Denny Hamlin stood on pit road in Las Vegas, staring at the leaderboard. It was another frustrating race, another missed opportunity. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver had gone 29 races without a win. That streak stretched all the way back to April 28, 2024, at Dover. Nearly a year had passed since he last held a checkered flag, and the frustration was starting to weigh on him. “It feels like an eternity,” Hamlin admitted after the race.
The No. 11 team had lost speed at the end of 2024, and every week since the start of 2025, they seemed just a step behind the top contenders. Even when they had a chance, like at Phoenix, something—or someone—stood in their way. Christopher Bell had beaten him to the finish line by 0.049 seconds, one of the closest margins in track history. Hamlin was tired of being close, and he needed to win.
But then came Martinsville. A track that had once been his playground but had turned into a source of heartbreak in recent years. This time, though, Hamlin flipped the script. With a dominant performance, he sent a clear message—he wasn’t done yet. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver put on a clinic at Martinsville Speedway. He led more than half the race and took the checkered flag in the Cook Out 400, finishing 4.617 seconds ahead of Christopher Bell.
Notably, the race had its share of chaos—cautions, restarts, and tire strategies. But Hamlin was in control. He cleared Bell for the lead with 73 laps to go and drove off into the Virginia sunset, securing his first win of the 2025 season. Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Larson rounded out the top five, but no one had an answer for the No. 11 Toyota. After climbing out of his car, Hamlin was emotional. He knew how much this victory meant—not just to him but to his team.
“Chris Gabehart, all the engineers, the pit crew—everybody really on that wall right there—just deciding that they were gonna come here with a different approach… And it was just amazing,” Denny Hamlin said after the race. Interestingly, after winning the race, Hamlin held a flag that read “11 Against the World.” Speaking about it, he said, “Well, my buddies are Ohio State fans that I hung out with at the end of last year. We always had “Ohio State Against the World.” So now, it’s “11 Against the World.”
11 against the world.@dennyhamlin talks with @JamieLittleTV after his Martinsville win. pic.twitter.com/n5hdskSqSd
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 30, 2025
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