Cup - 2026 - Cook Out 400
Date: 2026-03-29 | Track: Martinsville Speedway
Three ways to measure this race
| Official winner | TLS leader | Best ARP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | Chase Elliott (#9) | Denny Hamlin (#11) | Denny Hamlin (#11) |
| Finish | P1 | P2 | P2 |
| TLS points | 11632 | 14700 | 14700 |
| ARP | 8.99 | 1.34 | 1.34 |
| Laps led | 84 | 292 | 292 |
Three different ways to measure a race — and they often point to different drivers.
Official winner — Chase Elliott (#9): where the car was at the checkered flag (P1). Led 84 laps with 8.99 average running position and 11,632 TLS points.
TLS leader — Denny Hamlin (#11): most position-weighted points across every scored lap (14,700 points). Finished P2 with 292 laps led and 1.34 ARP. TLS rewards running up front all afternoon, not only the final lap.
Best ARP — same as the TLS leader (1.34). The official winner ran a worse average position (8.99).
The checkered flag reflects who survived the final seconds. TLS reflects where drivers ran across the whole race. ARP tells you the typical running spot — but not who banked the most valuable laps.
Elliott wins a short-track slugfest
Denny Hamlin (#11) won both stages at Martinsville and looked like the driver to beat until the final restart. Cautions on lap 78 (Cody Ware #51 spun) and lap 105 (contact between Noah Gragson #4 and AJ Allmendinger #16) kept the field bunched.
With 76 laps to go, Bubba Wallace (#23) spun Carson Hocevar (#77), triggering a 10-car crash on the backstretch. On a late restart Chase Elliott (#9) got alongside Hamlin (#11) and won by 0.565 seconds — a classic short-track swap at the end.
| Finish Position | Points Position | Driver | Car Number | Manufacturer | Team | Start Position | Laps Led | ARP | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 10 | 84 | 8.99 | 11632 |
| 2 | 1 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 1 | 292 | 1.34 | 14700 |
| 3 | 3 | Joey Logano | 22 | Ford | Team Penske | 9 | 0 | 5.08 | 13199 |
| 4 | 2 | Ty Gibbs | 54 | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 4 | 0 | 3.38 | 13882 |
| 5 | 6 | William Byron | 24 | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 2 | 6 | 6.02 | 12825 |
| 6 | 4 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Ford | Team Penske | 12 | 2 | 5.73 | 12940 |
| 7 | 10 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 11 | 0 | 9.17 | 11562 |
| 8 | 5 | Austin Cindric | 2 | Ford | Team Penske | 6 | 0 | 5.88 | 12882 |
| 9 | 11 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 13 | 0 | 10.36 | 11084 |
| 10 | 7 | Josh Berry | 21 | Ford | Wood Brothers Racing | 3 | 2 | 8.82 | 11703 |
| 11 | 8 | Shane Van Gisbergen | 97 | Chevrolet | Trackhouse Racing | 5 | 0 | 8.94 | 11653 |
| 12 | 13 | Ryan Preece | 60 | Ford | RFK Racing | 17 | 0 | 12.36 | 10283 |
| 13 | 16 | Brad Keselowski | 6 | Ford | RFK Racing | 23 | 0 | 17.76 | 8116 |
| 14 | 22 | Chase Briscoe | 19 | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 27 | 0 | 20.65 | 6958 |
| 15 | 12 | Tyler Reddick | 45 | Toyota | 23XI Racing | 8 | 0 | 11.45 | 10647 |
| 16 | 14 | Ross Chastain | 1 | Chevrolet | Trackhouse Racing | 18 | 14 | 14.74 | 9329 |
| 17 | 15 | Carson Hocevar | 77 | Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | 7 | 0 | 15.00 | 9225 |
| 18 | 21 | Michael McDowell | 71 | Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | 20 | 0 | 20.12 | 7170 |
| 19 | 23 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Ford | RFK Racing | 16 | 0 | 21.60 | 6558 |
| 20 | 20 | Daniel Suarez | 7 | Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | 22 | 0 | 19.93 | 7227 |
| 21 | 18 | Erik Jones | 43 | Toyota | Legacy Motor Club | 19 | 0 | 19.49 | 7404 |
| 22 | 36 | Justin Allgaier(i) | 48 | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 21 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| 23 | 24 | Todd Gilliland | 34 | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 29 | 0 | 26.73 | 4496 |
