Denny Hamlin Headlines Season Long NASCAR Cookers for the Cook Out 400
The nuanced difference between season-long and DFS is highlighted this week as we briefly go into why here. Among the dominators at Martinsville, Denny Hamlin is front and center. Just one look at the race at the paper clip last Spring and instantly the #11 draws into focus.
Hamlin led 274 of the 400 laps and cruised to victory. Another thing is the early dominance of Toyota. Tyler Reddick has won four races with Ford lurking (Ryan Blaney won at Phoenix). Even there, five of the Top 8 finishers were from Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing or 23XI). Reddick, by the way, won by 5.847 seconds last week at Darlington. Toyota so far has that late power they lacked in 2025.
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleThe dillemma in season long is typically that 10 use limit. How does one get around that? Let us look into some options for Martinsville.
Denny Hamlin -- Joe Gibbs Racing
Hamlin is the obvious dominator choice. We do not worry about 2027 just yet. While his three-year average is only fifth, Hamlin has led the most laps at 19.6%. No one truly knows how long the Toyota dominance will last. However, pleasant conditions are expected at Martinsville (hey it has snowed, see 2018).
William Byron and Ryan Blaney have more more time here since 2023 but it is Hamlin that will be motivated and angry this week. Last week at Darlington was far from his best. He watched Tyler Reddick cruise to victory. Hamlin wants to join in on the fun. Hamlin has won four times on short tracks in the last 18 attempts by the way.
What To Make Of Hendrick Motorsports?
It has been a weird season for Chevy in general but Hendrick Motorsports has taken it on the chin. Kyle Larson was third at Phoenix but has faded largely in races (see Darlington last week). William Byron was right with Chase Elliott at Las Vegas but again Darlington was a battle to get to 8th. Elliott faded to 15th while Larson was two laps down in 32nd.
Yes, there have been several issues. However, the paper clip may have some healing powers. Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson were right up there until Toyota took over late in last year's Spring race. Both netted Top 5 results.
Monumental Moment Monday!
— 4 and Fuel Podcast (@4andFuelPodcast) March 23, 2026
2024 - Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Hendrick Motorsports' first win with Geoff Bodine in 1984, William Byron led the charge in a 1-2-3 finish for Hendrick Motorsports! Kyle Larson finished second and Chase Elliott finished third.
This was the… pic.twitter.com/F2tsgdpt0J
People forget this was two years ago. Expect one or two of this trio to bounce back at Martinsville.
Options With Ford Cars
Will conditions be different than last March or even the March before that? Ryan Blaney has been far more dominant in the Fall race at Martinsville. However, the No. 12 car has not finished worse than 11th since 2019. Last year, he came from the back of the pack in 32nd, got into the Top 10 before settling for 11th.
The trouble is that Blaney has not led a single lap in any of the previous three Cook Out 400 editions. Joey Logano, by contrast, has led at least 16 laps or more since 2023. Logano came the closest in 2023 finishing second. If one takes a shot for the win, it may be Logano.
Longer Windups From The Back?
Ryan Preece raced extremely hard at Martinsville last year with a sixth and seventh to show for it. Kyle Busch always seems to be close to a Top 10 on the short track until he is not. Todd Gilliland has three top 10 results in his last six races at Martinsville. Again, one has and can take a few risks in season long formats.
After all, there is still more than seventh months to go in the NASCAR season. Even better, next week we have off for Easter. It is kind of like getting an early bye week. There will be more on social media as always. Good luck!
