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Martinsville winner Denny Hamlin sounded off on the way Team Penske driver Austin Cindric has been driving of late. The driver of the #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota wasn't pleased with Cindric's dustup with Riley Herbst in last Sunday's race, calling him a "repeat offender" of dirty driving.
In the most recent episode of his podcast "Actions Detrimental," Hamlin made it known that the driver of the #2 Team Penske Ford is beginning to annoy him. Hamlin co-owns Herbst's #35 car at 23XI Racing and wasn't pleased to see him spinning off the bumper of Cindric midway through the final stage of Sunday's Cook Out 400 at Martinsville.
The 55-time Cup Series winner went on to praise Cindric's abilties at superspeedways but added that it doesn't take away from his recent actions. Hamlin said (via SI):
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“As a car owner, I’m not liking [Austin Cindric] spinning out Riley Herbst, and it’s starting to get on my nerves a little bit that Austin Cindric seems to be losing his mind a little bit more than usual, and I can only say that because I did give him a lot of credit earlier in the year on his superspeedway driving and being smart inside the race car, but he’s starting to be a repeat offender.”
Last month at Circuit of the Americas, Cindric wrecked Kaulig Racing driver Ty Dillon early in the event after hooking the driver of the #10 in the right rear corner panel. The 2022 Daytona 500 winner was fined $50,000 and docked 50 driver points as penalty for the incident.
It was a difficult day for Cindric at Martinsville as he finished in 37th place. Meanwhile, Hamlin led 274 of 500 laps en route to his first win of the 2025 season and his sixth win at Martinsville. Following the spinout in stage three, Herbst went on to finish 31st.
Denny Hamlin said he "turned back the clocks" after sixth career Martinsville win
It had been since March 2015 when Denny Hamlin last drove to victory lane at Martinsville Speedway, one of his home tracks. On Sunday (March 30), the Chesterfield, Virginia native dominated by leading the most laps and scoring his sixth win at the Virginia short track.
Following the victory, Hamlin posted photos from his first win of the 2025 campaign on his Instagram. Having not won at Martinsville in a decade, Hamlin penned a fitting caption after earning another grandfather clock, the trophy awarded to the driver who wins at Martinsville.
"Turned back the clocks 🕰️," Hamlin wrote.
Despite 55 career victories and three Daytona 500 wins, Hamlin is still seeking his first Cup Series championship. Amid his 20th full-time season in the Cup Series, the 44-year-old has failed to make it to the Championship 4 race since 2021.
