Cook Out 400
Martinsville, Va. – March 29, 2026
AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 MENARDS/RICHMOND FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE
START: 6TH STAGE 1: 5TH STAGE 2: 6TH FINISH: 8TH POINTS: 18TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric delivered an eighth-place finish in Sunday’s Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway capping off a steady and competitive afternoon for the No. 2 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang Dark Horse team. Cindric started sixth and wasted little time moving forward, slipping into the top five within the opening laps. Early in the run, he noted improved turn compared to Saturday’s practice session. By the 30-lap mark, he had worked his way up to fourth and remained a factor inside the top five throughout Stage 1. As the opening segment progressed, Cindric began to lose drive over the longer run but still managed to finish fifth when the stage ended under caution. He came to pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment, lining up fourth for the start of Stage 2. Track position proved valuable in the second stage, as Cindric stayed out during a Lap 105 caution to maintain third place for the restart. He continued to battle inside the top five but reported some brake chatter on that set of tires. Cindric ultimately crossed the line sixth at the end of Stage 2, and the team used the break to reverse their previous adjustment and make additional changes. Starting fifth in the final stage, Cindric held steady inside the top five through the early portion of the run before pitting with 110 laps remaining. A caution with 89 laps to go brought him back to pit road for four tires and fuel, but he restarted just outside the top 10 and had to work his way forward over the closing laps. Despite restarting 11th with under 80 laps to go, Cindric picked off positions in the final run, ultimately crossing the line eighth, securing his second top-10 finish of the season.
CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “Being able to get the finishes to go with the speed we’ve had is key. I’m proud of everyone on the No. 2 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang. It was definitely fast today and we could contend in the top five. I don’t know if we had enough to win the race today, but I don’t think there was anything we were weak at. It was good to be able to manage the runs – there were obviously a ton of long runs. It’s nice to have a couple decent runs headed into the Easter break.”
RYAN BLANEY No. 12 ADVANCE AUTO PARTS FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE
START: 12TH STAGE 1: 8TH STAGE 2: 4TH FINISH: 6TH POINTS: 2ND
RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang Dark Horse team came away with a sixth-place finish Sunday at Martinsville, marking the team’s fifth top-10 result in the first seven races to start the season. After starting 12th, Blaney worked his way into the top-10 of the runner order just 12 laps in before settling into eighth where he went on to finish Stage 1 from. Following a four tire stop and a round of adjustments, Blaney restarted from the inside of row four and picked his way through traffic to reach the top-five by lap 131. As the leaders worked their way through lapped traffic, Blaney was able to complete the pass for fourth with four laps to go in Stage 2 to secure seven more stage points on the afternoon. Following the ensuing restart, the Advance Auto Parts Ford battled to third on the leaderboard before clearing the No. 54 on lap 257 for the runner-up spot and chasing the No. 11 for the lead. With the No. 12 team opting for a one stop strategy for the final run, crew chief Jonathan Hassler called Blaney to pit road under green on lap 291 – a lap after the No. 11 hit pit road – as the completion of the cycle saw Blaney scored third. A caution on lap 324 saw teams come to pit road one final time for four tire stops before Blaney lined up from the inside of row three with 78 laps to go. While battling side-by-side with the No. 11 for the third position, Blaney was forced up the track coming off of turn four and into the outside wall, causing him to lose momentum and drop to eighth in the order with 66 laps remaining. Blaney was able to get back in a rhythm over the final stretch as the race stayed green the rest of the way, working his way back up to sixth before the checkered flag flew.
BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “Overall, a really good day. I thought we got a little better all day. By the last run or so, I thought we were a top-three car for sure. What happened on the restart kind of put us back. Proud of everybody for recovering, Advance Auto Parts for being with us, Menards, Ford, Ford Racing, everybody who helps us out. Probably one of the better spring races we’ve had in a couple years. Really proud of that effort. Really good day on pit road. Those guys did a great job of staying in it, doing a really good job. Yeah, good run today. Wish it could have been a little bit better. Looking forward to Bristol.”
JOEY LOGANO No. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE
START: 9TH STAGE 1: 7TH STAGE 2: 3RD FINISH: 3RD POINTS: 12TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano and the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang team rebounded for a third-place finish Sunday at Martinsville, marking Logano’s 14th-consecutive top-10 finish at the Virginia short track – the Cup Series’ longest active top-10 streak at any track. Logano started from ninth and settled into seventh in the running order by lap 20 as the opening stage stayed green up until a caution with three laps remaining that brought an end to Stage 1. After the 22 team gained a spot on pit road, Logano took the green flag of the second segment from the outside of row three and worked his way up to third on the leaderboard by lap 121 before beginning to work through lapped traffic. The Shell-Pennzoil Ford was able to maintain pace over the course of the final 60 laps of the run in a third-place result in Stage 2. Another quick four tire stop allowed Logano to be the second car off pit road and take the green flag from the outside of row one as crew chief Paul Wolfe planned to use a one-stop strategy over the course of the final run. Logano battled issues with front turn early on in the run, settling into fifth in the order before the green flag pit cycle began to unfold. Wolfe eventually called Logano to pit road on lap 284 and cycled to sixth before the caution flag flew on lap 312, prompting the final round of pit stops for the lead lap cars. After taking the final restart of the afternoon from the outside of row three with 69 laps to go, Logano worked his way up to third in just 13 laps with his sights set on the leaders. Logano cut the deficit down to just over a second with 15 laps to go, but ultimately took the checkered flag third to secure his second top-five finish of the season.
LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “Solid rebound for everybody. A track we expect to do well here. Glad to see that. Weekends like last weekend you start to question everything. Nice to have a good rebound, solid car. Our car honestly, if we were able to get to the lead, I don’t know if the No. 9 was any better than us. [Chase Elliott] just got the clean air at the right time. If we were able to do that, we could have been in that position as well. Proud of the team. Good stage points – which we needed in both stages – and a solid third-place. Something nice to head into Easter with. I feel like we definitely got our heads a little bit more wrapped around these type of racetracks. That’s when you got to capitalize. You have to come out here and run top-five when you have those tracks on the schedule. Got to keep working on the other ones.”
Following the off week, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to action at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City 500 on Sunday, April 12. Live coverage begins at 3:00 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
