Winners: Denny Hamlin (Cup); Austin Hill (Xfinity); Daniel Hemric (Trucks)
Recap Graphic by Rolando Ramirez - RTR Graphics
NASCAR Cup
Denny Hamlin Dominates for First Martinsville Win in a Decade
It didn’t take Denny Hamlin long to find the recipe for success in Sunday’s Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway.
Hamlin grabbed the lead on Lap 126 of 400 in the seventh NASCAR Cup Series race of the season and never looked back.
With flawless work from his pit crew, the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led 274 of the last 275 laps — with the only exception a lap credited to polesitter Christopher Bell, who raced side-by-side with Hamlin after the final restart on Lap 326.
Hamlin pulled away toward the end of the final 75-lap green-flag run and beat Bell, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, to the finish line by 4.617 seconds.
The victory was Hamlin’s sixth at the 0.526-mile short track, most among full-time active drivers, but his first at Martinsville since 2015. It was his first victory of the season and the 55th of his career, tying him with Rusty Wallace for 11th on the career victory list.
“You know, Chris Gayle, all the engineers, the pit crew, everybody really on that wall right there, just deciding they were going to come here with a different approach than what we’ve been over the last few years,” said Hamlin, who won at Martinsville for the first time with the Gen 7 race car.
“It was just amazing. The car was great. It did everything I needed it to do. Just so happy to win with Chris, get 55 … Obviously, back here in Martinsville where I spent so many years racing late models and whatnot — gosh, I love winning here.”
🙋🏻♂️ 1 - 🌎 0 pic.twitter.com/dgdrt9E1HF
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) March 30, 2025
Pole: Christopher Bell
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Next Race: The Cup Series will return on Sunday, April 6, 2025 at 3:00 pm ET for the ‘Goodyear 400’ at Darlington Raceway.
NASCAR Xfinity
Austin Hill Wins Bizarre, Action-Filled #NASCAR Xfinity Race at Martinsville
The speedway that robbed Austin Hill of a spot in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4 two years ago gave him a gift on Saturday.
Diving underneath a trio of wrecking cars in the final corner of overtime at Martinsville Speedway, Hill beat perennial bridesmaid Sheldon Creed to the finish line by 0.190 seconds to win Saturday’s US Marine Corps 250, giving Richard Childress his 100th win in the series and earning a $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus for the unlikely winner.
“I chose the bottom because of how rough everybody was on restarts,” Hill said of the overtime. “I had to do what I had to do on the last lap. On that restart, it just got wild. We were definitely leaning on each other, and getting into (Turn) 3, I knew we were all going to get beating and banging, and I just drove it in as deep as I could.
“They all hit each other, and I hit the 7 (Allgaier) a little bit and dumped him off and got on the apron there and came home with the win… Man, I’m in disbelief that we’re in Victory Lane right not. It’s unbelievable. I actually said at the end of the race that I hated this place because of all the beating and banging that was going on-and to top it off, we won a hundred grand!”
A replay of the #NASCAROvertime finish at @MartinsvilleSwy. pic.twitter.com/fGJecynkQT
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) March 29, 2025
Pole: Connor Zilisch
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Next Race: The Xfinity Series will return on Saturday, April 5, 2025 at 3:30 pm ET for the ‘Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200’ at Darlington Raceway.
NASCAR Trucks
Daniel Hemric Claims First NASCAR Truck Series Win in Martinsville Shootout
During the week before Friday night’s Boys and Girls Club of the Blue Ridge 200 at Martinsville Speedway, Daniel Hemric practiced his back flip.
It was the signature move he had been able to use just once in NASCAR national series competition-when he won the 2021 season finale at Phoenix Raceway to clinch the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.
But on Friday, the 34-year-old from Kannapolis, N.C., had a chance to perform the celebratory move once again, after capitalizing on the misfortunes of others-notably series leader Corey Heim-to win the first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race of his career.
Hemric even stuck the landing, reveling in the race win that earned him a coveted grandfather clock trophy and a $50,000 Triple Truck Challenge bonus as the highest finishing series regular.
“It’s a funny thing, because my wife asked me a couple weeks ago if I was not too old to do it,” Hemric said of the back flip. “I practiced once last week in the back yard and did a back flip on solid ground.
“I thought, ‘The old man’s still got it,’ and I proved that tonight.”
Just enjoy the journey ... and the $50k! pic.twitter.com/mf9a7N7m2H
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) March 29, 2025
Pole: Corey Heim
Click Here for Race Results
Next Race: The Truck Series will return on Friday, April 11, 2025 at 7:30 pm ET for the Weather Guard Truck Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
ARCA
No ARCA Races Last Weekend
Sharpies and hero cards are always a good combo 😃 pic.twitter.com/NTWoKVNgCe
— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) March 27, 2025
Next Race: The ARCA Series West will return on Saturday, April 5, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. MT for the ARCA Menards Series 150 presented by the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame at Tucson Speedway.
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