The Cup Series takes on the paperclip shaped track known as Martinsville Speedway with the Cook Out  400 in a battle for the grandfather clock.

No longer allowed, Martinsville is the site of the famous “Hail Melon” move by Ross Chastain that took him from 10th to fifth place in the last quarter of the final lap of the playoff race to give him a spot in the final four.

Thirty-seven teams brought cars to Martinsville for 38 starting spots.

The drivers have been divided into two groups for a 25 minute practice session before making a qualifying run.

Which group the drivers are in is determined by the NASCAR metric – 70% from the last race finishing spot and 30% car owner points.

Bubba Wallace tops the leaderboard in group one practice with a fast lap of 19.68 seconds around the half mile track.

Trackhouse Racing doesn’t bring the cars to the tracks with the batteries installed.  When the team installed the battery – lithium ion – in the car and powered it up, it shorted out everything and the crew had to scramble to get the car ready for practice and qualifying.

Carson Hocevar is reporting some brake issues.  Drivers do some heavy breaking at Martinsville.

Ty Gibbs leads practice in group two in second place behind Bubba Wallace.

When the green flag drops on Sunday, Brad Keselowski will be making his 600th career start.  In an interview before qualifying, Keselowski said that he is aiming for 800 career starts.

The first driver on the track to make a qualifying run is Austin Hill who posted a time of 19.921 seconds.

With a time of 19.275 seconds, Denny Hamlin puts his number eleven car on the pole with William Byron alongside on the front row.

The starting lineup for the Cook Out 400:

Denny Hamlin
William Byron
Josh Berry
Ty Gibbs
Shane van Gisbergen
Austin Cindric
Carson Hocevar
Tyler Reddick
Joey Logano
Chase Elliott
Christopher Bell
Ryan Blaney
Kyle Larson
Zane Smith
Bubba Wallace
Chris Buescher
Ryan Preece
Ross Chastain
Erik Jones
Michael McDowell
Justin Allgaier
Daniel Suarez
Brad Keselowski
Cole Custer
Connor Zilisch
Riley Herbst
Chase Briscoe
AJ Allmendinger
Todd Gilliland
Austin Dillon
Noah Gragson
John Hunter Nemechek
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Kyle Busch
Cody Ware
Ty Dillon
Austin Hill

Stage one is 80 laps, stage two is 100 laps, and stage is 220 laps for a total of 400 laps around the half mile track.  The drivers can run 140 to 150 laps on a single load of fuel.

Mike Helton just announced that Kevin Harvick is the first name released as a first year ballot for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

For the second week in a row, tire management will play a big role in the race.

Not only is Martinsville the shortest track on the circuit; it also has the slowest pit road speed at just 30mph.

Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with William Byron alongside.  Polesitter Denny Hamlin has won six races at Martinsville during his career.  William Byron has won three of the last eight races at Martinsville.  Hamlin gets out in front for the lead with William Byron in second; Josh Berry, Ty Gibbs, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.

Lap four, Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a lead over half a second on William Byron.

Lap eight, the top five are Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Josh Berry, Ty Gibbs, and Austin Cindric.

Lap 15, all three of the Team Penske cars are in the top 10 – Austin Cindric in fifth, Joey Logano in seventh, and Ryan Blaney in ninth.

Lap 18, Denny Hamlin has a half second lead on William Byron; Josh Berry, Ty Gibbs, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.

Lap 34, Denny Hamlin continues to lead the race by half a second over William Byron; Josh Berry, Austin Cindric, and Ty Gibbs round out the top five.  Denny Hamlin has already begun lapping slower traffic with 34 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 40, William Byron has caught and passed Denny Hamlin for the lead.

Lap 44, Denny Hamlin battles with William Byron for the lead and retakes the lead; Josh Berry, Austin Cindric, and Ty Gibbs round out the top five.  There are 33 cars on the lead lap with Kyle Busch the last car on the lead lap.

