Chase Elliot has taken home another Grandfather clock and his first win of the 2026 season by 0.5s over dominant driver of the day Denny Hamlin.

The old rivals went toe to toe in the final laps, but Elliot prevailed for his first win of the year.

Starting from the pole, Hamlin swept the first two stages ahead of young teammate Ty Gibbs who was in the running to claim his first career victory.

Team Penske drivers Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano were hot on Hamlin & Gibbs’ tail all day but weren’t able to get the job done.

It was an important bounce back for Logano after finishing a dismal 33rd and 3 laps down at Darlington last week, where Tyler Reddick took his fourth victory of the year.

The first two stages were smooth sailing, before a melee on Lap 324 started by Bubba Wallace and Carson Hocevar added some drama to the afternoon.

In the usual Martinsville traffic-jam, a hot-headed Wallace got into the back of Hocevar’s #77 Chevrolet, collecting 11 other cars on the exit of Turn 4.

A smart strategy play put Elliot and Ross Chastain out front, but it was Elliot who had the car speed to stick with the leaders.

In the closing laps, Elliot and Hamlin battled lapped traffic in the midst of fighting for the win, but ultimately Elliot prevailed for Team Hendrick’s first win of 2026.

Hamlin who was gutted from the 2nd place finish led 292 of the 400 laps throughout the day.

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Bristol next week, with Reddick holding an 82-point gap to 2nd place Blaney in the championship.