The Cup Series caps off a triple header weekend with the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway.
At a track known for their hot dogs, a race title Cook Out is appropriate.
Thirty-seven teams brought cars to Martinsville for 400 laps around the half mile track. With a field for 40 starting spots, all of the drivers will make the race.
The track that is shaped like a paperclip finishes out the three weeks of short track racing in the spring.
The drivers are divided into two groups for a 20 minute practice session before making a qualifying run. Drivers will make two lap single car qualifying runs. The top five drivers from each group will move on to a second round of qualifying to set the pole.
This years marks the 40th anniversary of Hendrick Motorsports. Forty years ago, Geoff Bodine drove the lone HMS car is a checkers or wreckers situation where if the car didn’t win, Hendrick would have shut the program down. Some 1,500 HMS employees will be at the race. All four of the HMS cars are decked out in ruby red – a 40th anniversary is the ruby anniversary.
This weekend marks 6,000 races for Team Penske!
On Friday, the Craftsman Truck Series broke the track record three times and the Xfinity Series tied the record. Will the Cup drivers come close to a new track record?
Ty Gibbs reports that something “is weird” with his car.
Harrison Burton is the first driver on the track to make a qualifying run and post a time of 20.115 seconds around the half mile track.
Josh Berry is having some issues with one of his roof flaps; it keeps popping up.
Bubba Wallace, Chase Briscoe, Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney, and Martin Truex Jr will all be moving on to round two of qualifying form Group A.
From Group B Josh Berry, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Larson will move on to round two of qualifying.
The first driver from the top 10 on the track was Ryan Blaney who posted a time of 19, 816 seconds.
With a time of 19. 718 seconds Kyle Larson puts his number five car on the pole for his 18th career pole. He beat out Bubba Wallace by one-thousandth of a second.
The starting lineup for the Cook Out 400:
Kyle Larson
Bubba Wallace
Chase Elliott
Martin Truex Jr
Chase Briscoe
Joey Logano
Josh Berry
Denny Hamlin
Ryan Blaney
Alex Bowman
Kyle Busch
Ross Chastain
Brad Keselowski
Austin Cindric
Ty Gibbs
Todd Gilliland
Erik Jones
William Byron
Tyler Reddick
Christopher Bell
Daniel Suarez
Ryan Preece
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Zane Smith
Carson Hocevar
Noah Gragson
Justin Haley
Austin Dillon
John Hunter Nemechek
Chris Beuscher
Kaz Grala
Corey LaJoie
Josh Williams
Harrison Burton
Michael McDowell
Daniel Hemric
David Starr
Points leader Martin Truex Jr is the only driver in the field to complete every lap so far. He brings that record into Martinsville – a track known for crashes with so many cars very close together.
Today marks Cup Series race number 151 at Martinsville.
Geoff Bodine and Jeff Gordon are grand marshals for today’s race and give the command. Geoff earned HMS race number one at Martinsville and Jeff Gordon won nine races at Martinsville.
Stage one of the race is 80 laps, stage two is 100 laps, and stage three is 220 laps for a total of 400 laps around the half mile track. Pit road speed is only 30mph – the slowest in NASCAR. The drivers can run 150 to 160 laps on a single load of fuel and will have to make a pit stop in stage three.
Kyle Larson beat Bubba Wallace for the pole by one thousandth of a second. He brings the field down for the green flag start of the race inside lane and edges out in front for the lead with Bubba Wallace on his bumper.
Lap two, the top five are Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, and Martin Truex Jr.
Lap six. Kyle Larson has pulled out to a half second lead on Bubba Wallace; Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.
Lap 10, the first 25 cars are single file – the world’s fastest conveyor belt.
Lap 12 Kyle Larson has a lead of a little over half a second on Bubba Wallace; Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.
Martin Truex Jr reports a tight condition in his car.
Lap 18, William Byron passes Austin Cindric for 14th.
Lap 19, leader Kyle Larson passes David Starr to put him one lap down.
Lap 28, Kyle Larson has led every lap so far with Bubba Wallace in second; Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.
