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Toyota ends Hendrick Motorsports' recent dominance at Martinsville
NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin (11) burns his tires celebrating his win during the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway. Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Toyota ends Hendrick Motorsports' recent dominance in Martinsville spring race

By Colby Colwell  |  Last updated Mar 30, 2025 9:49 PM ET

Since the debut of NASCAR's Next Gen Car in 2022, Hendrick Motorsports had won each of the three spring races at Martinsville, including a 1-2-3 finish in the 2024 race.

On Sunday, it was another organization and manufacturer that stepped up to the plate and made a statement.

After clearing Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell for the lead with 73 laps to go, Denny Hamlin navigated his way through lapped traffic and pulled away to win by a commanding 4.6 seconds.

With Bell in second and 23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace in third, Toyota put together a 1-2-3 finish of its own, claiming its first win at Martinsville since Bell's win in the 2022 fall race.

Hamlin (274) and Bell (25) combined to lead 299 of the 400 laps in the race. Sunday was Hamlin's first win of the season and his first at Martinsville since 2015. His 55 career wins are tied with NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace for the 11th-most all-time in Cup Series history.

Bell had three wins coming into the day (Atlanta, COTA, Phoenix), but Sunday's runner-up showing was welcomed after back-to-back finishes outside the top 10 at Las Vegas and Homestead-Miami.

"It was a great weekend for Joe Gibbs Racing," Bell told Fox Sports. "Showed a lot of pace. All four of the cars were really good. Really happy to kind of get back up front. The last two weeks have been rough for this 20 team. Proud of all of our partners at DeWalt, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing and really happy for Denny (Hamlin). Yeah, he's the Martinsville master, so second to him is not that bad."

For Wallace, Sunday was his second consecutive third-place finish after only posting a single top 10 (ninth at Atlanta) in the first five races. 

"A good day nonetheless," Wallace told Fox Sports. "I'm just trying to scratch my head over what I could've done different. My restarts were terrible and that's one of my best traits, so need to go back and study that... Having fun. It's fun to have fun."

Chase Briscoe finished ninth, putting four Toyotas inside the top 10 on Sunday.

At a track that has recently been dominated by Hendrick Motorsports in the spring, Sunday's podium sweep from Toyota shows it has found something at Martinsville.

Considering Chase Elliott (fourth) and Kyle Larson (fifth) were the only two Hendrick Motorsports drivers in the top 10, it was a hit-or-miss day for the organization. Last year's spring winner, William Byron, could not overcome a right front tire issue on pit road in Stage 1 and finished 22nd. Alex Bowman made an extra stop down pit road after experiencing issues leaving his box and finished 27th.

In the end, Hamlin reminded everyone of his abilities at Martinsville and led a podium sweep for Toyota, which could be extremely beneficial later this season, given the series returns to the half-mile short track in October when it will set the Championship 4.

Colby Colwell
LinkedIn

Colby Colwell is a freelance contributor with a bachelor’s in Computer & Information Technology and a minor in Psychology from Western Kentucky University. With a deep passion for sports, especially NASCAR, he offers his substantial knowledge along with his adept writing skills. When he’s not writing, Colby enjoys traveling, cooking, and spending time with his family

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