Penske Drivers Bounce Back at Martinsville

Logano, Blaney, and Cindric all finish in the top 10 after struggles the previous week at Darlington.

Mar. 30, 2026 at 7:08am

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A fractured, multi-perspective painting depicting the motion and energy of NASCAR cars racing around Martinsville Speedway, with the vehicles' shapes and colors broken down into sharp, overlapping geometric planes.Penske drivers find their form at the historic Martinsville Speedway, with their cars' vibrant colors and dynamic movements captured in a cubist-inspired illustration.Martinsville Today

Joey Logano rebounded from a disappointing 33rd-place finish at Darlington to claim a third-place result at Martinsville Speedway, leading a strong showing for Team Penske. Teammates Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric also finished in the top 10, with Blaney taking sixth and Cindric eighth. Logano said his team was expected to perform well at the historic short track, and he believes he could have challenged for the win if he had been able to get to the lead ahead of race winner Chase Elliott.

Why it matters

Martinsville is a crucial short-track race on the NASCAR calendar, and a strong performance here can be a sign of a team's overall competitiveness. After struggling the previous week, the Penske drivers showed they have the cars and the talent to contend for wins on the shorter ovals, which will be important as the season progresses.

The details

Logano led the Penske charge, finishing 2.073 seconds behind winner Chase Elliott. He said if he had been able to get to the lead, he may have been able to challenge Elliott for the victory. Blaney finished sixth, while Cindric took eighth. Josh Berry, whose Wood Brothers Ford has a technical alliance with Penske, finished 10th.

  • The Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway took place on Sunday, March 30, 2026.

The players

Joey Logano

A Team Penske driver who finished third at Martinsville, rebounding from a poor 33rd-place result the previous week at Darlington.

Ryan Blaney

A Team Penske driver who finished sixth at Martinsville and is currently second in the NASCAR Cup Series standings.

Austin Cindric

A Team Penske driver who finished eighth at Martinsville and is currently 18th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings.

Chase Elliott

The race winner at Martinsville Speedway.

Josh Berry

A driver for the Wood Brothers team, which has a technical alliance with Team Penske, who finished 10th at Martinsville.

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What they’re saying

“Solid rebound for everybody. Weekends like last weekend you start to question everything.”

— Joey Logano, Team Penske Driver

“Honestly, if we were able to get to the lead, I don't know if the 9 (Elliott) was any better than us. He just got the clean air at the right time. If we were able to do that, we could have been in that position as well.”

— Joey Logano, Team Penske Driver

“I feel like we definitely got our heads a little bit more wrapped around these type of race tracks. You have to come out here and run top five when you have those tracks on the schedule. Got to keep working on the other ones.”

— Joey Logano, Team Penske Driver

“I thought we got a little better all day. By the last run or so, I thought I was a top three car for sure. What happened on the restart kind of put us back.”

— Ryan Blaney, Team Penske Driver

“Probably one of the better spring races we've had in a couple years. Really good day on pit road.”

— Ryan Blaney, Team Penske Driver

What’s next

The NASCAR Cup Series will head to Richmond Raceway on April 13, 2026, where the Penske drivers will look to continue their strong short-track performance.

The takeaway

After a disappointing outing at Darlington, the Penske team showed it has the cars and the talent to contend for wins on the short tracks, which will be crucial as the NASCAR season progresses. The strong showing at Martinsville suggests the team has made progress in understanding how to set up their cars for these types of circuits.