Chase Elliott erased a winless start to Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet’s start to the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. He did so by navigating his way to win the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, March 29.
The 2020 Cup Series champion from Dawsonville, Georgia, led twice for 84 of 400-scheduled laps in an event where he started in 10th place and struggled to navigate his way to the front despite having a fast race car. Despite not scoring any stage points between the event’s first two stage periods, Elliott managed to stabilize himself inside of the top-10 mark at the start of the final stage period.
Then with 139 laps remaining, Chase Elliott and his crew chief, Alan Gustafson, rolled the dice by strategically pitting under green flag conditions. The move propelled Elliott atop the leaderboard and he gained another break with 89 laps remaining when a caution flew that enabled Elliott to pit for fresh tires with the front-runners and remain towards the front.
Through two late-race restarts, Elliott capitalized on the latest one with 69 laps remaining to outduel Ross Chastain and reassume the lead. Despite being mired in lapped traffic and having dominant pole-sitter Denny Hamlin reeling in through every turn and straightaway, Elliott did not miss his beat and retained the lead for the event’s remainder. This enabled Elliott to score his first victory of the 2026 season.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, March 28, Denny Hamlin secured his first Cup pole position of the 2026 season with a pole-winning lap at 98.241 mph in 19.275 seconds. Hamlin shared the front row with William Byron, the latter of whom clocked in his fastest lap at 97.957 mph in 19.331 seconds.
When the green flag waved and the event commenced, Denny Hamlin gained the upper hand at the start by muscling his No. 11 Bob’s Discount Furniture Toyota Camry XSE entry ahead of William Byron’s No. 24 Cincinnati Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry from the inside lane entering the first two turns. With the clean air working to his favor, Hamlin proceeded to lead the first lap over Byron while Josh Berry, Ty Gibbs and Austin Cindric followed suit in the top five, respectively.
Over the next four laps, Hamlin extended his early lead to seven-tenths of a second over Byron while a variety of on-track actions and jostling for positions ensued within the field. While Berry, Gibbs and Cindric continued to race in the top five, Shane van Gisbergen was scored in sixth place and Tyler Reddick muscled his way into seventh place while Carson Hocevar and Joey Logano battled for eighth place in front of Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney and Bubba Wallace. Amid the battles, Hamlin retained the lead by half a second over Byron by half a second at the Lap 10 mark.
Fifteen laps later, Hamlin stabilized his lead to six-tenths of a second over Byron while Berry, Cindric, Ty Gibbs, van Gisbergen, Logano, Blaney, Reddick and Hocevar were racing in the top 10 ahead of Larson, Elliott, Bell, Ryan Preece, Wallace, Chris Buescher, Zane Smith, Erik Jones, Ross Chastain and Michael McDowell, respectively. Meanwhile, Daniel Suarez, Justin Allgaier, Brad Keselowski, Riley Herbst and Chase Briscoe trailed in the top 25 ahead of Cole Custer, Austin Dillon, rookie Connor Zilisch, AJ Allmendinger and Todd Gilliland while John Hunter Nemechek, Noah Gragson, Ty Dillon, Kyle Busch, Austin Hill, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Cody Ware were mired outside the top-30 mark, respectively.
Another 10 laps later, Hamlin, who was approaching a multitude of competitors racing at the tail end of the field, starting with Austin Hill, maintained the lead by half a second over Byron, while third-place Berry trailed by more than a second. As Hamlin was getting blocked by John Hunter Nemechek while trying to lap the latter, Byron took advantage of Hamlin getting stalled by overtaking Hamlin through the frontstretch and assuming the lead. During the following lap, Hamlin, who repeatedly bumped into the rear of Nemechek, navigated past Nemechek and proceeded to reel Byron back down for the lead.
On Lap 44, Hamlin zipped past Byron through the first two turns to reassume the lead. Hamlin, who proceeded to lap Ty Dillon and Kyle Busch, slightly stretched his lead to half a second over Byron at the Lap 50 mark while Berry, Cindric and Gibbs trailed in the top-five mark by as far back as three seconds. Hamlin continued to lap more competitors, including Noah Gragson, Connor Zilisch, Todd Gilliland, AJ Allmendinger and Riley Herbst, and maintained his advantage to six-tenths of a second over Byron by Lap 65.
Then on Lap 77, the event’s first caution flew when Cody Ware spun through Turns 3 and 4 after he got bumped by Nemechek amid a chain reaction, where both were among a handful of competitors racing in front of the leader, Hamlin. The caution was enough for the first stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 80 to officially conclude under caution. As a result, Hamlin, who lapped Austin Dillon, Cole Custer, teammate Chase Briscoe, and Justin Allgaier since Lap 65, cruised to his first Cup stage victory of the 2026 season. Byron followed suit in the runner-up spot while Berry, Ty Gibbs, Cindric, van Gisbergen, Logano, Blaney, Reddick and Preece were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, 22 of 37 starters were scored on the lead lap.
