Allgaier wins Martinsville
Justin Allgaier battled through close‑quarters Martinsville action to win the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race on March 28 — a strong short‑track result for the veteran. (nascar.com). Denny Hamlin nabbed the Cup pole for the Cook Out 400 — his 49th career Cup pole and fifth at Martinsville, tying him with Bobby Isaac for 10th all‑time — with the Cup race scheduled to run on FS1. ( )
Allgaier led a race-high 114 of 250 laps and began the event on the pole after qualifying was canceled and the starting lineup was set by NASCAR’s metric formula. (speedwaymedia.com) The result was Allgaier’s third victory of the 2026 season and the 31st of his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series career, and it extended JR Motorsports’ streak to five straight wins this year — one shy of Joe Gibbs Racing’s 2008 mark. (nascar.com) Allgaier’s performance pushed his points advantage to 92 over Jesse Love in the series standings following a race that featured 13 cautions, a 19-car pileup on a late restart and a 26-minute red flag. (nascar.com) Lee Pulliam, making his first NASCAR national-series start in the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, led 40 laps and acknowledged he missed a shift on the restart that sparked the big wreck; Pulliam said he apologized to those affected and credited the experience as a “dream come true” to run for Dale Earnhardt Jr.ʼs organization. (nascar.com) At Martinsville’s Cup qualifying, Denny Hamlin posted a 98.241-mph lap (19.275 seconds), edging William Byron by 0.056 seconds to claim the Busch Light Pole Award — Hamlin’s 49th Cup pole and fifth at Martinsville. (nascar.com) Hamlin’s pole moves him to a tie with Bobby Isaac for 10th on the all-time Cup poles list, and he will start alongside Byron with Josh Berry third, Ty Gibbs fourth and Shane van Gisbergen fifth on the Cook Out 400 grid. (nascar.com)
