Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway was exactly what you'd expect from Virginia's iconic short track. While the focus today is always on the winner of the NASCAR race, we also wanted to provide some analysis on how other drivers and teams performed at Martinsville this afternoon.
Let's take a look at our winners and losers from the Cook Out 400.
Winner: Denny Hamlin
Complete dominance. Denny Hamlin went nearly pole-to-pole in the Cook Out 400 and could have scored maximum points with 76–20 points for the stage win, 55 for winning the race, and 1 point for fastest lap – if not for a late caution due to a wreck on Ty Dillon's car. This allowed Chase Elliott's pit strategy to completely pay off; Otherwise, this would have been a race that Hamlin would have won in historic fashion. Hamlin did not get a win in the Cook Out 400, but he left Martinsville with the most points (56) that day and led 292 laps. Agreed that he would be sad if he did not win.
RELATED: NASCAR Cup Series all-time win list
Loser: Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch is fed up with Richard Childress Racing and his time spent in the No. 8 car. That became abundantly clear after qualifying on Saturday, when his tone reflected that of a driver who knew the No. 8 car had no chance of being competitive after finishing 34th. Late in Stage 1 he fell and then at his first pit stop, Busch opted to drive through a wheel that came loose and bounced off the front of his car. Busch has now gone 100 consecutive races without a Cup Series win and it's clear he's counting down the days until he can join a new team.
Connected: What happened to Kyle Busch's winless streak, 100-race drought
Winner: Ty Gibbs
Five consecutive top-10 finishes for Ty Gibbs. In fact, it's even better than that, as his worst finishing position was sixth at Darlington last Sunday. The No. 54 car finished in the top four for the second time in the last three races and Gibbs demonstrated his ability to make the most of it, scoring the second-most stage points (16) at the Cook Out 400. Clearly, Gibbs is performing much like Chase Briscoe did at No. 19 last season. More about them later.
Connected: NASCAR standings today, Cup Series points leaders after Martinsville
Loser: Richard Childress Racing
Why does Richard Childress Racing even run a third car at this point? It's clear they don't have the ability to put Kyle Busch in any position to be competitive and with the win-and-playoff system gone, Austin Dillon and the No. 3 team are irrelevant for the season. In Sunday's Cook Out 400, RCR had Austin Hill in the No. 33 car (part-time) and he spent the majority of the race leading several laps. In fact, we have to wonder if NASCAR's top prospect Jesse Love would be better off pursuing a full-time Cup ride with another team since RCR has nothing to offer.
Connected: Best NASCAR Races 2026, Ranking Every Cup Series Race This Season
Winner: Shane van Gisbergen
Performing so well in the Cook Out 400 had a lot to do with qualifying, considering how little passing was on Sunday. This is still something for which Shane van Gisbergen deserves credit, as he achieved a season's best fifth place in qualifying. This is even better than his starting position at COTA (13th) a few weeks ago. SVG needed a solid point total after recording a total of 24 points in his last two races and he accomplished that at Martinsville, while continuing to show that he is getting better at the ovals.
RELATED: Official 2026 Cook Out 400 results at Martinsville Speedway
Loser: Bubba Wallace
Silly. Bubba Wallace didn't have a good race at Martinsville, but he was at least in position to finish in the top 20 for a good points day. Considering the points the 23rd-ranked team has earned this season, it would have been fine to keep them in the top seven. Instead, inexplicably, Wallace decided to hit the throttle and drive straight into Carson Hocevar not once but twice. Karma took care of the No. 23 car with race-ending damage, but Wallace's actions are inexcusable and his immaturity caused damage to several other cars because he could not control his emotions. This felt like an older version of Wallace, and if he's back after just two bad races, 23XI Racing has a problem beyond just an eight-place drop in the points.
Winner: Chase Elliott
Did some good luck help crew chief Alan Gustafson's pit strategy succeed? Definitely. However, that's also a gamble you can take when you have a driver of Chase Elliott's caliber behind the wheel of the No. 9 car. The team did not score any stage points on Sunday at Martinsville, but an early pit stop and fresh tires gave Elliott a car he could drive further. The caution ended well for him, but you also have to give Elliott credit for how he controlled traffic on the final laps and didn't give Hamlin a real chance to take the lead. Elliott gave Hendrick Motorsports its first win of the season and it looks great for the team too.
