Hamlin Revives Martinsville Dominance, Wins A Sixth Clock

Denny Hamlin celebrates with a burnout after winning Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. (Scotte Sprinkle/Race Face Digital photo)

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – It took a decade, but home-state hero Denny Hamlin made Martinsville Speedway’s famed half-mile ‘paper clip’ his personal playground again in Sunday’s Cook Out 400.

After staying out at lap 126 to gain track position, following the fourth caution flag of the afternoon, Hamlin led all but one of the final 275 laps en route to a dominant first win of the NASCAR Cup Series season.

Hamlin took the checkered flag 4.617 seconds ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell for his 55th career Cup Series win, tied with Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace for 11th all time, and his sixth Ridgeway grandfather clock trophy.

It was Hamlin’s first Martinsville victory since 2015, but easily the most dominant triumph of his six-pack at the historic facility. Sunday marked the fifth most laps Hamlin has ever led in a Cup Series race.

“(Crew chief) Chris Gayle, all the engineers, the pit crew, everybody on this team decided [we] were going to come here with a different approach than what we’ve brought over the last few years. It was just amazing,” noted Hamlin. “The car was great. It did everything I needed it to do.

“Just so happy to win with Chris, get [to] 55. A great day all around.”

As Hamlin pointed out, Sunday was his first victory since a crew chief change during the offseason that put Gayle atop his pit box, while former signal-caller Chris Gabehart moved into the competition director role at JGR.

It got a breakthrough for the pairing out of the way sooner, rather than later, as Hamlin looks once again to finally capture the championship that has eluded him for two decades at the Cup Series level.

“He’s been such a soldier to come in here to this (No.) 11 team (and) kind of learn our style. Over the last few weeks, he’s put his final touches on it and it’s really been a great mesh,” said Hamlin of Gayle. “Our relationship is getting better and man, I’m really happy to get a win with him.

“Being back here in Martinsville where I spent so many years racing late models and whatnot … gosh, I love winning here. This is such a special place and a special team.”

Despite six caution periods from the time Hamlin took control of the race, the only challenge he had was a brief burst by Bell during the race’s final restart with 75 laps left, following a turn-two spin by Joey Logano caused by contact with Chase Briscoe.

Denny Hamlin (11) leads Christopher Bell in the closing laps at Martinsville Speedway. (Scotte Sprinkle/Race Face Digital photo)

Bell chose the outside of the front row to line up alongside Hamlin, and hung there for just over a full lap, edging ahead at the start-finish line on lap 326 before Hamlin muscled back to the point.

After that, the long run became the specialty for Hamlin, as Bell could only watch the No. 11 Progressive Toyota Camry XSE drive off into the distance.

“I felt really bad at the end of the run there,” Bell said regarding the closing laps. “I was falling pretty far back behind Denny. I think qualifying really well was a big part of our success this weekend. Hopefully we can come back a little bit better in the fall and be able to have a nice, solid day like we did today.

“We were back and forth on balance a little bit. I asked to be freer throughout the whole race, and that last run I just went a little bit too loose and lost my drive off,” Bell added. “It was a great weekend for Joe Gibbs Racing as a whole. … All four of the cars were really good and (I’m) happy to get back up front.

Bubba Wallace closed on Bell in the final laps, but couldn’t quite get close enough to make a bid for position and settled for third, tying his season-best mark set a week earlier at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.

Chase Elliott lost some of his edge in the second half after leading 42 laps early, ending up fourth ahead of his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson, who crossed fifth.

Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain was sixth, with Ryan Preece, Joey Logano, Chase Briscoe, and Todd Gilliland closing out the top 10 finishers.

Though there were 10 cautions Sunday for 86 laps, there were no true major accidents throughout the race distance.

Perhaps the biggest moment came with 103 to go, when Ty Gibbs left just enough of the inside lane open to allow Tyler Reddick to get his front bumper underneath Gibbs’ Toyota exiting turn two.

Gibbs went around as a result, spinning out of a top-10 position after running among the leaders for much of the afternoon. He still rallied back late, however, clawing out a season-best 13th-place finish.

All but one of the 38 starters reached the checkered flag Sunday, with Austin Cindric the only retiree after a persistent battery issue finally forced him to the garage with 25 to go.

The NASCAR Cup Series season heads next to Darlington (S.C.) Raceway with the annual throwback weekend celebration of the sport’s lengthy history.

Broadcast coverage of the Goodyear 400 is slated for Sunday, April 6 at 3 p.m. ET, live on FS1, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.