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Motorsport

Sport

Hamlin dominates and Xfinity's demo derby: Winners and losers from Martinsville

Martinsville Xfinity Denny Hamlin Ryan Preece NASCAR Joey Logano Bubba Wallace Erik Jones Cup (Organization) Daniel Hemric

NASCAR completed its triple-header weekend at Martinsville Speedway featuring three very different races and plenty of drama. Most of the conversation centers around the highly controversial finish to Saturday's Xfinity race, but there was plenty of action beyond that. Denny Hamlin, Austin Hill and Daniel Hemric walked away with checkered flags as Hendrick Motorsports failed to repeat their 1-2-3 effort from one year ago in the Cup Series. The weekend ended with several drivers mighty frustrated and eager to just move on to Darlington, which is now just days away.

Here's a look at the biggest winners and losers from Martinsville:

WINNER: Denny delivers with new sponsor and crew chief

Hamlin is now tied for 11th on the all-time wins list after the driver of the No. 11 Toyota earned his 55th career win on Sunday. After coming agonizingly close several times already this season, Hamlin made sure the competition didn't even have a chance at Martinsville. He led 274 of 400 laps (68.5%), driving off to a 4.6-second lead at the finish. To make the win even more special, it was Hamlin's second-ever race with new sponsor Progressive, which recently struck a major deal with Joe Gibbs Racing. Sunday's victory was also Hamlin's first win with new crew chief Chris Gayle, shutting down whispers that the pairing was a bad move.

LOSER: Xfinity race ends in a demolition derby

Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity race was an unfortunate display of 'win at all costs' with one driver simply taking it too far. The race was already a bit of a wreckfest with 14 cautions and 104 of 256 laps being run under yellow flag conditions. But the race was about to have a great ending as Taylor Gray was one corner away from becoming a first-time winner. Shockingly, Sammy Smith then came from several car lengths back and blatantly ran over Gray. Both drivers ended up wrecking in the ensuing chaos as Austin Hill jumped from fifth to first to win the race. When asked about the incident, Smith indicated that "it's what you got to do" at the end of these races, but several veteran drivers took to social media to say otherwise. There's also a possibility NASCAR may penalize Smith, as they penalized Austin Dillon at Richmond last year.

WINNER: Wallace is knocking on the door of Victory Lane

Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing Toyota (Photo by: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Bubba Wallace is having a great start to the 2025 season. Sitting eighth in the standings, Wallace now has back-to-back podium finishes after placing third at both Homestead and Martinsville. In both races, he was a legitimate contender for the race win. Facing a winless streak that is quickly approaching 100 races, it's a much-needed turnaround for the driver of the No. 23. He seems happier, more confident, and is working well with a new crew chief atop the pit box.

LOSER: Jones hit with a post-race DQ

Erik Jones, Legacy MotorClub Toyota (Photo by: Getty Images)

Martinsville wasn't a particularly great race for Jones, placing 24th. However, he did manage to finish fifth in the first stage, allowing him to leave with a decent haul of 19 points. Unfortunately, his No. 43 Toyota failed to meet the minimum weight requirements after the race, resulting in an immediate disqualification. The DQ dropped him seven positions in the championship standings, from 22nd to 29th, giving Jones his worst finish in over four years (38th).

WINNER: Preece with the best stretch of his career

Ryan Preece, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford (Photo by: Jonathan Bachman - Getty Images)

Ryan Preece is quietly showcasing some real potential in the third RFK Racing entry. Although the year began with him flipping wildly at the Daytona 500, Preece is now enjoying the best streak of his entire Cup career with three consecutive top tens. To put that in perspective, Preece's best 36-race season featured just five top tens, but he's well on his way to topping that. Preece has been in and out of the Cup Series since 2015 and some began to wonder if the former Modified champion was capable of competing at the sport's highest level, but Preece is leaving little doubt about his ability now.

LOSER: Logano gets a top ten, but he's still mad

Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford (Photo by: Getty Images)

The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion has had a rough start to the year. Only Denny Hamlin has led more laps than him, but Logano didn't even have a top-ten finish until this past weekend at Martinsville. Yet even that wasn't enough to alleviate the Team Penske driver's frustration. Earlier this month, he said how he has left every race this year "mad at something" and that trend continued at Martinsville. He finished eighth, but only after fighting back through the field following a mid-race spin. Logano took issue with the way Ross Chastain cut him off to get to the bottom lane, blaming him for another similar incident that ended with Logano spinning. He said Chastain "races like a jackass every week and I keep paying the price." Could this be the beginning of a rivalry between two of the sport's most aggressive drivers?

WINNER: Hemric backflips to redemption in the Truck Series

Daniel Hemric's NASCAR career has taken him for quite the ride. He originally made it to the Cup Series in 2019 before losing his ride with Richard Childress Racing. He moved back down to the Xfinity Series where he became a champion with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2021. In 2024, he was back full-time in the Cup Series with Kaulig Racing, but a difficult season saw him lose his ride in NASCAR's top division once again. He then found a new home in the Truck Series for 2025, thanks to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing. Last weekend at Martinsville, he earned a bit of redemption after taking a popular victory in the Martinsville Truck race, celebrating with Carl Edwards-esque backflip. Several Cup drivers applauded him online and Ryan Blaney even made his way to the frontstretch to congratulate him in person.

LOSER: A dead battery derails Berry's promising day

Josh Berry, Wood Brothers Racing Ford (Photo by: Logan Riely / Getty Images)

Josh Berry's Martinsville showing started strong, leading 40 laps in the opening stage. It's the most laps the Wood Brothers have led at Martinsville since David Pearson dominated the race in the No. 21 back in 1973. He was about to win the opening stage as well when a caution forced them to change up the strategy. He dove to the pits with the lead but was never seen up front again. A battery issue cost him track position and laps as the team scrambled to swap it out on pit road. He never recovered, ending the race four laps down and in 32nd place.