Cook Out 400

After a long drive from Las Vegas to Darlington, the haulers and drivers have a much shorter trip this week for the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, VA. This will be our first short-track race of the season, as the drivers only have to go .526 miles around the stretched oval course. The next race at Martinsville will be the penultimate race of the Cup Series Chase on Nov. 1.

This is the seventh race of 36 for the Cup Series season, which includes three road course races as mentioned, a street course in Coronado, a revamped playoff format, the second annual In-Season Challenge, and a whole lot of exciting Saturdays and Sundays for race fans and bettors. Next week is an off week in observation of the Easter holiday.

How to Watch The Cook Out 400

When: Sunday, March 29, 2026

Where: Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, VA

Time: 3:30 p.m. ET

Channel: FS1

2026 NASCAR Cup Series Winners and Standings

Through six races, we have three winners, as Tyler Reddick won the first three races of the season and then last week’s race at Darlington. Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin are the only other drivers to head to Victory Lane thus far. The Cup Series altered the points awarded for winning, adding some extra value to the checkered flag. With yet another win, Reddick added to his lead, as he now has 325 points, 95 more than Blaney, who jumped over Bubba Wallace to move into second.

Through six races, Reddick, Blaney, Wallace, Hamlin, and Chase Elliott are in the top five. Wallace finished 34th last week, with his lowest finish by far of this season. His other four finishes were all in the top 11. Christopher Bell and Ty Gibbs are the only other drivers besides Reddick with three top-five finishes, but Bell is in eighth and Gibbs is 11th. Brad Keselowski picked up his second top-five finish of the season with a runner-up effort at Darlington, including the most laps led and two stage wins.

The postseason format has changed, as there are no rounds anymore and playoff points will not be awarded. The top 16 drivers in points will qualify for the Cup Series Chase and how they perform over the 10 races as a whole is how a winner will be decided. In other words, a win does not guarantee entry into the Chase like it would have in the past.

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Cook Out 400 Winners

Martinsville has been a twice-a-year stop since 1950 when a second date was added to the calendar. In other words, we have a lot of data points here. Hamlin is the reigning champ of this race, while William Byron won the fall race, a race that Blaney had won back-to-back years prior to that. Byron also won the spring race in 2022 and 2024, so he’s got three wins here in his last eight starts.

As far as others who have had success here, Blaney’s two wins are part of six top-five finishes and seven top-10 finishes in his last 10 starts. Hamlin has six and six, respectively, in those categories. Kyle Larson only has one win in his last 10 starts at Martinsville, but seven top-five finishes and eight top-10 finishes. Joey Logano has finished in the top 10 in each of his last 10 starts, so he might be good in matchup wagers, as he hasn’t won here since 2018.

Cook Out 400 Predictions

For the latest odds and VSiN’s NASCAR Best Bets, head to our NASCAR Hub to see Steve Makinen’s simulation results and more stats on the drivers.

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