Lap 49, leader Denny Hamlin continues to laps slower cars and there are now 31 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 57, Denny Hamlin has a half second lead on William Byron; Josh Berry, Austin Cindric, and Ty Gibbs round out the top five.  Hamlin continues to laps slower traffic; there are now just 27 cars on the lead lap.

With 14 laps remaining in stage one, Denny Hamlin has a lead of over half a second on William Byron.

Lap 73, three of the four JGR cars are in the top 15 but the 19 car of Chase Briscoe was just passed by his teammate Denny Hamlin to go a lap down.

Four laps remain in stage one, Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a near two second lead on William Byron.

The caution flag comes out with three laps remaining in stage one when Cody Ware spins out.  Stage one ends under caution with Denny Hamlin winning the stage for his first stage win of the season.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Denny Hamlin
William Byron
Josh Berry
Ty Gibbs
Austin Cindric
Shane van Gisbergen
Joey Logano
Ryan Blaney
Tyler Reddick
Ryan Preece

Justin Allgaier is the “lucky dog”.

There is a great deal of tire rubber buildup under Denny Hamlin’s car

Drivers come down pit road for service with Denny Halin winning the race off of pit road with William Byron coming out second.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr was caught speeding on pit road and will have to restart the race from the back of the longest line.

Kyle Busch was charged with having an uncontrolled tire and will have to restart the race form the back of the longest line.

Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with William Byron alongside on lap 96.  After going side by side for a lap, Denny Hamlin gets out in front for the lead from the inside lane.

The top five are Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, William Byron, Austin Cindric, and Joey Logano.

Drivers are getting three wide on the track.

Austin Cindric passes William Byron for third.

There are just 23 cars on the lead lap.

The caution flag comes out on lap 105 when Noah Gragson spins out after contact with AJ Allmendinger.

Chris Buescher made an unscheduled trip down pit road for a tire issue.

Some of the drivers back in the field come down pit road for service.

John Hunter Nemechek is charged with having too many crew members over the wall and will restart the race from the back of the longest line.

Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag restart with Ty Gibbs alongside on lap 113.  Hamlin gets out in front for the lead with Gibbs in second; Austin Cindric, Joey Logano, and William Byron round out the top five.

Lap 116, all 37 cars are on the track with 23 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 120, Denny Hamlin has a half second lead on Ty Gibbs; Austin Cindric, Joey Logano, and William Byron round out the top five.

Lap 126, Joey Logano passes Austin Cindric for third.

Denny Hamlin has led 127 of the 134 laps run so far.

Lap 136, Denny Hamlin has a one second lead on Ty Gibbs; Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, and Ryan Blaney.

Only five drivers have finished the race on the lead lap in every race so far – Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, and the RFK team – Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher, and Ryan Preece.

With 35 laps remaining in stage two, Denny Hamlin has increased his lead to over a second and a half on Ty Gibbs; Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

With 22 laps remaining in stage two, Denny Hamlin continues to dominate the race and has a second and a half lead on Ty Gibbs; Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.  With 23 cars on the lead lap, Denny Hamlin is beginning to put slower cars two laps down.

With 14 laps to go in stage two, Denny Hamlin’s lead is under a second and a half on Ty Gibbs.  Hamlin has led over 300 laps this season; the most he has ever had at this point in the season; this is Hamlin’s 21st season in the Cup Series.

With four laps to go in stage two, Denny Hamlin finally gets around teammate Chase Briscoe to put Briscoe a laps down.

Denny Hamlin wins stage two for the stage sweep.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Denny Hamlin
Ty Gibbs
Joey Logano
Ryan Blaney
William Byron
Austin Cindric
Tyler Reddick
Shane van Gisbergen
Kyle Larson
Josh Berry

Drivers come down pit road for service with Denny Hamlin winning the race off of pit road again with Joey Logano getting out second.

Tyler Reddick, William Byron, and Ty Gibbs all had slow pit stops and have dropped in the field.

Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with Joey Logano alongside on lap 184.  Hamlin gets out in front for the lead.  Ty Gibbs and Joey Logano battle for second.

Lap 196, the top five are Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, and Austin Cindric.

Drivers are getting three wide on the track.

Lap 199, all three of the full time Hendrick Motorsports drivers are in the top 10, Justin Allgaier driving the 48 car for Alex Bowman is in 19th.

With over 200 laps in stage three, the drivers will have to make a pit stop during the stage to make it to the end of the race.

Denny Hamlin has run his entire race so far in fourth gear.

Lap 210, Denny Hamlin has a lead of over a second on Ty Gibbs; Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.

Lap 221, Denny Hamlin’s lead is down to one second on Ty Gibbs; Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

Lap 230, Chris Buescher comes down pit road for service and is now two laps down.

Lap 237, Daniel Suarez is the last car on the lead lap in 23rd.

Denny Hamlin is slowly increasing his lead on Ty Gibbs and is now nearly a second and a half out in front;  Ryan Blaney, Austin Cinric, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

Lap 242, leader Denny Hamlin just put Kyle Busch two laps down leaving Todd Gilliland as the only driver one lap down.  All 37 drivers are still on the track.

Lap 250, Denny Hamlin now has a lead of over a second and a half on Ty Gibbs; Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric, and Joey Logano round out the top five.  Hamlin passes Todd Gilliland to put him two laps down.  There are no cars just one lap down.

Dominating the race, Denny Hamlin has moved from eighth to fifth on the all time laps led list at Martinsville.

Hamlin finally passes Daniel Suarez to put him one lap down; there are now 22 cars on the lead lap.

Drivers have begun making green flag pit stops.

Lap 261, Denny Hamlin now has a lead of two and a half seconds on Ty Gibbs.

Ryan Blaney has passed Ty Gibbs for second.

Lap 270, there are just 17 cars on the lead lap as green flag pit stops continue to cycle through.  Denny Hamlin has a three second lead on Ryan Blaney.

Austin Hill had a loose wheel but manages to make it to pit road before the wheel comes off.

Lap 281, Denny Hamlin has a three second lead on Ryan Blaney; Ty Gibbs, Austin Cindric, and Joey Logano round out the top five with just 14 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 284, more drivers make their pit stops.

Lap 286, there are only seven cars on the lead lap as pit stops continue to cycle through.

Lap 290, leader Denny Hamlin comes down pit road with just five cars on the lead lap.

Justin Allgaier was charged with an uncontrolled tire and will have to serve a pass through penalty.

Josh Berry and Michael McDowell are the only drivers yet to make a pit stop.

Ryan Blaney just barely stayed within his pit box for service.

Lap 295, all drivers have made their pit stops with Chase Elliott leading the race with Shane van Gisbergen in second; Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, and Ty Gibbs round out the top five.

Now that pit stops have cycled through, there are 13 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 299, Chase Elliott has a lead of over three seconds on Denny Hamlin with a dozen cars between them, but Hamlin has 20 laps fresher tires.

Ty Dillon is smoking heavily but has made it to pit road.

With older tires on his car, several drivers are unlapping themselves passing Chase Elliott.

With 17 cars on the lead lap, Denny Hamlin has caught leader Chase Elliott and passed to retake the lead.

Lap 310, the top five are Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Ty Gibbs, and Christopher Bell.

The caution flag comes out on lap 312 for debris on the track – a disintegrated brake rotor.

Daniel Suarez is the “lucky dog” making 20 cars on the lead lap.

This season Ryan Blaney has passed 114 cars – 75 due to pit road mistakes.

Drivers come down pit road for fresh tires and final adjustments for a shootout to the finish.  Denny Hamlin wins the race off of pit road.  Ross Chastain is the only driver on the lead lap not to come down pit road.

The hot dog counter is at 46,625 this weekend.  Hot dogs are just $2 at The Hot Dog Stand.

