Denny Hamlin parades “11 against the world” flag after his dominating Martinsville win

NASCAR: NASCAR Cup Series Race at Martinsville - Source: Imagn — NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin - Source: Imagn

Denny Hamlin had a unique way of celebrating the Martinsville win after he triumphed at the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday. After the victory, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver climbed on his car and paraded the "11 against the world" flag, showing off his team's new motto.

Hamlin pulled off a stunning show in Martinsville as the JGR driver held off his teammate, Christopher Bell, and picked up his first win of the season. This was the fourth win by a JGR driver after Bell's three-peat in Atlanta, Austin, and Phoenix.

The #11 driver led a staggering 274 laps out of 400 and took the Xfinity Fastest Lap home. After the victory, Hamlin performed a burnout, and then got out of the car and got on top of his #11 Toyota Camry XSE.

Once on top, he pulled out a flag that read,

"11 against the world."

Here's the video that shows Denny Hamlin parading the flag, posted by NASCAR on X:

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Hamlin started the race from fifth place after a decent qualifying on Saturday. His JGR teammate, Bell, and three Hendrick Motorsports drivers, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, and Kyle Larson, started the race ahead of him.

Even though he started in fifth place, he struggled at the beginning and dropped to 9th place at the end of stage 1. However, he returned with a bang and took the stage 2 win over Elliott. From there on, he was in complete control of the race, and after leading nearly 70% of the race, claimed the Cup Series victory.

Denny Hamlin let his feelings known after Martinsville win

With the Cook Out 400 victory on Sunday, Denny Hamlin claimed his sixth victory at the track and his 55th win in 635 races. Following his victory, here's what he told the media in the post-race interview:

Denny Hamlin (11) sprays Coca Cola after his win at the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway. - Source: Imagn

"You know, Chris Gayle [crew chief], all the engineers, the pit crew, everybody really on that wall right there, just deciding they were going to come here with a different approach than what we've been over the last few years. It was just amazing. The car was great. It did everything I needed it to do. Just so happy to win with Chris, get 55."

Bubba Wallace and Chase Elliott finished the race in third and fourth place, respectively, followed by Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain. In seventh place there was Ryan Preece, who was ahead of Joey Logano in eighth. Finally, Chase Briscoe and Todd Gilliland wrapped up the top 10.

About the author

Sabyasachi Biswas is a passionate motorsport journalist for Sportskeeda, with a Master's degree in Mass Communication and Journalism. He has over eight years of experience in the field and has over 10000 published articles on the internet.

As a dedicated follower of motorsport, Sabyasachi watches events closely, ensuring his reports are thorough and supported by reputable sources. He is inspired by Max Verstappen’s fearless attitude and dreams of attending the Indian GP if it returns to the calendar. An ardent F1 fan over the years, he enjoyed watching Felipe Massa and Sebastian Vettel and is now following Verstappen's dominant journey on the track.

Apart from F1, he is a big-time NASCAR and football (also soccer) fan. Sabyasachi supports Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports and Spanish club, Real Madrid.

He was a sub-junior level footballer and won inter-district quizzes and debate competitions back in school. A travel freak by nature, Sabyasachi likes to try different cuisines and learn about new cultures. When away from his keyboard, he enjoys soccer, geopolitics, and playing with Khushi & Ubbu - his adorable beagles.

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Edited by Anisha Chatterjee