Lap 32, Kyle Larson has already put six drivers one lap down. Larson’s lead on Bubba Wallace has increased to over a second and a half.
Lap 36, Kyle Larson has a lead of 1.6 seconds on Bubba Wallace; Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.
William Byron has moved up to 12th after starting the race in 18th place. He is in a battle with Alex Bowman for eleventh.
Lap 42, it’s a battle of the Chase’s with Elliott in third and Briscoe in fourth.
William Byron has entered the top 10.
There are 28 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 46, Kyle Larson’s lead on Bubba Wallace is down to just a second; Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.
Lap 56, Kyle Larson continues to lead the race and is now 1.8 seconds out in front of Bubba Wallace.
Lap 59, the top five are Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, and Martin Truex Jr. William Byron is now in eighth place – 10 spots up from where he started in 18th.
As successful as William Byron is, Christopher Bell is having trouble.
Mike Joy just reported that the driver with pit stall number one has not won in the last 10 years.
Lap 68, Kyle Larson has put eleven cars down at least one lap since the race start.
Just 10 laps remain in stage one; Kyle Larson has a lead of two and a half seconds on Bubba Wallace.
Lap 74, there are just 25 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 76, lapped cars Austin Dillon and Kaz Grala are stacking up the cars behind them with Denny Hamlin getting a bit impatient in seventh place and has bumped Joey Logano several times.
Kyle Larson just edges out Bubba Wallace to win stage one for his first Martinsville stage win and his fourth of the season.
The top 10 at the end of stage one :
Kyle Larson
Bubba Wallace
Chase Elliott
Chase Briscoe
Martin Truex Jr
Joey Logano
Kenny Hamlin
William Byron
Josh Berry
Kyle Busch
Drivers come down pit road for service with Joey Logano winning the race off of pit road. Ricky Stenhouse Jr had trouble getting into his pit stall, spinning out. Todd Gilliland left his pit stall with equipment.
Ricky Stenhouse was caught speeding on pit road.
Kyle Busch started leaving his pit stall with the fuel can but it fell off in the pit stall and no penalty.
Ryan Blaney had to make a second stop on pit road for an adjustment and a loose lug nut.
Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 94 with Kyle Larson alongside. Logano gets a push form Bubba Wallace and gets out in front. Kyle Larson spun his tires on the restart.
The top five are Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott.
Denny Hamlin passes Kyle Larson for third.
There are 26 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 100, Joey Logano has a quarter of a second lead on Bubba Wallace; Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Lap 104, Joey Logano has a half second lead on Bubba Wallace with Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott rounding out the top five.
Daniel Suarez is reporting that his throttle is sticking.
Lap 110, Christopher Bell has to make an unscheduled trip down pit road with a suspension issue.
Lap 113, the caution flag comes out for debris on the track.
A few drivers from the back of the field come down pit road for service.
Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 119 with Bubba Wallace alongside. Logano gets out in front with Wallace in second. Denny Hamlin is in third. All four of the HMS cars are fourth through seventh.
Lap 123, Joey Logano has a quarter of a second lead on Bubba Wallace; Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
During the pit stop Josh Williams and David Starr were caught speeding on pit road.
Lap 238, Joey Logano has a half second lead on Bubba Wallace; Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Lap 135, Joey Logano has increased his lead to over half a second on Bubba Wallace; Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott round out the top five with Alex Bowman and William Byron behind them.
Drivers are getting three wide back in the field with Harrison Burton getting bumped around like a pin ball.
Lap 141, Joey Logano has a near one second lead on Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Lap 150, leader Joey Logano is approaching slower traffic; Bubba Wallace’s lead is down to a third of a second.
Joey Logano has caught the slower traffic, but he has been unable to pass them and the cars behind the leader have piled up nose to tail.
Lap 161, Denny Hamlin has bumped and nearly spun out Bubba Wallace – a car he co-owns.
Lap 163, Denny Hamlin passes Bubba Wallace for second.