Under the event’s first stage break period, the lead lap field led by Hamlin pitted for the first time. Following the pit stops, Hamlin exited pit road first ahead of Byron while Gibbs, Cindric, Berry, Logano, van Gisbergen, Reddick, Blaney and Chase Elliott followed suit, respectively. During the pit stops, Kyle Busch knocked a wheel out of his pit box and was assessed an uncontrolled tire penalty. In addition, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was penalized for speeding on pit road and Preece dropped from 10th to 15th due to receiving a slow pit service.
The second stage period started on Lap 95 as Hamlin and Byron occupied the front row in front of Gibbs, Cindric, Berry and Logano. At the start, both Hamlin and Byron dueled for the lead for a full lap before Hamlin managed to lead the next lap from the inside lane. Seconds later, Hamlin motored ahead through the first two turns while teammate Gibbs drew alongside Byron. Gibbs then overtook Byron for the runner-up spot on Lap 98 while Byron dropped to third in front of Cindric, Logano and Berry. While multiple competitors fanned out and jostled for spots, Hamlin led by three-tenths of a second over teammate Gibbs at the Lap 100 mark.
On Lap 104, the caution returned when Noah Gragson, who was mired a lap down and jostling within the mid-pack region, was bumped and sent for a spin by AJ Allmendinger through Turns 3 and 4. At the time of Gragson’s incident, Buescher pitted due to a right-front tire issue and dropped out of the lead lap category. When pit road became accessible for the field during the caution, some, including Larson, Erik Jones, Zane Smith, Keselowski, Allgaier, Suarez and McDowell pitted. The rest, led by Hamlin, remained on the track.
When the event restarted under green on Lap 112, Hamlin rocketed ahead from the outside lane. He then transitioned to the inside lane through the first two turns. As Hamlin led the next lap, teammate Gibbs fended off Cindric to retain second place. Logano, Byron, Reddick, van Gisbergen and the rest of the field followed suit. Over the next seven laps, Blaney and van Gisbergen rubbed fenders while fiercely battling for seventh place. Behind, Wallace, Bell, Preece and Chase Elliott jostled for 10th place in front of Larson, who had four fresh tires. Amid the battles, Hamlin stabilized his lead to four-tenths of a second over teammate Gibbs by Lap 125.
At the Lap 140 mark, Hamlin stretched his lead to more than a second over Gibbs. Team Penske’s Logano, Cindric and Blaney trailed by as far back as two seconds. Meanwhile, Byron was mired in sixth place. Reddick, van Gisbergen, Larson, Berry, Bell, Elliott, Wallace, Preece and Chastain were racing in the top 15, respectively. With the field stabilizing around every turn and straightaway, Hamlin started to lap competitors. He continued to lead by more than a second both at the Lap 150 and 160 marks.
When the second stage period concluded, Hamlin captured his second Cup stage victory of 2026. It was also his second stage win in Sunday’s event at Martinsville. Teammate Gibbs settled in second ahead of Logano, Blaney and Byron. Cindric, Reddick, van Gisbergen, Larson and Berry were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, 22 of 37 starters were scored on the lead lap.
During the event’s second stage break period, the lead lap field led by Hamlin pitted. Following the pit stops, Hamlin exited pit road first to retain the lead. Logano, Gibbs, Blaney, Cindric, Larson, van Gisbergen, Bell, Berry and Preece followed suit. During the pit stops, Byron endured a slow pit service due to issues with the left-rear area and dropped to 13th place.
With 207 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced. Hamlin and Logano occupied the front row in front of Gibbs, Cindric, Blaney and van Gisbergen. At the start, Hamlin launched ahead from the inside lane, exiting the frontstretch and through the first two turns.
With the field fanning out through the backstretch, Hamlin cycled back to the frontstretch and led the next lap. Teammate Gibbs challenged Logano for the runner-up spot. Gibbs managed to motor ahead of Logano to reclaim the runner-up spot during the next lap. Logano’s teammates, Blaney and Cidnric, reeled in from behind. Meanwhile, Larson motored his way up to sixth place along with Bell. Chase Elliott, van Gisbergen, Byron, Preece, Wallace, Berry and Chastain all jostled for eighth place. Amid the battles, Hamlin led by six-tenths of a second over Gibbs at the event’s halfway mark on Lap 200.
Down to the final 175 laps, Hamlin, who led since the start of the final stage period, continued to lead. He was more than a second over both Gibbs and Blaney. Fourth-place Cindric trailed by more than two seconds and fifth-place Logano trailed by more than three seconds. Behind, Bell, Larson, Chase Elliott, Byron and van Gisbergen were racing in the top 10. Wallace, Preece, Berry, Chastain, Reddick, Zane Smith, Hocevar, Erik Jones, Keselowski, Allgaier, McDowell, Suarez and Briscoe rounded out the lead-lap field.
