HAMLIN DOMINATES EARLY, FINISHES SECOND IN MARTINVSILLE
Denny Hamlin wins pole and leads 292 of 400 laps
RIDGEWAY, Va. (March 29, 2026) – Denny Hamlin won the pole and the first two stages before finishing second to lead Toyota at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday evening. With the finish, Hamlin moved up to third in the point standings.
Ty Gibbs (fourth) continued his impressive run as the North Carolina-native has now finished five consecutive races in the top-six. He is a season-best sixth in the standings, and is tied for the overall lead in top-fives (four) and top-10s (five). Christopher Bell added a third Joe Gibbs Racing Camry inside the top-10, coming home in seventh.
Despite the runner-up finish, Toyota continues to dominate the laps led count as they hit 1,051 laps led on the year, which is over 57 percent of the total laps run this season.
TOYOTA RACING Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Martinsville Speedway
Race 7 of 36 – 210.4 miles, 400 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Chase Elliott*
2nd, DENNY HAMLIN
3rd, Joey Logano*
4th, TY GIBBS
5th, William Bryon*
7th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
14th, CHASE BRISCOE
15th, TYLER REDDICK
21st, ERIK JONES
29th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
35th, RILEY HERBST
36th, BUBBA WALLACE
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Bob’s Discount Furniture Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
Anything you could have done differently in that final stage?
“No. He did a good job controlling the pace there. Just really came from that bad restart – just not much more that I could have done there. I felt like we gave it our all in our Bob’s Discount Furniture Camry.”
What was your take away from the different package?
“I thought I had a loose wheel. We will check it out. Just felt similar to Darlington, so we will check it out here. Just felt like the wheel was loose on that last run, but either way – just there are some races that get away from you in your career, and this is certainly one of them.”
TY GIBBS, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 4th
How has this team turned around?
“Just adding some key players into it and changing some stuff up. I feel like we’ve been really good this year. Daytona and Atlanta – we were fast too. I just wrecked myself at Atlanta, and Daytona got wrecked. Just sticking to it, adding to it. I had a lot of fun racing today in my No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry. It was really fast. We will keep working on it.”
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 DEWALT Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 7th
What did you need in that last stage?
“I was super happy with the adjustments on our DEWALT Camry. We got more competitive throughout the race – the beginning part of the race was a really big struggle. Overall, I’m happy. We ran seventh. I would obviously love more, but it was a competitive Martinsville race for us. When we were at our best, I felt like we were in the top-five for sure. We just got a little bit worse in the last run, but I did a lot of learning today and will hopefully be better next time.”
BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 Hardee’s Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 36th
Can you tell us what happened?
“Yeah, I misjudged. I didn’t appreciate the line. I misjudged the center of the corner. I didn’t mean to turn him. What a frustrating day, man. So much expectation coming here. Favorite track. Hardee’s on the car. Just wasn’t the day we wanted. We really have to figure out what it is. We can win Saturday in practice, just don’t show up on Sunday. I hate it for our team.
Just frustration. Take a week off and reset and go on to Bristol.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In spring 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 31 electrified options.
For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
