Elliott wins Martinsville
Chase Elliott grabbed his first 2026 NASCAR Cup Series victory at Martinsville, holding off Denny Hamlin in a tight finish — the race delivered 2.394 million viewers on FOX. ( )
Elliott short‑pitted on Lap 261 and moved into the lead after a restart with 68 laps to go — a two‑stop strategy call by crew chief Alan Gustafson that flipped track position in his favor. (nascar.com) He held off Denny Hamlin by 0.565 seconds at the finish after a series of late cautions and restarts. (nascar.com) Hamlin dominated much of the race, winning both Stage 1 and Stage 2 and leading a race‑high 292 of the 400 laps. (nascar.com) The victory was Elliott’s 22nd career Cup win and pushed Hendrick Motorsports’ all‑time Martinsville total to 31 victories. (nascar.com) Joey Logano completed the podium in third, with Ty Gibbs fourth and William Byron fifth on the final running order. (wthr.com) The broadcast trended slightly downward year‑over‑year, with reporting that the Martinsville telecast fell about 1.2% from last year’s Martinsville audience of 2.422 million viewers. (yardbarker.com)