| 24 | 25 | Kyle Busch | 8 | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | 34 | 0 | 26.75 | 4489 |
| 25 | 26 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | 30 | 0 | 27.35 | 4248 |
| 26 | 27 | Connor Zilisch # | 88 | Chevrolet | Trackhouse Racing | 25 | 0 | 28.98 | 3588 |
| 27 | 30 | AJ Allmendinger | 16 | Chevrolet | Kaulig Racing | 28 | 0 | 30.65 | 2926 |
| 28 | 29 | Noah Gragson | 4 | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 31 | 0 | 30.56 | 2962 |
| 29 | 33 | John Hunter Nemechek | 42 | Toyota | Legacy Motor Club | 32 | 0 | 32.20 | 2308 |
| 30 | 34 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | Chevrolet | HYAK Motorsports | 33 | 0 | 32.69 | 2112 |
| 31 | 31 | Cole Custer | 41 | Chevrolet | Haas Factory Team | 24 | 0 | 31.19 | 2705 |
| 32 | 35 | Cody Ware | 51 | Chevrolet | Rick Ware Racing | 35 | 0 | 35.93 | 818 |
| 33 | 36 | * Austin Hill(i) | 33 | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | 37 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| 34 | 19 | Zane Smith | 38 | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 14 | 0 | 18.20 | 7364 |
| 35 | 28 | Riley Herbst | 35 | Toyota | 23XI Racing | 26 | 0 | 27.08 | 3539 |
| 36 | 17 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | Toyota | 23XI Racing | 15 | 0 | 13.82 | 7834 |
| 37 | 31 | Ty Dillon | 10 | Chevrolet | Kaulig Racing | 36 | 0 | 28.95 | 2705 |
Season Points Standings (Up to This Race)
| Rank | Driver | Car Number | Season Points | Average Running Position | Total Laps Led | Points this race |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyler Reddick | 45 | 55157 | 8.28 | 189 | 10647 |
| 2 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | 55046 | 10.05 | 444 | 14700 |
| 3 | William Byron | 24 | 54011 | 9.39 | 34 | 12825 |
| 4 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | 53864 | 9.16 | 54 | 12940 |
| 5 | Christopher Bell | 20 | 52718 | 9.92 | 225 | 11562 |
| 6 | Kyle Larson | 5 | 50692 | 9.18 | 137 | 11084 |
| 7 | Chase Elliott | 9 | 49031 | 12.46 | 103 | 11632 |
| 8 | Ty Gibbs | 54 | 48195 | 11.25 | 18 | 13882 |
| 9 | Austin Cindric | 2 | 46956 | 12.81 | 26 | 12882 |
| 10 | Chris Buescher | 17 | 45761 | 13.37 | 45 | 6558 |
| 11 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 45125 | 13.37 | 86 | 7834 |
| 12 | Joey Logano | 22 | 44797 | 14.03 | 111 | 13199 |
| 13 | Ryan Preece | 60 | 42680 | 16.28 | 4 | 10283 |
| 14 | Brad Keselowski | 6 | 42416 | 16.41 | 156 | 8116 |
| 15 | Ross Chastain | 1 | 41656 | 15.45 | 30 | 9329 |
| 16 | Daniel Suarez | 7 | 37642 | 17.77 | 0 | 7227 |
| 17 | Carson Hocevar | 77 | 37373 | 19.23 | 6 | 9225 |
| 18 | Chase Briscoe | 19 | 36834 | 14.31 | 62 | 6958 |
| 19 | Shane Van Gisbergen | 97 | 36242 | 18.11 | 6 | 11653 |
| 20 | Zane Smith | 38 | 35210 | 19.07 | 10 | 7364 |
| 21 | Michael McDowell | 71 | 34421 | 18.84 | 15 | 7170 |
| 22 | Erik Jones | 43 | 32031 | 21.97 | 0 | 7404 |
| 23 | Josh Berry | 21 | 31562 | 18.98 | 15 | 11703 |
| 24 | Austin Dillon | 3 | 29083 | 22.01 | 0 | 4248 |
| 25 | Kyle Busch | 8 | 26722 | 20.80 | 19 | 4489 |
| 26 | AJ Allmendinger | 16 | 26378 | 22.74 | 2 | 2926 |
| 27 | Riley Herbst | 35 | 25710 | 22.74 | 0 | 3539 |
| 28 | John Hunter Nemechek | 42 | 25193 | 23.79 | 19 | 2308 |
| 29 | Connor Zilisch # | 88 | 22971 | 24.49 | 0 | 3588 |
| 30 | Todd Gilliland | 34 | 22372 | 24.34 | 1 | 4496 |
| 31 | Noah Gragson | 4 | 20599 | 26.44 | 0 | 2962 |
| 32 | Ty Dillon | 10 | 20140 | 26.21 | 3 | 2705 |
| 33 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | 17679 | 26.65 | 4 | 2112 |
| 34 | Cole Custer | 41 | 16878 | 27.62 | 1 | 2705 |
| 35 | Cody Ware | 51 | 11770 | 31.52 | 2 | 818 |
| 36 | Alex Bowman | 48 | 8940 | 22.13 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | * Jimmie Johnson | 84 | 2399 | 30.00 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | * Casey Mears | 66 | 1101 | 36.38 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | * BJ McLeod | 78 | 821 | 30.24 | 0 | 0 |