Regarded as something of a short track specialist, the Toyota driver led a Camry one-two-three ahead of teammate Christopher Bell and 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace.

So dominant was Hamlin that he led 274 of the 400-lap distance.

It marked his 55th career win to tie him with NASCAR Hall of Fame legend Rusty Wallace.

Behind the Toyotas came Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson.

Hamlin hailed the efforts of his crew chief, Chris Gayle, for taking a different direction with the #11 car.

“The car was great,” said Hamlin.

“It did everything I needed it to do. Just so happy to win with Chris, get 55 [career wins].

“He’s been such a soldier to come in here to this 11 team, kind of learn our style,” said Hamlin of Gayle.

“Over the last few weeks, just putting his final touches on it. It’s really been a great mesh. Our relationship is getting better.

“Man, really happy to get a win with him. Obviously back here in Martinsville, where I spent so many years racing late models and whatnot. Gosh, I love winning here.”

After the chaos of the Xfinity Series race a day prior, there were fears the Cup Series would descend into similar scenes. Thankfully, the carnage was minimal.

Stage 1 was punctuated by an incident with RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher, who tried to clear Spire Motorsports driver Carson Hocevar on the front straight but came across his nose.

The #17 Ford Mustang was tipped sideways into the wall, jamming the #77 Chevrolet Camaro into the barrier.

The biggest incident in Stage 2 saw Ryan Blaney sandwiched between AJ Allmendinger and Riley Herbst. That wound up with Herbst spinning at the first turn thanks to contact from Blaney.

Ride with @AustinCindric and @rileyherbst. https://t.co/fCB1NxfuB4 pic.twitter.com/OLGF5trfph

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 30, 2025

Shane van Gisbergen lost his right rear wheel after a bungled pit stop meant he left the lane without the nut properly fastened.

There were awkward scenes when Tyler Reddick spun fellow Toyota driver Ty Gibbs. The #54 Camry was left parked across the road, leaving Zane Smith in the #38 with nowhere to go.

Gibbs went on to finish 13th while Reddick was 14th. They spoke post-race where Gibbs gave an apologetic Reddick a thumbs up.

The flurry of cautions continued when Buescher found himself in the wars again, this time with Noah Gragson. The #17 rode up the left rear wheel of the #4 and spun it out to draw the final caution of the day with 83 laps to go.

Clearly aggrieved by the incident, Buescher drove up alongside Gragson under yellow and swiped the side of him.

Take a wild ride with @Chris_Buescher. 😳 pic.twitter.com/rbAH4Qmql4

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 30, 2025

In the end, Hamlin stretched his legs over Bell and was unchallenged for the win.

The Cup Series continues on April 7 at Darlington Raceway.

Results: NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400, Martinsville Speedway

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