Martinsville winner Denny Hamlin makes honest admission on long-awaited dominant car in Next Gen era

NASCAR veteran Denny Hamlin dominated Sunday’s Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway to secure his first win of the season and first at Martinsville since 2015. After the win, he reflected on the long-awaited dominance in his #11 Next Gen car and their struggles since the introduction of these cars in the 2022 season.

With flawless work from his pit crew, the #11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver dominated the Martinsville race, leading a race-high 274 laps and remaining unchallenged in the second half of the race to take the checkered flag at the 0.526-mile track. The win marked the sixth of his career at Martinsville, the most among active drivers.

Speaking to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio in a post-race interview, Denny Hamlin shed light on his dominant day at Martinsville, reflecting on how it had been a decade since he last felt he had such a dominant car. He also praised his #11 JGR Toyota team for their flawless work during the 400-lap race.

“I've just been so close over the years here, but I haven't had a dominant car like this in about 10 years, truthfully. 2022 is the last time I felt like I had a car like this. The pit crew kept me up front, no issues, had some long runs there, and that's really where I typically excel. And man, they just did an amazing job with the car this week. We worked really hard on coming up with a new setup. What we had had in the past just wasn't good enough.” Hamlin said.

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Denny Hamlin shed light on challenges of racing in Next Gen car after his Martinsville win

In the aforementioned interview, Denny Hamlin also discussed how he felt racing in Next Gen car as compared to the Gen 6, how he adapted to the new car, and the challenges of racing in the new car set-up. He pointed out that the competition has become much tighter in the Next Gen era, making it significantly harder to pass other cars. Sunday's NASCAR Cup win was his first at Martinsville in the Next Gen car.

Hamlin said:

“You know, at times, yes. At other times, no. I think, you know, the field has gotten so close over the last few years that it's harder to pass. I mean, it's why there's probably 30 cars in the lead lap. It just is really, really hard to pass. So the advantage that you've got to find is so small, and it's just taken us quite a few years to find it.”

Denny Hamlin, who is widely considered the best active short-track racer in the sport, held off his teammate Christopher Bell in the closing laps to cross the finish line in P1.