NASCAR News: Hamlin gives new sponsor first Cup win at M’Ville

It didn’t take Denny Hamlin to reward new sponsor Progressive for coming into NASCAR by winning Sunday’s Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway. New sponsors are typically rewarded with a pole or a race victory.

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 polesitter 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.

Top-3 Quotes

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Progressive Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 1st

How rewarding is this?

“It is great. 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.”

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 DEWALT Outdoors Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

Where was the difference in what Denny had, and what you needed?

“I don’t know what he was doing early in the run – if he was struggling with something or if he was just taking care of the tires. 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.”

BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

How does this one feel leaving Martinsville?

“I feel like we were definitely better than the 20 (Christopher Bell), but just everybody get so stuck. 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.”

NASCAR Cup Series Race – Cook Out 400

Average Speed of Race Winner:  68.17 mph.

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 5 Mins, 11 Secs. Margin of Victory:  4.617 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  10 for 86 laps.

Lead Changes:  9 among 6 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   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.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Denny Hamlin 2 times for 274 laps; Chase Elliott 2 times for 42 laps; Josh Berry 1 time for 40 laps; Christopher Bell 3 times for 25 laps; Joey Logano 1 time for 13 laps; Alex Bowman 1 time for 6 laps.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 22,48,16,6,43,42,60,9,11,41

Stage #2 Top Ten: 11,9,23,54,19,12,1,20,5,45