In his No. 11 Toyota, Hamlin dominated the Cook Out 400, seizing the lead for 274 of the 400 race laps before winning the W. With the victory, he moved up to joint 11th place on the all-time Cup Series win list, and the Martinsville race was his 55th career victory. Ironically, the Joe Gibbs Racing star, who currently shares that seat with Rusty Wallace, also recorded his 55th victory at Martinsville Speedway, which Hamlin found to be very impressive. “55, where Rusty Wallace got his 55th,” Hamlin spoke to reporters after the race. “I’ll have time to let all that stuff digest, but in the moment it’s really awesome.”
Denny Hamlin on the triumph at Martinsville The 23XI co-owner was asked if winning meant more to him as he grew older before he made his remark. Hamlin, who is 44 years old now, acknowledges that as he gets older, he definitely appreciates these times more. “Yes, that is undoubtedly a huge one. Of course, you come to appreciate them a bit more,” he said. “I don’t know, when you’re just in your 30s or something, you got such a long runway ahead of you, you’re always thinking about, we’ll go win next week, the week after that, the week after that.” Without a doubt, I will cherish them slightly more no matter how many races I win from now until the conclusion.
