Denny Hamlin earned a sixth grandfather clock by winning today’s Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway with an impressive victory through speed, strategy and perfect management.
His 55th NASCAR Cup Series victory broke a 10-year win drought at The Paperclip, with Joe Gibbs Toyota team-mate Christopher Bell featuring as runner-up. It was Hamlin’s first victory with crew chief Chris Gayle.
NASCAR returned to a classic short track in the form of Martinsville Speedway today. The Cup Series has raced here since 1949 and Richard Petty has the most wins here of all time: 15. Since 1964, Martinsville winners have celebrated by taking home a local hand-made grandfather clock as a trophy.
The 0.526-mile track features flat asphalt straights and just 12 degrees of banked concrete corners, emphasising the need for driver skill, but also the need for patience in super close-quarters racing on ‘The Paperclip’.
Last year, William Byron earned a grandfather clock with team-mates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott completing the top three during Hendrick’s 40th Anniversary weekend.
Christopher Bell began the 400-lap race from pole with Chase Elliott beside him. With no contest from Elliott, Bell began to extend his lead.
By lap 24, Elliott re-passed Bell for the lead as they approached lapped cars. On lap 31, a caution came out for debris at turn four.
Bell beat the field off pit road using the advantage of the last pit stall (earned with pole position). Josh Berry, Austin Cindric, Cole Custer, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney and Riley Herbst stayed out to gain track position.
The race resumed with 40 laps to go in stage one. Berry led the Wood Brothers’ first laps at Martinsville since Ricky Rudd in 2005. Herbst was quickly shuffled all the way to the back of the field with a poor restart.
With nine laps to go in stage one, Chris Buescher spun backwards on the frontstretch after contact with Carson Hocevar, bringing out a caution. The majority of the field pitted, while Logano and Bowman stayed out and kept track position for a short dash to the stage end.
Hendrick Chevrolets Bowman and Elliott brought the field to green on lap 93. Elliott quickly inherited the lead while Bowman slipped back to seventh over the next 40 laps. A caution was called when the no. 50 Chevrolet of Burt Myers ground to a halt with an engine issue.
Josh Berry was once leading, but a collision with Bubba Wallace on pit road broke his battery and he fell two laps down while they fixed the issue.
Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace returned the field to green after caution flag pit stops. Only the top five stayed out with 49 laps to go in stage two.
Elliott fought his way up the order after pitting under caution, using his fresher tyres to break through to second place with only six laps to go in stage two.
Hamlin accumulated his eighth stage win while surpassing 2500 laps led at Martinsville Speedway.
Stage three presented a gruelling 220-lap dash to the finish – made even worse for Ty Gibbs, as his cool-suit was reportedly failing.
Hamlin and Elliott led the field to green. Blaney started the day 32nd on the grid, but through brilliant strategy he was sixth by stage three. Wallace fought past Elliott for P2.
On lap 275, a caution was called for Shane Van Gisbergen’s right-rear tyre falling off. Everybody headed for pit road and it was Hamlin who led them out. Wallace lined up alongside him, with Bell in third while Elliott restarted in fourth after a slow pit stop.
On lap 298, Ty Gibbs spun at turn two, collecting Zane Smith and bringing out another caution. The perpetrator was Tyler Reddick – who he would exchange words with after the race. Hamlin and Wallace took the front row once again with 94 laps to go. Only a few laps later, Noah Gragson spun while Buescher had a flat tyre when they collided. Gragson and Buescher voiced some retaliation with a light swipe under the ninth caution of the day.
On the next restart, Wallace almost ceded second place to Bell, but was saved by yet another caution as Chase Briscoe slid up the track and spun Logano.
Bell took the outside of the front row for the next restart with 75 laps to go and could not pass the no. 11. Over the next 75 laps, including through lapped traffic, Bell could not keep up with him.
Hamlin celebrated in style as he burned up his rear tyres, even (accidentally) setting fire to his car due to the burning rubber build-up. After climbing from his car, he waved a flag of this message: “11 against the world” in reference to his lack of popularity stemming years back.
“[The team] decided they were gonna come here with a different approach to the last few years. It was just… amazing. The car was great, it did everything I needed it to do. I’m just so happy to win with Chris and get #55. It’s awesome!”
Win number 55 places Hamlin joint-11th in all-time Cup Series wins, tied with Rusty Wallace.
With Hamlin now locked into the Playoffs, which driver will punch their ticket to the postseason next in the Darlington Throwback Weekend?
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