Hamlin Ready To Hunt For Elusive Brickyard Glory Again

Denny Hamlin (Peter Casey/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – Fresh off his 58th career NASCAR Cup Series win last weekend at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin is on top of the world as the playoffs draw near.

Hamlin captured his league-leading fourth win of the season and his second in six weeks. He is now three wins away from reaching the top 10 all time in wins in the history of the Cup Series.

He gave some credit of his Dover win to studying the ones that came before him. Specifically, Hamlin referenced Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson, a 10-time winner at the track, and his former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Martin Truex Jr., who won four times at the ‘Monster Mile’ and twice as a member of JGR.

“I was really blessed to have Martin Truex Jr., as a teammate. He was exceptional at that racetrack, and really the gold standard. As Jimmie’s success started to tail off, he was the next guy in line that every time we came here, you were going to have to battle him for race wins,” said Hamlin in a media availability at Dover. “Early in my career, I was studying Jimmie. Late in my career, I was studying Martin – those two guys were the guys I changed my style too and it has been better.”

Hamlin captured his third win at the concrete mile and looks to continue his momentum this weekend at iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“There is just so much history at that track. I’ve even had close calls there, and that is kind of the last big major win that I don’t have on my resume,” Hamlin noted. “I was leading the Brickyard 400 with six laps to go and I blew a tire back in 2020. It is one that I’m highly motivated to run really well at. It has also always been kind of a showcase of the driver, team, engine department – everything team oriented.”

The 44-year-old has raced at the Brickyard 16 times in his Hall of Fame career, with five top fives and eight top 10s to his credit. However, in his last two Indy oval starts, Hamlin failed to finish in both 2020 and 2024. The latter came after leading 21 laps earlier on before an incident ended his hopes.

“You don’t see a whole lot of surprises [at Indy]; there have been some, but not a whole lot. Maybe it’s happened a little more in the Next Gen era, because qualifying means more and track position means more than it ever has, but generally speaking … nothing takes away from the prestige of winning at that track,” Hamlin added.

“That is just something that is very, very special. The facility has so much history that you just can’t take away – no matter the circumstances or how you win it – you just can’t take away from the prestige of winning at the Brickyard.”

While he chases the Brickyard trophy this weekend, Hamlin said it’s also important for him to put together his best shot at possibly winning the regular season championship.

The Chesterfield, Va., native sits 39 points behind Chase Elliott for the point lead as the regular season winds closer to its conclusion.

With that accomplishment also in sight, Hamlin acknowledged a regular-season title could position him that much closer to his greatest pursuit: winning an elusive Cup Series championship.

“It is important. It is something that all of the guys that are in contention are really striving for,” said Hamlin of a possible regular season title. “It is something that we would all like to have. Obviously, it didn’t take precedence over the birth of my son. If the regular season was all that I cared about, I wouldn’t have missed that race, but family has changed my priorities a little bit on that.

“It is one of the crowning accomplishments that we have in our series now that rewards big sample sizes,” he added. “I think that is why people would view it pretty highly. If you look at the guys that have won it, it has been the guys that have dominated the first 26 races of the season. There have been no flukes, no accidental winners.

“It is the biggest sample size that we have in the sport, so that is why I think it is the most legitimate accomplishment that we have right now.”

Hamlin’s hunt for both the PPG Trophy and the regular season title continues at Indianapolis.

Coverage of the 29th Brickyard 400 Presented by PPG from Indianapolis begins Sunday, July 27 at 2 p.m. ET on TNT Sports, the IMS Radio Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.