Cook Out 400 – Martinsville Speedway
Martinsville, Va. – March 30, 2025
AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 MENARDS/JACK LINK’S FORD MUSTANG
START: 20TH STAGE 1: 16TH STAGE 2: 25TH FINISH: 37TH POINTS: 24TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric started 20th at Martinsville Speedway in the No. 2 Menards/Jack Link’s Ford Mustang and quickly climbed the leaderboard by staying out during a caution on Lap 32 to gain track position. He restarted second and maintained solid pace following the restart, before finishing 16th at the end of Stage 1. Battery issues had begun to surface, prompting the No. 2 crew to troubleshoot the problem as well as flush the cool suit system. Despite the setback, Cindric reported improved handling on the long run and completed Stage 2 in the 25th position. However, the battery issues persisted in the final stint, ultimately forcing an early end to the No. 2 team’s day. The Menards/Jack Link’s machine was credited with a 37th-place finish.
CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “Definitely a disappointing way to end the day. I felt like we had great pace early on, so it’s unfortunate for it to end the way it did for our Menards/Jack Link’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse. We’ll reset and get ready for Darlington next week.”
RYAN BLANEY No. 12 ADVANCE AUTO PARTS FORD MUSTANG
START: 32ND STAGE 1: 18TH STAGE 2: 6TH FINISH: 11TH POINTS: 10TH
RACE RUNDOWN: After starting towards the tail end of the field Sunday afternoon at Martinsville, Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang rallied for an 11th-place finish to cap off the weekend at the half-mile short track. The first caution flag flew on lap 32, allowing the No. 12 team to flip its track position as the majority of the field opted to pit while Blaney was one of six cars to stay out, setting him up to take the ensuing restart from fifth. Ultimately, fresher tires prevailed over the course of the following run as Blaney settled for an 18th-place finish in Stage 1. Following a four tire stop and a round of adjustments during the stage caution, Blaney worked his way back into the top-10 by lap 144 and continued his fight to the front, coming away with a sixth-place result in Stage 2. Blaney settled into fifth for the opening run of the final stage before the last round of pit stops took place following the caution on lap 274 as the Advance Auto Parts Ford lined up to take the green flag from seventh with 114 laps remaining. Blaney continued to hold steady in the top-10 before the field took the green one last time with 75 laps to go, but was unable to make up any ground over the course of the final run in an 11th-place effort.
BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “Really proud of the effort from our 12 group after the way our weekend started. The strategy played into our favor early to gain back some track position and the changes we made throughout the day allowed us to maintain in the top-10. Just needed a little more for the final run there but a solid day to get us back in the right direction.”
JOEY LOGANO No. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG
START: 7TH STAGE 1: 1ST STAGE 2: 12TH FINISH: 8TH POINTS: 9TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Despite getting collected in a late-race incident that relegated the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford to the tail end of the lead lap, Joey Logano charged through the field over the final 75 laps to come away with an eighth-place finish Sunday at Martinsville, marking his 12th-consecutive top-10 finish at the Virginia short track. Logano displayed top-10 pace throughout the 400-lap event as he worked his way up to second in the running order before the caution flag flew with 10 laps remaining in Stage 1. After taking the restart from the inside of row one, Logano took control to come away with his second stage win of the season in a two-lap shootout. Varying strategies resulted in Logano restarting from 29th to begin Stage 2, but he once again climbed the leaderboard on fresh tires to reach 17th when the caution flag flew on lap 122. Crew chief Paul Wolfe made the call for right side tires only on the ensuing stop as the No. 22 team gained seven spots on pit road to vault Logano back into the top-10. After crossing the line 12th in Stage 2, several cautions continued to stack up the field before Logano was involved in an incident in turn three with 83 laps to go as the No. 19 got sideways and made contact with the left rear of the No. 22. Despite receiving minimal damage, Logano hit pit road for four fresh tires and lined up to restart 25th with 75 laps remaining. Logano made quick work through the field as the race remained green for the entirety of the run, ascending to the top-10 with seven laps to go before ultimately taking the checkered flag eighth.
LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “It seems like it’s been a typical 2025. A pretty solid car and then something happens. Overall, I feel the guys gave me a really fast Shell-Pennzoil Mustang, one that was possible to win with if we got the track position. We went for that stage win early in the race in Stage 1. I think that was the right call. We got ourselves back in the ballpark there and the long haul was pretty good.”
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway on Sunday, April 6. Live coverage of the Goodyear 400 begins at 3:00 p.m. ET on FS1 with in-car camera angles available all race long through MAX Driver Cam.
