Denny Hamlin 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

It felt,” Denny Hamlin was saying about an hour after his light blue-and-white Toyota took the checkered flag at Martinsville Speedway, “like the old, old days.” 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.