The 2024 Cup Series championship hopes for both Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin came to an end despite both notching strong top-five runs during the Round of 8 finale at Martinsville.
The reigning Cup Series champion from High Point, North Carolina, led 32 of 500-scheduled laps and overtook Playoff contender Chase Elliott for the lead with 14 laps remaining to muscle his way to a redemptive Cup victory at Martinsville and return to the Championship 4 round with an opportunity to defend his series title.
The 2017 Cup Series champion from Mayetta, New Jersey, clocked in a pole-winning lap at 96.190 mph in 19.686 seconds, which was enough to claim his first pole in his penultimate Cup Series career start at Martinsville.
NASCAR heads to Martinsville Speedway for the final races in the Round of 8 to determine the four drivers in each series who will contend for the 2024 Championship.
NASCAR travels to Martinsville Speedway for the final races in the Round of 8 this weekend. Four drivers in each series will advance to contend for the coveted 2024 championship title at Phoenix Raceway.
Denike, who is in his second consecutive full-time season as a crew chief in the Craftsman Truck Series for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, will replace veteran Bootie Barker as Bubba Wallace's No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota crew chief for the 2025 Cup Series season.
The 2021 Daytona 500 champion from Glendale, Arizona, is scheduled to achieve a milestone start in his seventh and final full-time season with Front Row Motorsports while competing in NASCAR's premier series.