Lap 165, Denny Hamlin is on leader Joey Logano’s bumper and is challenging for the lead.
Lap 169, Denny Hamlin battles Joey Logano for the lead and gets out in front with 10 laps remaining in stage two.
Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson pass Joey Logano.
Logano has dropped to sixth on lap 179.
Denny Hamlin wins stage two for his seventh stage win at Martinsville.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Denny Hamin
Bubba Wallace
Kyle Larson
Chase Elliott
Joey Logano
Alex Bowman
Chase Briscoe
William Byron
Ross Chastain
Josh Berry
Drivers come down pit road for service with Denny Hamlin winning the race off of pit road. chase Elliot comes out second with Bubba Wallace in third.
Daniel Suarez was caught speeding on pit road.
There was a traffic jam of drivers trying to get out of their pit stalls.
Zane Smith had to make a second trip down pit road for a loose wheel.
Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with Chase Elliott alongside on lap 184 Hamlin and Elliott go side by side with Chase Elliott getting out in front from the outside lane.
The top five are Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, and Alex Bowman.
Alex Bowman and Joey Logano battle for fifth with Chase Briscoe and William Byron in a battle for seventh.
Lap 201, halfway, Chase Elliott has pulled out to a lead of nearly a second on Denny Hamlin; Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson ,and Alex Bowman round out the top five.
The caution flag comes out on lap 204 when Christopher Bell spins out.
A few drivers back in the field come down pit road. Drivers cannot make it to the end of the race from here.
Chase Elliott brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 210 with Denny Hamlin alongside. Elliott gets out in front to hold on ot the lead.
Lap 212, the top five are Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, and Alex Bowman.
Lap 216, Chase Elliott has pulled out to a lead of nearly a second on Denny Hamlin; Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, and Alex Bowman round out the top five. The fourth HMS car of William Byron is in sixth.
Lap 219, Chase Elliott has increased his lead to over a second on Denny Hamlin.
Lap 222, Chase Elliott continues to increase his lead and is now over a second and a half in front of Denny Hamlin; Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.
Lap 223, chase Elliott is now over two seconds out in front of Denny Hamlin.
Lap 236, Chase Elliott has a lead of over two seconds on Denny Hamlin; Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, and William Byron round out the top five.
Lap 239, leader Chase Elliott has encountered slower traffic; Denny Hamlin has closed the gap to under a second and a half. There are 29 cars on the lead lap. Josh Williams is the last car on the lead lap.
Lap 242 and all 37 of the cars that started the race are still on the track.
Lap 245, Denny Hamlin is just a half second behind leader Chase Elliott.
All four of the Hendrick cars are in the top six; only Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace are not Hendric cars.
In a taped interview, Rick Hendric said that the legacy of HMS is not him but the people who have won the races and are there everyday.
Bubba Wallace locked up the tires.
Lap 254, Chase Elliott battles with Denny Hamlin for the lead; Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, and William Byron round out the top five.
Lap 258, Denny Hamlin edges out for the lead.
Lap 270, Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a second and a half over Chase Elliott; Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, and William Byron round out the top five.
With 126 laps remaining in the race, the drivers will need to make one more pit stop to make it to the end of the race.
Lap 287, Denny Hamlin has a lead of over a second and a half on Chase Elliott; Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, and William Byron round out the top five.
Lap 296, Denny Hamlin’s lead is down to just over a second on Chase Elliott.
William Byron is the first driver to start the cycle of green flag pit stops; the remainder of the top five except leader Denny Hamlin comes down pit road.
Lap 299, leader Denny Hamlin comes down pit road and gives the lead over to Joey Logano.
Chase Briscoe is the new leader as pt stops continue.
Chase Elliott gets out in front of Denny Hamlin and will be the leader once the cycle of pit stops is complete.
William Byron passes Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson comes up to pass Hamlin.
The top 10 drivers have yet to make a pit stop.
Lap 307, Chase Briscoe comes down pit road and gives the lead over to Austin Cindric.
Josh Berry had an uncontrolled tire on pit road and will have to serve a pass through penalty.