Ross Chastain brings the field down for the green flag restart on 22 laps tire with Denny Hamlin alongside.  Chastain gets out in front.

The caution flag comes out on lap 324 when Bubba Wallace punts Carson Hocevar and causes a pile up.  Austin Dillon, Daniel Saurez, Bubba Wallace, Carson Hocevar, Zane Smith, Chris Buescher, Riley Herbst, John Hunter Nemechek, Erik Jones, and Connor Zilisch

Chris Buescher is the “lucky dog”.

Ross Chastain brings the field down for the green flag restart with Chase Elliott alongside with 70 laps remaining in the race.  Chase Elliott edges out for the lead but Chastain continues to battle.

Lap 334, Chase Elliott takes the lead with Ross Chastain in second.

Denny Hamlin slams Ryan Blaney into the wall but the track stays green.

Lap 336, the top five a re Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, and Ty Gibbs.

Denny Hamlin puts the bumper to Ross Chastain and passes for second.  Chastain saved the car.

Lap 342, Chase Elliott has a lead of over half a second on Denny Hamlin; Ross Chastain, Joey Logano, and Ty Gibbs round out the top five.

Riley Herbst, Bubba Wallace, and Ty Dillon are out of the race with Zane Smith off the track.

Just 55 laps to go, Chase Elliott’s lead is down to just half a second on Denny Hamlin; Joey Logano, Ty Gibbs, and William Byron round out the top five.

Lap 353, Chase Elliott holds a lead of over half a second on Denny Hamlin; Joey Logano, Ty Gibbs, and William Byron round out the top five.

Chase Elliott has moved to no shifting and is pulling away from Denny Hamlin.  Elliott’s lead is now over a second in front of Hamlin.

There are 21 cars on the lead lap.

Zane Smith returns to the track 28 laps down.

Forty to go, Chase Elliott holds a one second lead on Denny Hamlin; Joey Logano, Ty Gibbs, and William Byron round out the top five.

After winning four of the first six races, Tyler Reddick is back in 15th.

Just 31 laps remaining in the race with Chase Elliott’s lead down to just half a second on Denny Hamlin; Joey Logano, Ty Gibbs, and William Byron round out the top five as leaders encounter slower traffic.

With 24 laps to go, Chase Elliott has a near half second lead on Denny Hamlin.

Twenty to go, Chase Elliott holds on to a half second lead.

Just 17 laps to go, Denny Hamlin has caught leader Chase Elliott.

Thirteen to go, leaders are among slower traffic with just 18 cars on the lead lap.  Chase Elliott holds on to the lead with Denny Hamlin less than half a second behind.

Nine to go, Chase Elliott has the lead.

Six to go, Chase Elliott has a half second lead on Denny Hamlin.

Three to go, Chase Elliott holds on to the lead.

Chase Elliott takes the white flag!

Chase Elliott wins the race and Rick Hendrick finally wins a race.  The sireen will ring at the pool hall in Dawsonville tonight!

This is the 31st race win for Hendrick Motorsports at Martinsville.

NASCAR’s multi-year most popular drivers draws some rousing cheers from the crowd when he exits the car.

Denny Hamlin led 292 of the 400 laps in the race.

The unofficial results of the Cook Out 400:
Chase Elliott
Denny Hamlin
Joey Logano
Ty Gibbs
William Byron
Ryan Blaney
Christopher Bell
Austin Cindric
Kyle Larson
Josh Berry
Shane van Gisbergen
Ryan Preece
Brad Keselowski
Chase Briscoe
Tyler Reddick
Ross Chastain
Carson Hocevar
Michael McDowell
Chris Buescher
Daniel Suarez
Erik Jones
Justin Allgaier
Todd Gilliland
Kyle Busch
Austin Dillon
Connor Zilisch
AJ Allmendinger
Noah Gragson
John Hunter Nemechek
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Cole Custer
Cody Ware
Austin Hill
Zane Smith
Riley Herbst
Bubba Wallace
Ty Dillon