Fifteen laps later, Hamlin continued to lead by one-and-a-half seconds over teammate Gibbs. Third-place Blaney trailed by nearly two seconds. Bell, Larson, Byron, Chase Elliott, van Gisbergen, Wallace, Preece, Berry, Chastain and Tyler Reddick trailed in the top 15. Hamlin was leading by more than a second over Gibbs with 150 laps remaining.
Then, with 139 laps remaining, Chase Elliott pitted his No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry from ninth place. Van Gisbergen, who was also racing in the top-10 mark, pitted seven laps later. Hamlin continued to remain on the track and lead ahead of Blaney and Gibbs.
Larson and Suarez then pitted with 118 laps remaining. Logano, Byron, Reddick, Briscoe, Bell, Preece, Zane Smith, Riley Herbst, Allgaier, Keselowski and Erik Jones pitted over the next five laps. Gibbs pitted from the top-three mark with 112 laps remaining. Hamlin, Cindric, Wallace, Hocevar, Stenhouse, Chastain and Blaney pitted over the next four laps.
After the green flag pit stops, Chase Elliott, who was the first of the top-10 competitors to pit, cycled to the lead with 107 laps remaining. Van Gisbergen, who was the second competitor to pit early, cycled his way up to second place. Hamlin, meanwhile, was mired in third place. Despite overtaking van Gisbergen a few laps later, Hamlin trailed Elliott by more than three seconds with 100 laps remaining.
Meanwhile, Ty Dillon limped his No. 10 Black’s Tire Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry around the track with a flat right-front tire. Despite having the front tire on fire, he managed to pit without drawing a caution.
Then, with 92 laps remaining, Hamlin, who reeled in Elliott with fresher tires, overtook Chase Elliott through the first two turns. As both Hamlin and Elliott were mired in a bevy of lapped traffic, the former started to motor away with the top spot. Then, Blaney started to reel in Elliott for the runner-up spot.
The caution then flew with 89 laps remaining due to debris in the form of a brake caliper from Ty Dillon’s entry detected on the track. During this latest caution period, nearly the entire lead lap field led by Hamlin returned to pit road for service. Chastain did not pit. Following the pit stops, Hamlin exited pit road first ahead of Elliott, Gibbs, Blaney and Bell.
The start of the next restart, with 78 laps remaining, featured Chastain motoring ahead from the inside lane. Hamlin stumbled from the outside lane after he missed a gear. His brief misfortune allowed Chase Elliott to challenge Hamlin for the runner-up spot. Meanwhile, Chastain retained the lead.
During the next lap, the caution returned when Wallace, who had given Hocevar a huge bump entering Turn 3, rammed into the rear of Hocevar and turned him amid a stack-up through Turns 3 and 4. The contact ignited a multi-car wreck. It involved Zane Smith, Austin Dillon, Suarez, Buescher, Austin Hill, Herbst, Nemechek, Erik Jones, Zilisch and McDowell. Wallace sustained the most damage to his No. 23 Hardee’s Toyota Camry XSE entry and was knocked out of the race.
As the event restarted with 69 laps remaining, Chastain and Elliott dueled for the lead for a full lap. Elliott barely led the next lap from the outside lane. However, Chase Elliott then used the frontstretch to muscle ahead of Chastain during the next lap and motor away.
Hamlin forced Blaney into the frontstretch’s outside wall while the duo and Gibbs were battling for third place. Blaney dropped to sixth place and was battling Bell to retain the spot. Hamlin then reeled in Chastain for the runner-up spot. Elliott continued to lead with 65 laps remaining. Hamlin then overtook Chastain to reclaim the runner-up spot during the next lap. Logano then battled Chastain for third place as Blaney raced Byron for seventh place.
Down to the final 55 laps of the event, Elliott was leading by half a second over a hard-charging Hamlin. Logano, Chastain and Gibbs trailed in the top five, respectively, by two seconds. Despite Hamlin’s late charge through every turn and straightaway, Elliott slowly stretched his advantage. He was was scored as the leader with 40 laps remaining.
With less than 30 laps remaining, Hamlin reeled in on Elliott as the latter was approaching lapped traffic. As Elliott was mired in lapped traffic with 25 laps remaining, his advantage decreased as Hamlin narrowed the deficit. Amid lapped traffic, Elliott managed to stabilize his advantage to four-tenths of a second with 20 laps remaining. Third-place Logano trailed by more than a second. Meanwhile, Gibbs and Byron occupied the remaining top-five spots. They were followed by Blaney, Bell, Larson, Cindric and Berry. Chase Elliott remained atop the leaderboard by half a second with 15 laps remaining.
