MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- A decade-long streak ended Sunday afternoon at Martinsville Speedway as Denny Hamlin scored the win and tied a NASCAR Hall of Fame member.
Hamlin won for the sixth time at Martinsville in his Cup career and for the first time since 2015. This was his 55th career win, which moved him into a tie with Rusty Wallace for 11th on the all-time wins list. The only driver ahead of Hamlin now is Kevin Harvick, who is 10th with 60 career wins.
MORE: Hamlin wins, full Martinsville results
The veteran driver has been good -- not great -- at Martinsville since 2015, so he and new crew chief Chris Gayle brought an entirely new setup for Sunday's 400-lap race.
The result was considerable success as Hamlin led a race-high 274 laps and won the second stage. This marked the fifth time in his career that he has led more than 200 laps at the .526-mile Virginia track.
"Chris Gayle, all the engineers, the pit crew, everybody really on that wall right there, just deciding they were going to come here with a different approach than what we've been over the last few years," Hamlin said after the race.
"It was just amazing. The car was great. It did everything I needed it to do. Just so happy to win with Chris, get 55."
The intriguing part about this win is that Hamlin scored it at the age of 44. This is a point in a driver's career when they stop consistently contending for wins.
However, the Virginia native has continued to lead laps and deliver top-10 finishes. This includes the runner-up at Phoenix Raceway behind Christopher Bell, the driver he held off Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.
"He's worked his rear end off," team owner Joe Gibbs said after the race. "He's probably in the simulator more than anybody. So I think that says a lot about him.
"And the one thing I've learned about athletes, the ones that really have it and are special, you'd better be careful about doing anything early, letting them go. So we're going to ride Denny for as long as we can here."
Now that Hamlin has the win, he's locked into the playoffs. Now, he can focus on continuing to score stage points and challenging for stage wins. He can also begin preparing for a pivotal race that occurs in the fall.
The Cup Series returns to Martinville Speedway during the Round of 8 of the playoffs. Hamlin has not reached the Championship 4 since 2021, the final year of the Gen 6 era, but he could snap this streak with a repeat performance.
"I've been so frustrated not getting a win here, but being the next best in line," Hamlin said. "But man, we have really turned the corner. Whatever setup we've got here, whenever we come back in the fall, we will be contenders."