Tick tock, grandfather clock, Denny Hamlin’s time in victory lane is now. He won at Martinsville for the first time in a decade. This race was different than almost all Martinsville races prior, here’s why.

Fun Fact: The trophy given out to winners at Martinsville Speedway are locally-crafted grandfather clocks. That’s why you’ll hear clock analogies at Martinsville. 

The tires that Goodyear brought to the track for this week were a softer compound. The compound was softer, which meant more grip, but faster tire wear. This didn’t stop long runs on tires, as eventual race winner Denny Hamlin ran over 120 laps on his final set of tires, and was able to pull away from his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell who finished runner-up. 

The race had some new and familiar faces in the field. Burt Myers, who is a track champion at Bowman-Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, NC, ran his first official Cup Series race, as he made his “debut” at the non-points race Clash, driving the #50 Chevrolet for Team AmeriVet. 

2007 Coca-Cola 600 winner Casey Mears made his first NASCAR start since 2019, driving the Garage 66 #66 Ford Mustang. He finished 35th. 

The race ran mostly without incident, but some battery issues plagued some drivers. Both Austin Cindric and Ty Gibbs lost the power for their cool suit. Burt Myers also had battery issues during the race. 

William Byron still holds the points lead, but Kyle Larson is catching up. Byron has 259 points, with Larson -16 behind. All 4 Hendrick Motorsports cars are in the Top 5 in points, with Chase Elliott in third and Alex Bowman is tied with Christopher Bell for fourth. 

Next week is NASCAR’s throwback weekend, the Goodyear 400 at “The Lady in Black” Darlington Speedway, on Sunday, April 6th at 3:00 PM EST on FS1.