On Sunday, the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series will face their first short track test of the regular season at the 0.533-mile Martinsville Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Here is everything you need to know ahead of the Cook Out 400:
Favorite: Denny Hamlin (+350, per BetMGM)
Hamlin is the defending winner of the Martinsville spring race and always seems to be a factor in his home state. His dominance does not stop there, either, as he leads all active drivers in wins (six), top fives (21), top 10s (27) and laps led (2,722).
Furthermore, Hamlin has finished inside the top five in four of the last seven races at Martinsville and will start Sunday’s race from the front after tying Bobby Isaac for the 10th-most pole awards in series history.
Underdog: Josh Berry (+2200, per BetMGM)
Berry enters the Virginia short track looking for a momentum boost after a frustrating start to the season. Since his ninth-place finish in the season-opening Daytona 500, Berry has finished 17th or worse in every race since, three of which have been outside the top 30.
Why is he worth keeping an eye on Sunday? For starters, Berry is known for his short-track background, and his Wood Brothers Racing team is affiliated with a Team Penske organization that always runs well at Martinsville. He was also 10th in the 2025 fall race and will start Sunday’s race from third.
Tyler Reddick looking to continue hot start
After overcoming a grueling day at Darlington, Reddick became just the third driver in Cup Series history to win four of the first six races of a season. That type of start has given Reddick a 95-point advantage over Ryan Blaney in the standings and put him in a league of his own so far.
Martinsville, however, could be a different story. Reddick has not figured out short tracks in his Cup Series career and only has two top-10s in 12 starts at “The Paperclip.” Of all the tracks Reddick has made at least 10 starts at, it is the only one where he has not produced a top five.
Hendrick Motorsports still searching for first 2026 win
The powerhouse organization has not gone winless through the first six races of a season since 2019, but that is the position it finds itself in after a disappointing 400 miles at Darlington produced only one top-10 finisher (William Byron, eighth).
Byron (second) and Chase Elliott (10th) both qualified inside the top 10, while Kyle Larson (13th) had the best 25 and 30-lap average in practice. If there was ever a weekend to finally break through this season, a track the organization has won a series record 30 times at present, a golden opportunity.
New rules package will face its toughest test yet at Martinsville
The increased horsepower package will be used for the third time in a regular-season race on Sunday. However, while it was in play for the exhibition Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium earlier this season, Martinsville will by far represent the shortest track of the first seven regular-season races.
It is one of the most historic tracks in the sport’s history, but after years of subpar racing and a lack of excitement that fans have come to expect, Sunday’s race will be the most important test so far for the new package.