Chase Elliott Capitalizes on Late Caution, Wins at Martinsville

Chase Elliott snapped Chevrolet's drought to start the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, winning the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday.

Elliott may not have had the best car on a day dominated by Denny Hamlin. Hamlin led 292 of the race's 400 laps, winning the first and second stage on the afternoon.

However, during a green-flag run during the final stage, Elliott and crew chief Alan Gustafson committed to what they expected to be a two-stop strategy to end the race. As such, the Georgia driver pitted considerably earlier than most of the competition, gaining track position at the expense of fresher tires.

Race Results: NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Martinsville

As Hamlin closed in with those fresher tires, the caution flag flew on lap 312 for debris. With the majority of the lead-lap cars returning to pit road under the caution, Elliott was able to maintain control of the race after the ensuing restart and hold off Hamlin in the closing laps for the win.

"It was definitely a team effort," said Elliott. "That was awesome, man. We've never had a win this early in the season, so just a really great team effort, man. So proud of Alan [Gustafson] and the whole Unifirst team. They did a great job.

"Yeah, we took a gamble. We were gonna two-stop that last stage. Honestly, I think it was gonna work out really good for us either way. Just so proud of them, man. They put up with a lot. They've got to put up with me all the time, so I just appreciate them for sticking with me. It sure is a lot of fun when days like this work out."

Elliott acknowledged he may not have had the best car on the day, but believed he had a fast enough Chevrolet to compete for the win. His biggest challenge throughout the day was finding a comfortable long-run pace, and leading the way when it counted helped solve that problem.

"This whole deal is really weird. Just the way it all works," explained Elliott. "I told them about halfway or a quarter of the way through, I really don't dislike my balance. I just wish I could control my runs a little better. Fortunately, we got the lead there on the last one and fell into a really good pace.

"We probably needed a little bit to be the best outright. We were really close and were able to manage and save enough to get through traffic there at the end."

Hamlin agreed that Elliott mastered the pace to end Sunday's contest. He lamented losing ground on the final restart, then battling with the likes of Ross Chastain, who stayed out when the field pitted under caution, and Ryan Blaney.

"He did a good job controlling the pace there. It just came from that bad restart I had beside the 1 [of Chastain]. Not much, really, I could have done there, and I felt like we gave it our all.

"I thought I had a loose wheel. We'll check it out. It just felt similar to Darlington, but we'll check it out here. I just thought the wheel was looser on the last run, but either way, these are just some of the races that get away from you in your career, and this is certainly one of them."

Sunday's race marks Elliott's 22nd career NASCAR Cup Series win, and his second at Martinsville Speedway. He previously won at the track in the penultimate race of the 2020 season, the same year he won the Cup Series championship.

The NASCAR Cup Series will enjoy an off weekend before returning to competition on Sunday, April 12 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Coverage of the Food City 500 will be available on FS1, the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

-Photo credit: Buddy Ghi/Racing America