William Byron passes Chase Elliot and will be the leader when once pit stops cycle through.
Lap 314, Austin Cindric comes down pit road and gives the lead over to Daniel Suarez. Just four cars have yet to make a pit stop.
Lap 321, Daniel Suarez leads the race with Martin Truex Jr in second; William Byron, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Larson rounding out the top five.
William Byron has passed Martin Truex Jr for second; Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson have also passed Truex.
Lap 226, William Byron passes Daniel Suarez for the lead. Suarez and Martin Truex Jr have yet to make a pit stop.
Kyle Busch in 21st is the last driver on the lead lap.
Just 69 laps remain in the race with HMS drivers in the first three spots. Hendrick drivers have won a total of 28 races at Martinsville – the most of any other team.
Lap 335, William Byron has a lead of over half a second on teammate Chase Elliott; Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.
Lap 340, there are just 18 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 342, Daniel Suarez finally makes his green flag pit stop. Only Kaz Grala has yet to make a stop.
Lap 345, Ryan Blaney battles with Bubba Wallace for fifth. And takes the spot.
Fifty to go! William Byron has a second and a half lead on Chase Elliott; Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five. Just 15 cars are on the lead lap.
Just 38 laps to go, William Byron has a three second lead on Chase Elliott with Kyle Larson in third and Alex Bowman in seventh.
It’s race 151 at Martinsville and there has never been a 1-2-3 finish by the same team.
David Starr is out of the race.
Ricky Stenhouse and Josh Berry are door to door; beating and banging.
Denny Hamlin is bumping lapped driver Austin Cindric who is also on fresher tires than Hamlin.
Just 28 laps to go, William Byron has a near three second lead on teammate Chase Elliott; Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.
With just 22 laps to go, William Byron’s lead is down to less than two and a half seconds on Chase Elliott; Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.
With 17 laps to go, William Byron pits the 17 car driven by Chris Buescher one lap down.
Fourteen laps to go and just 14 cars on the lead lap.
Twelve to go, Chase Elliott has closed the gap on leader William Byron to under a second and a half.
Ten to go! William Byron has a 1.65 lead on Chase Elliott as he battles Ross Chastain to put the Melon Man one lap down.
With six laps to go, William Byron’s lead is back to over two seconds on Chase Elliott.
The caution flag comes out with just three laps remaining in the race. John Hunter Nemechek blows a tire with the brakes flaming and hits the wall.
The race goes into overtime!
NASCAR finally tows John Hunter Nemechek’s car off the track. The brake rotors are still on fire.
Lap 407, pit road is open and Denny Hamlin comes down pit road; aw well as, some of drivers from back in the field.
Denny Hamlin will restart the race in 10th place.
William Byron brings the field down for the overtime green/white/checker shootout for the second week in a row. Chase Elliott is alongside Byron with Kyle Larson behind Byron. Byron edges out for the lead with drivers three wide.
William Byron takes the white flag.
William Byron wins the race with Kyle Larson in second and Chase Elliott in third. It is the first time in Martinsville history that a single team has placed 1-2-3 and on the 40th anniversary of Hendrick Motor Sports!
This is William Byron’s third win of the season.
Nine drivers have now won the 29 races at Martinsville.
The unofficial results of the Cook Out 400:
William Byron
Kyle Larson
Chase Elliott
Bubba Wallace
Ryan Blaney
Joey Logano
Tyler Reddick
Alex Bowman
Ryan Preece
Chase Briscoe
Denny Hamlin
Erik Jones
Todd Gilliland
Ross Chastain
Chris Buescher
Kyle Busch
Carson Hocevar
Martin Truex Jr
Ty Gibbs
Noah Gragson
Michael McDowell
Daniel Suarez
Austin Cindric
Brad Keselowski
Josh Berry
Kaz Grala
Josh Williams
Daniel Hemric
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Justin Haley
Zane Smith
Corey LaJoie
Harrison Burton
Austin Dillon
Christopher Bell
John Hunter Nemechek
David Starr