MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Denny Hamlin ended a decade-long drought at his hometown-adjacent short track Sunday, wheeling his No. 11 Toyota to victory in the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway. Hamlin grabbed the lead on Lap 126 of 400 and was nearly untouchable from there, leading 274 of the final 275 laps to beat teammate Christopher Bell to the checkered flag by 4.617 seconds.
It was Hamlin’s sixth career win at the paperclip-shaped half-mile, the most among any active full-time driver, and his first there since 2015. The victory was also the 55th of his Cup Series career, tying him with Rusty Wallace for 11th on NASCAR’s all-time wins list. Bubba Wallace crossed third to complete a Toyota sweep of the podium, while Josh Berry gave the Wood Brothers their first laps led at Martinsville since 2005 before pit-road contact and an alternator issue ended his day early. Joey Logano won stage one but got collected in a Lap 317 incident with Chase Briscoe, recovering to finish eighth. William Byron held onto the points lead, now up 17 over Kyle Larson with the circuit heading to Darlington next.
All-Pro Reels was trackside all weekend capturing the sights from pit road, the garage, and the grandstands as Martinsville’s short track action played out under gray Virginia skies.
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway next for the Goodyear 400, with Hamlin looking to carry his short-track momentum into the “Track Too Tough to Tame.”