Cook Out 400: Denny Hamlin scores first Martinsville win in a decade

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — After a dominant performance in the Cook Out 400, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin found Victory Lane in the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway for the first time in 10 years.

Hamlin, who was approaching a full calendar year since his last victory in the Cup Series at Dover, had everything he needed to get career win No. 55 at the top level.

“It is great,” Hamlin said. “It is a historic race track — I’ve been so frustrated not getting a win here, but being the next best in line, but man, we have really turned the corner. Whatever setup we’ve got here, whenever we come back in the fall, we will be contenders, but this whole Progressive Toyota team did a phenomenal job all week preparing and all practice to give me this race-winning car.”

On the way to earning his sixth grandfather clock, Hamlin surpassed 2,500 laps led in his career at Martinsville, which is the most by any active driver at the Virginia short track. He also led 274 of 400 laps during this race, which is the most he’s ever led in a Cup Series race.

Hamlin’s JGR teammate Christopher Bell had another impressive weekend as the driver of the No. 20 DEWALT Outdoors Toyota finished in second place, earning his fourth top five of the 2025 season.

“I don’t know what he [Hamlin] was doing early in the run — if he was struggling with something or if he was just taking care of the tires,” Bell said. “I could keep pace with him, and I could pressure him for a little bit, and then I just died about 20 to 30 to go, maybe longer than that. I was then in hang-on mode, but it was a great weekend for our team. This DEWALT Camry was really good on Saturday, and that helped a lot of our success today.

“Pit crew did a great job when it mattered — showed up and gained some spots on pit road. We have some really good notes and scored some really good points. I remember coming here in the fall last year talking about how many points we needed, and we just haven’t scored points at Martinsville, so it was nice to do that today.”

The last time JGR finished 1-2 at Martinsville was in 2010, when Hamlin took home the victory, with then JGR driver, Joey Logano, finishing second.

Another Toyota driver who put together another great weekend was 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace. For the second consecutive week, Wallace was fastest in practice, qualified eighth and ended up finishing third.

“I feel like we were definitely better than the 20 (Bell), but just everybody gets so stuck,” Wallace said. “When you feel like you have an advantage, you can’t really do anything with it. We need to continue to work on this package, but all-in-all — back-to-back top fives is a good day. It’s usually around those summer months when we do that (laughter). It is nice to have a really good points day. I’m sure that’s what the text from MJ (Michael Jordan, co-owner, 23XI Racing) will say, but all-in-all, really proud of my McDonald’s Toyota team.

“We’ve showed up since the beginning of the season with our heads in the game. Charles (Denike, crew chief) jumping into this — I’m super proud of him to basically pick up where we left off. Bootie (Barker, former crew chief) left him in good hands. It was definitely a team effort all day. Good to come out of here with a good result in one of my favorite places.”

Results from the 2025 Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway are listed below:

Other Race Facts

After the race, Erik Jones was disqualified after failing to meet the minimum weight requirement. He was credited with a 38th-place finish after initially finishing 24th.

According to FOX Sports broadcaster Mike Joy, the NASCAR Cup Series was 25 laps away from having every car entered at Martinsville Speedway finish the race for the first time in the sport’s history. Moments later, Austin Cindric pulled off the track on Lap 375 with battery issues and retired from the race.

Chase Elliott led 42 laps and finished fourth. This was Elliott’s third top five and sixth top 10 in seven races at the track in the Next Gen era.

For the first time in his Cup Series career, Ryan Preece has three consecutive top-10 finishes. The RFK Racing driver also sits 14th in the Cup Series standings.

“I didn’t expect that one,” Preece said. “Honestly, it all started with me messing up in qualifying and putting us back there. Ultimately, we got some great stage points and some great calls and great adjustments on the box and we got this Fastenal Ford Mustang where it needed to be.

“We’ve got some work to do to be able to drive through like some other cars do, but I think we’ve got some good ideas and obviously a little luck went our way today. I’m proud of everybody on this Fastenal Ford Mustang and everybody at RFK. We’ve just got to keep working and keep grinding.”

Hendrick Motorsports holds the top three spots in the Cup Series standings with William Byron, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott. Alex Bowman is now tied for fourth with Christopher Bell after the Jones disqualification.

After competing with Team AmeriVet in the Cook Out Clash exhibition race, multi-time Bowman Gray Stadium Modified champion Burt Myers made his Cup Series debut in the points-paying race at Martinsville in the No. 50 C3 Chevrolet.

Casey Mears also made his first start in the Cup Series since the 2019 Daytona 500, driving the No. 66 Canter Power Systems Ford for Garage 66. Mears and Myers finished 35th and 36th, respectively.

GRID RANKING

 

For now, Atlanta, COTA and Phoenix race winner Christopher Bell continues to lead the Cup Series rating, followed by Kyle Larson, William Byron, Denny Hamlin and Alex Bowman.

The next race on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Goodyear 400 for Throwback Weekend at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, April 6. Coverage will begin at 3 p.m. ET on FS1.

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