart, I let that second (place) get away,” said Wallace, who drives for the 23XI Racing team co-owned by Hamlin and NBA legend Michael Jordan.
“I don’t know if I had anything for Denny. It would have been fun to try.
“But all in all, hell of a day for Toyota. Top three. That’s nice. Keep the momentum going, having fun.”
Chase Elliott came home fourth, followed by Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson.
Ross Chastain, Ryan Preece, Joey Logano, Chase Briscoe and Todd Gilliland completed the top 10.
Before Hamlin took control, a debris caution on Lap 31 resulted in a dramatic change to the running order. Josh Berry led a group of six drivers who stayed on the track under caution, and maintained the top spot for 40 laps, the first circuits led by the No. 21 Wood Brothers car at Martinsville since 2005.
A caution for Chris Buescher’s spin on the frontstretch ended Berry’s stint at the front. A collision with Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota on pit road and subsequent alternator issues cost Berry two laps and took him out of the mix.
Logano stayed on the track under the Lap 71 yellow and won the first 80-lap stage over Alex Bowman in a two-lap sprint, but it was an up-and-down day for the reigning Cup champion.
On Lap 317, Briscoe’s Toyota bounced off the inside curbing in Turn 3 and sent Logano’s Ford spinning toward the outside wall. Logano pitted for fresh tires, restarted 25th and drove back to eighth place by lap 400, scoring his first top 10 of the season.
William Byron, who finished 22nd after a lengthy pit stop under the first caution, retained the series lead by 17 points over Larson.
NASCAR Cup Series Race Number 7
Race Results for the Cook Out 400 - Sunday, March 30, 2025
Martinsville Speedway - Martinsville, VA - 0.526 - Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 400 Laps - 210.4 Miles
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sunday, 3/30/2025 @ 08:25 PM Eastern
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 5 11 Denny Hamlin Progressive Toyota 400 8 1 54 Running 2 274 6
2 1 20 Christopher Bell DEWALT Outdoors Toyota 400 8 38 Running 3 25
3 8 23 Bubba Wallace McDonald's Toyota 400 3 42 Running
4 2 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 400 7 2 46 Running 2 42
5 4 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 400 10 9 35 Running
6 17 1 Ross Chastain Choice Privileges Chevrolet 400 7 35 Running
7 21 60 Ryan Preece Fastenal Ford 400 6 35 Running
8 7 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 400 1 39 Running 1 13 1
9 11 19 Chase Briscoe Bass Pro Shops Toyota 400 5 34 Running
10 25 34 Todd Gilliland Colortech Ford 400 27 Running
11 32 12 Ryan Blaney Advance Auto Parts Ford 400 6 31 Running
12 15 71 Michael McDowell Rockingham Speedway Chevrolet 400 25 Running
13 13 54 Ty Gibbs Monster Energy Toyota 400 4 31 Running
14 9 45 Tyler Reddick Mobil 1/O'Reilly Auto Parts Toyota 400 10 24 Running
15 28 10 Ty Dillon Mark III Employee Benefits Chevrolet 400 22 Running
16 19 38 Zane Smith Long John Silver's Ford 400 21 Running
17 12 8 Kyle Busch Lucas Oil Chevrolet 400 20 Running
18 18 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Chevrolet 400 19 Running
19 29 77 Carson Hocevar Delaware Life Chevrolet 400 18 Running
20 34 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. SUNNYD Chevrolet 400 17 Running
21 26 99 Daniel Suarez Freeway Insurance Chevrolet 400 16 Running
22 10 24 William Byron Liberty University Chevrolet 400 15 Running
23 23 16 AJ Allmendinger Black's Tire Chevrolet 399 3 22 Running
24 6 17 Chris Buescher Kroger/Old El Paso Ford 399 13 Running
25 16 42 John Hunter Nemechek Family Dollar Toyota 399 5 18 Running
26 27 6 Brad Keselowski BuildSubmarines.com Ford 399 4 18 Running
27 3 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 399 2 19 Running 1 6
28 30 7 Justin Haley Gainbridge Chevrolet 398 9 Running
29 24 4 Noah Gragson A&W Root Beer Ford 397 8 Running
30 36 51 Cody Ware Arby's Ford 396 7 Running
31 35 35 Riley Herbst # Lucy Toyota 396 6 Running
32 14 21 Josh Berry Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 396 5 Running 1 40
33 22 41 Cole Custer HaasTooling.com Ford 394 9 6 Running
34 33 88 Shane Van Gisbergen # WeatherTech Chevrolet 394 3 Running
35 37 66 * Casey Mears Canter Power Systems Ford 389 2 Running
36 38 50 * Burt Myers C3 Chevrolet 388 1 Running
37 20 2 Austin Cindric Menards/Jack Links Ford 363 1 Electrical
38 31 43 Erik Jones Dollar Tree Toyota 399 1 Running
Fastest Lap Bonus: # lap 195 / 20.188
11
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 5 Mins, 11 Secs. Average Speed: 68.17 MPH Margin of Victory: 4.617 Seconds
Stage 1 Top 10: 22, 48, 16, 6, 42, 60, 9, 11, 41, 5
Stage 2 Top 10: 11, 9, 23, 54, 19, 12, 1, 20, 5, 45
Race Comments: Denny Hamlin won the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway, his 55th NASCAR Cup Series victory. Prior to the start no cars dropped to the rear of the field under penalty.