As the event reached its final 10-lap mark, Elliott continued to lead by nearly half a second over Hamlin. Hamlin continued to struggle in his attempt to reel in Elliott amid the lapped traffic. Through every turn and straightaway, Elliott maintained the top spot by a steady margin over the next nine laps. Hamlin, however, continued to mount a charge.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Elliott remained in the lead by seven-tenths of a second over Hamlin. With Hamlin unable to reel in, Elliott cycled his way around Martinsville smoothly for a final time before he returned to the frontstretch victorious for the first time to the 2026 season.
With the victory, Elliott notched his 22nd NASCAR Cup Series career victory, which moves him into a tie with Terry Labonte for 29th place on the all-time Cup wins list. He also achieved his second victory at Martinsville and his first since he won at Kansas Speedway in September 2025.
Elliott’s Martinsville victory was the 31st for Hendrick Motorsports as both the organization and the Chevrolet nameplate achieved their first victory of the 2026 season. The victory was also the 42nd for Alan Gustafson, whom Elliott credited with the late pit strategy call for the victory, and moves Gustafson into 11th place on the all-time Cup crew chief wins list.
“It was definitely a team effort,” Elliott said on the frontstretch on FS1. “How about that? That was awesome. We’ve never had a win this early in a season. Just a really great team effort, man. So proud of Alan and the whole UniFirst team. They did a great job. We took a gamble. We were gonna two-stop that last stage. I honestly think it was gonna work out really good for us either way. Just so proud of [the team]. They put up with a lot and they got to put up with me all the time. I just appreciate them for sticking with me. He added, “And it sure is a lot of fun when days like this work out.”
Compared to Elliott’s 84 laps led, Hamlin led a race-high 292 laps. But Hamlin ended up one spot shy of winning at his home track for a seventh time. In addition to stumbling on the restart with 78 laps remaining and being unable to reel in Elliott in the closing laps, Hamlin also noted a possible loose wheel. He radioed and felt behind the steering wheel, which prevented him from navigating past Elliott at a quicker pace.
“[Elliott] did a good job controlling the pace there,” Hamlin said. “[The issue] Really came from that bad restart I had beside [Chastain]. Just not much really, I could have done there and felt like we gave it our all…I just thought the wheel was loose there on that last run. These are just some of the races that get away from you in your career and this one, certainly, is one of them.”
Joey Logano rallied from finishing three laps down a week ago at Darlington Raceway by finishing in third place. Ty Gibbs and William Byron finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Ryan Blaney salvaged a sixth-place result following his late contact with the wall. Christopher Bell, Austin Cindric, Kyle Larson and Josh Berry completed the top 10 in the final running order.
Notably, Shane van Gisbergen recorded a stellar 11th-place result. He finished ahead of Ryan Preece, Brad Keselowski, Chase Briscoe and Tyler Reddick. Ross Chastain fell back to 16th place following his late gamble of remaining on the track on worn tires.
There were eight lead changes for six different leaders. The event featured five cautions for 54 laps. In addition, 18 of 37 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the seventh event of this season, Tyler Reddick continues to lead the Cup Series standings by 82 points over Ryan Blaney. He is 94 points over Denny Hamlin, 104 over Chase Elliott and 115 over William Byron.
Results:
- Chase Elliott, 84 laps led
- Denny Hamlin, 292 laps led, Stages 1 & 2 winner
- Joey Logano
- Ty Gibbs
- William Byron, six laps led
- Ryan Blaney, two laps led
- Christopher Bell
- Austin Cindric
- Kyle Larson
- Josh Berry, two laps led
- Shane van Gisbergen
- Ryan Preece
- Brad Keselowski
- Chase Briscoe
- Tyler Reddick
- Ross Chastain, 14 laps led
- Carson Hocevar
- Michael McDowell
- Chris Buescher, one lap down
- Daniel Suarez, one lap down
- Erik Jones, one lap down
- Justin Allgaier, two laps down
- Todd Gilliland, two laps down
- Kyle Busch, two laps down
- Austin Dillon, two laps down
- Connor Zilisch, three laps down
- AJ Allmendinger, three laps down
- Noah Gragson, three laps down
- John Hunter Nemechek, three laps down
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., four laps down
- Cole Custer, four laps down
- Cody Ware, six laps down
- Austin Hill, six laps down
- Zane Smith, 29 laps down
- Riley Herbst – OUT, Accident
- Bubba Wallace – OUT, Accident
- Ty Dillon – OUT, Brakes
The NASCAR Cup Series’ teams and competitors enter an off-weekend period for Easter holiday before returning to action on April 12 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee, for the Food City 500. The event’s broadcast is scheduled to commence at 3 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN Radio, SiriusXM and HBO MAX.
