Old can mean so much around Hamlin, who at age 44 was the oldest winner at NASCAR’s oldest track since a 47-year-old Rusty Wallace won for the final time in his Cup career in 2004. In this case, old was a good thing. It was a return to winning.

Denny Hamlin is a NASCAR Cup Series winner for the first time in nearly a year. The 44-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing veteran dominated the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway, grabbing the lead during the middle of the race and holding off the packed field on Sunday afternoon.

At the track he loves to dominate, Denny Hamlin was back on top with a new face atop his pit box. The Joe Gibbs Racing star ended an agonizing 10-year winless streak at Martinsville Speedway, holding off teammate Christopher Bell in his home state to secure a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.