Denny Hamlin dominated his way to victory in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway, the first short-track race of 2025.
The Virginia native picked up his first Cup Series win since claiming Dover Motor Speedway last spring, pacing the field for 274 of the 400-lap event; the most circuits he’s led in a race in the Next Gen era. The No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s first 2025 victory is his 55th all-time, tying him with NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace. The victory is also Hamlin’s sixth at the track but first in the past decade after his most recent came in the 2015 spring race.
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Right behind him in P2 was polesitter and JGR teammate Christopher Bell in the No. 20 Toyota.
Rounding out the top five were Bubba Wallace in the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota, Chase Elliott in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and Kyle Larson in the No. 5 Hendrick Chevrolet.
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Series points leader William Byron struggled with his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet all afternoon, failing to lead a lap for the first time this season en route to a 22nd-place finish. Defending champion Joey Logano won Stage 1 and earned his first 2025 top 10 after bringing it home ninth in the final stage.
The Cup Series races again next weekend in Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) as part of NASCAR Throwback Weekend. RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski is the defending winner.
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