2026 Cook Out 400 (Martinsville)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 7 of 36 in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | March 29, 2025 | ||
| Location | Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 0.526 miles (0.847 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 210.4 mi (338.606 km) | ||
| Average speed | 75.457 miles per hour (121.436 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 19.275 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 292 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Time | 19.788 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FS1 | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and Kevin Harvick | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Alex Hayden, Mike Bagley, and Todd Gordon | ||
| Turn announcers | Dave Moody (1 & 2) and Tim Catafalmo (3 & 4) | ||
The 2026 Cook Out 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on March 29, 2026, at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. Contested over 400 laps on the 0.526-mile (0.847 km) paperclip-shaped oval, it was the seventh race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Chase Elliott won the race. Denny Hamlin finished 2nd, and Joey Logano finished 3rd. Ty Gibbs and William Byron rounded out the top five, and Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Austin Cindric, Kyle Larson, and Josh Berry rounded out the top ten.
Background
Martinsville Speedway is a NASCAR-owned stock car racing track located in Henry County, in Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At 0.526 miles (0.847 km) in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only remaining race track on the NASCAR circuit since its beginning in 1948.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Alex Bowman, the original driver of the No. 48, was sidelined for the race due to vertigo sustained at Austin.[7]
Practice
Bubba Wallace was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 19.685 seconds and a speed of 96.195 mph (154.811 km/h).
Practice results
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 19.685 | 96.195 |
| 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 19.701 | 96.117 |
| 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 19.732 | 95.966 |
| Official practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Denny Hamlin scored the pole for the race with a time of 19.275 and a speed of 98.241 mph (158.104 km/h).[8]
Qualifying results
Race
Race results
Stage results
Stage One Laps: 80
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing | Ford | 1 |
Stage Two Laps: 100
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 1 |
Final Stage results
Stage Three Laps: 220
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 55 |
| 2 | 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 400 | 56 |
| 3 | 9 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 400 | 46 |
| 4 | 4 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 400 | 49 |
| 5 | 2 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 47 |
| 6 | 12 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 400 | 41 |
| 7 | 11 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 400 | 30 |
| 8 | 6 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 400 | 40 |
| 9 | 13 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 30 |
| 10 | 3 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 400 | 36 |
| 11 | 5 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 34 |
| 12 | 17 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing | Ford | 400 | 26 |
| 13 | 23 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 400 | 24 |
| 14 | 27 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 400 | 23 |
| 15 | 8 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 400 | 28 |
| 16 | 18 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 21 |
| 17 | 7 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 20 |
| 18 | 20 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 19 |
| 19 | 16 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 399 | 18 |
| 20 | 22 | 7 | Daniel Suárez | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 399 | 17 |
| 21 | 19 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 399 | 16 |
| 22 | 21 | 48 | Justin Allgaier (i) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 398 | 0 |
| 23 | 29 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 398 | 14 |
| 24 | 34 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 398 | 13 |
| 25 | 30 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 398 | 12 |
| 26 | 25 | 88 | Connor Zilisch (R) | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 397 | 11 |
| 27 | 28 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 397 | 10 |
| 28 | 31 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 397 | 9 |
| 29 | 32 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 397 | 8 |
| 30 | 33 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Hyak Motorsports | Chevrolet | 397 | 7 |
| 31 | 24 | 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team | Chevrolet | 396 | 6 |
| 32 | 35 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 394 | 5 |
| 33 | 37 | 33 | Austin Hill (i) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 394 | 0 |
| 34 | 14 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 371 | 3 |
| 35 | 26 | 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 323 | 2 |
| 36 | 15 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 323 | 1 |
| 37 | 36 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 298 | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
- Lead changes: 8 among 6 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 5 for 54 laps
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 2 hours, 47 minutes, and 18 seconds
- Average speed: 75.457 miles per hour (121.436 km/h)
