Chase Elliott wins at Martinsville, ends Hamlin’s dominant day

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Chase Elliott fended off Denny Hamlin in the final run to win Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway.

Elliott passed Hamlin on a late restart and led the final 69 laps to win, beating Hamlin by half a second. Hamlin led a race-high 292 of the race’s 400 laps but was unable to pull off the winning move in the closing laps.

“I know we still have a lot of room for improvement but great way to cap off this first stretch,” Elliott said after the win, noting the series’ off week.

This is Elliott’s second win at Martinsville. His last win at the track came in his championship year of 2020 in the season’s penultimate race. It’s Hendrick Motorsports’ 31st win at the track, the most-all time and the most for the team at one venue.

“[My team] did a great job of putting us in an extremely good position with that strategy call,” Elliott said. “It goes to show that [crew chief Alan Gufstafson] is pretty good at his job.”

Hamlin was aiming for a seventh Martinsville victory. He leads active drivers in wins at the track.

Elliott started 10th and ran outside the top 10 for much of the race, but a late call to short-pit on a late pit stop allowed Elliott to gain significant track position. When a caution flag waved on lap 312, Elliott was able to pit from second place and later out-jumped Hamlin on the restart.

Hamlin surpassed the NASCAR Cup Series record for most laps led at Martinsville during Sunday’s race. He was far and away the best car in Sunday’s race before being passed late.

Joey Logano, Ty Gibbs, and William Byron rounded out the top five.

Only one major crash happened in Sunday’s race. Shortly following a restart on lap 325, the field stacked up mid-pack, causing damage for Bubba Wallace, Riley Herbst, Carson Hocevar, Daniel Suárez, Connor Zilisch, and others. Wallace and Herbst were taken out of the race by the crash.

Tyler Reddick, who finished 15th, continues to lead the NASCAR Cup Series points standings with an 82-point lead over Ryan Blaney. Hamlin, Elliott, and Byron make up the top five.

The NASCAR Cup Series takes a week off and is next in action on Sunday, April 12, at Bristol Motor Speedway.