Failed to Qualify: None.
Caution Flags: 10 for 86 laps; Laps: 32-39 (Debris Turn 4 [66]); 72-78 (No. 17 Incident Frontstretch [66]); 82-92 (Stage 1 Conclusion [17]); 123-131 (No. 50 Stopped Turn 1 [66]); 182-193 (Stage 2 Conclusion [47]); 202-207 (Nos. 35, 2 Incident Turn 1 [88]); 276-286 (No. 88 Spin Turn 4 [43]); 299-306 (Nos. 54, 38, 45 Incident Turn 2 [17]); 310-315 (Nos. 17, 4 Incident Turn 2 [47]); 318-325 (Nos. 19, 22 Incident Turn 2 [42]).
Lead Changes: 9 among 6 drivers; C. Bell 1-23; C. Elliott 24-32; C. Bell 33; J. Berry 34-73; J. Logano 74-86; A. Bowman 87-92; C. Elliott 93-125; D. Hamlin 126-325; C. Bell 326; D. Hamlin 327-400.
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: April 6, 2025 - Darlington Raceway
NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications @ P.O. Box 2875, Daytona Beach, FL 32120-2875
NASCAR Cup Series Points Report
Martinsville Speedway
Cook Out 400
UNOFFICIAL Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sunday, 3/30/2025 @ 08:28 PM Eastern UNOFFICIAL
Rank Driver Car Starts GL Points Ldr Nxt Race Wins Stage Wins Playoff Pts
1. William Byron 24 7 0 259 0 0 1 1 6
2. Kyle Larson 5 7 0 243 -16 16 1 2 7
3. Chase Elliott 9 7 3 227 -32 16 0 0 0
4. Christopher Bell 20 7 1 224 -35 3 3 1 16
5. Alex Bowman 48 7 -2 224 -35 0 0 0 0
6. Denny Hamlin 11 7 2 218 -41 6 1 2 7
7. Tyler Reddick 45 7 -3 213 -46 5 0 0 0
8. Bubba Wallace 23 7 -1 208 -51 5 0 1 1
9. Joey Logano 22 7 2 199 -60 9 0 2 2
10. Ryan Blaney 12 7 0 193 -66 6 0 2 2
11. Chris Buescher 17 7 -2 177 -82 16 0 0 0
12. Chase Briscoe 19 7 1 169 -90 8 0 0 0
13. Ross Chastain 1 7 1 169 -90 0 0 0 0
14. Ryan Preece 60 7 2 165 -94 4 0 1 1
15. Michael McDowell 71 7 0 159 -100 6 0 0 0
16. Kyle Busch 8 7 1 150 -109 9 0 0 0
17. John Hunter Nemechek 42 7 1 148 -111 2 0 0 0
18. AJ Allmendinger 16 7 2 148 -111 0 0 0 0
19. Josh Berry 21 7 -7 147 -112 1 1 1 6
20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 7 -1 146 -113 1 0 0 0
21. Daniel Suarez 99 7 1 125 -134 21 0 0 0
22. Todd Gilliland 34 7 4 125 -134 0 0 0 0
23. Zane Smith 38 7 2 124 -135 1 0 0 0
24. Austin Cindric 2 7 -3 122 -137 2 0 1 1
25. Ty Dillon 10 7 4 117 -142 5 0 0 0
26. Justin Haley 7 7 -2 114 -145 3 0 0 0
27. Austin Dillon 3 7 1 114 -145 0 0 0 0
28. Carson Hocevar 77 7 -1 113 -146 1 0 0 0
29. Erik Jones 43 7 -6 108 -151 5 0 0 0
30. Brad Keselowski 6 7 0 102 -157 6 0 0 0
31. Ty Gibbs 54 7 3 99 -160 3 0 0 0
32. Noah Gragson 4 7 0 90 -169 9 0 0 0
33. Riley Herbst # 35 7 -2 89 -170 1 0 0 0
34. Shane Van Gisbergen # 88 7 -1 80 -179 9 0 0 0
35. Cole Custer 41 7 0 62 -197 18 0 0 0
36. Jimmie Johnson 1 0 34 -225 28 0 0 0
37. Cody Ware 51 7 0 34 -225 0 0 0 0
38. Corey Lajoie 2 0 21 -238 13 0 0 0
39. Katherine Legge 1 0 7 -252 14 0 0 0
40. Jj Yeley 2 0 3 -256 4 0 0 0
41. * Casey Mears 66 1 -41 2 -257 1 0 0 0
42. * Burt Myers 50 1 -42 1 -258 1 0 0 0
43. Martin Truex, Jr. 1 -2 1 -258 0 0 0 0
44. Justin Allgaier(i) 1 -2 0 -259 1 0 0 0
45. Bj Mcleod(i) 1 -2 0 -259 0 0 0 0
46. Connor Zilisch(i) 1 -2 0 -259 0 0 0 0
47. Helio Castroneves 1 0 0 -259 0 0 0 0
48. Anthony Alfredo(i) 0 -2 0 -259 0 0 0 0
49. Chandler Smith(i) 0 -4 0 -259 0 0 0 0
-Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
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