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NASCAR Monday Mash-Up: Denny Hamlin against the world

JHby:Jonathan Howard•03/31/25•

Jondean25

Denny Hamlin Martinsville win
Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Is there some kind of mineral under Martinsville Speedway that makes drivers angry? Or does it somehow give Denny Hamlin more horsepower? These are the questions I have after another NASCAR weekend at the Paperclip.

Martinsville sure does make tempers flare. Ask the Truck, Xfinity, and Cup Series drivers. There was a wide variety of ways drivers let those feelings out this weekend. Rants on the radio, good. Sending it into Turn 3 on the last lap because “he would do it to me” – not good.

Denny Hamlin picked up a big win not just for this season but in terms of NASCAR history. Has Hamlin figured out this track and these new, softer tires?

Connor Zilisch wins first pole on an oval

A pretty big milestone for Connor Zilisch this weekend as he won the pole at Martinsville. The Xfinity Series driver had never won a pole on an oval before.

These oval tracks are where people said he would struggle. Zilisch ran very well on Saturday but did make rookie mistakes like driving into cars during the race or when the caution would come out. Gotta be quicker on those brakes.

AJ Waller leaves midrace, Josh Reaume finishes at Martinsville

Making his Truck Series debut, Stage 4 cancer survivor AJ Waller had an unfortunate end to his night. He overheated and had to leave the truck. Team owner Josh Reaume jumped in and finished the race.

Reaume said that Waller was fine after leaving the care center. The Reaume Bros Racing program will continue to work with Waller to make sure he’s physically ready for his next start.

Truck Series leaders wreck at Martinsville

The NASCAR Truck Series race at Martinsville was a mess. Not once, but twice, the leaders wrecked. Back to back, in fact.

Corey Heim had his left rear tire cut down by Kaden Honeycutt’s truck racing for the lead on a restart. Then Honeycutt was wrecked by Ty Majeski on the ensuing restart.

Hemric ‘flips out’ after winning messy race

All of the nonsense that happened with the leaders opened the door of opportunity. Tyler Ankrum tried to grasp the handle and turn it, but Daniel Hemric came in and pushed him out of the way.

Well, not literally. Hemric raced his McAnally teammate very cleanly and drove off to the win. Then he “flipped out” and celebrated with a backflip.

Denny Hamlin, Dale Jr. chime in during Xfinity Series race

During the Xfinity Series race, Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. both chimed in. They had had enough with what they were watching, and it was BEFORE Sammy Smith’s dive bomb.

Both Hamlin and Earnhardt posted on X/Twitter. A particular move from Sam Mayer seemed to make Dale Jr. call out with his tweet. Hamlin had a number of posts that night.

Sammy Smith does his best Austin Dillon impression

As I said, AFTER the Hall of Famer and future Hall of Famer cried out in disgust at this Xfinity Series race, Sammy Smith did what he did. This is his third season in the series; he should know better.

Smith shipped Gray after his team owner was already criticizing the rough racing on the track. I bet the team meeting today hasn’t been a lot of fun.

Elton Sawyer talks about R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Between the Truck and Xfinity Series races, Elton Sawyer had to step in. The Senior VP of Competition gave a “keyword” to the Cup Series drivers in the prerace meeting.

Sawyer’s message was “respect,” to which Joey Logano said, “We’re doing words of the day? Well, I’ve got one.” It’s not as nice.

Joey ‘Jackass’? Logano calls out Ross Chastain

Not only did Joey Logano call out Ross Chastain as a “jackass” on his radio, but he held that sentiment postrace, too. Logano got out of his car and it was more or less the first thing he said to the media.

Logano was also upset with Ty Gibbs at one point during this race. Those two have a history going back to last season.

Mike Joy does his part to shame Xfinity drivers

During the Cup race, Mike Joy and Kevin Harvick brought up the Xfinity race. They did not hold back, either.

In only a way that Mike Joy can do, he roasted the series. Honestly, the public shaming from one of NASCAR’s most cherished figures is probably good.

Denny Hamlin collects wins 55 and 6 at Martinsville

55 wins in the Cup Series and 6 wins at Martinsville. Denny Hamlin hit major milestones after leading 274 laps to win his sixth grandfather clock.

Hamlin has as many wins as Rusty Wallace. He has moved up the wins list to join Dale Earnhardt, Fred Lorenzen, and Cale Yarborough with six Martinsville wins. He’s still a championship contender, folks.