Denny Hamlin is racing toward one of his finest NASCAR seasons, with three wins already under his belt this year.
Hamlin, who drives the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, is currently fourth in the standings with 361 points, behind Kyle Larson (410), Martin Truex Jr. (395), and Chase Elliott (377).
This past weekend at the Würth 400 hosted by Dover Motor Speedway in Delaware, Hamlin started fast—leading in 136 of the 400 laps—and then held off Larson to claim the victory. The three wins in the series are tied with William Byron for most of this season.
The victory at Dover moved him from sixth to fourth place in this year’s standings.
“I think there’s certainly some that are better at defending their spot than others—I don’t put myself very high on that list,“ Hamlin told NASCAR. ”I’ve got so many other things. I’m trying to get faster week to week. Certainly, defending is an important part of your finish week in, week out. I’m so focused on what I can do to be faster in general.
“I’m probably pretty low on that list, which makes me a little worried when you’re going up against Kyle at the end of the race, someone that’s not afraid to move around the racetrack.”
Hamlin has 54 career NASCAR Cup wins, including victories in the Coca-Cola 600 (2022), Daytona 500 (2016, 2019, 2020), and Southern 500 (2010, 2017, and 2021). He is now tied with Lee Petty for 12th on the career victory list.
“I couldn’t hold Lee Petty’s helmet,” Hamlin demurred after the race.
In addition to competing for Joe Gibbs Racing, Hamlin co-owns 23XI Racing with NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Hamlin’s best career season thus far was in 2010, when he was runner-up to Jimmie Johnson in the championship standings. In addition to competing in the NASCAR Cup Series, Hamlin has 18 career Xfinity Series wins and two career Craftsman Truck Series victories.
Despite holding off Larson at Dover on Sunday, Hamlin still has a lot of work to do to catch his counterpart in the NASCAR standings. Larson, who drives the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, already won the 2021 championship with a victory at Phoenix Raceway in the title race.
Larson previously drove the No. 42 for Chip Ganassi Racing before they parted ways in April 2020. Larson is a 24-time Cup race winner and qualified for the NASCAR Playoffs in 2016-19 and 2021-23.
Larson has 15 career Xfinity wins and three career victories in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
He narrowly missed winning the Würth 400, which would have distanced him from the rest of the field in the standings. He led 39 laps and won Stage 2 at Dover Speedway.
“I knew when I got within three car lengths, he was going to start moving around,” Larson told NASCAR. “I couldn’t really do anything. I was trying all sorts of different angles and speeds, all that. Nothing could generate enough speed to get close enough, I guess, to do anything. So that was a bummer.
“A great day for our HendrickCars.com Chevy team. Started 21st, drove up to sixth in the first stage or fifth, got a stage win. Another stage win sounds good. Good points today. We would have loved to get a win.”
Hamlin has led in almost every race so far this season. He wants to keep that momentum going in next weekend’s event, the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway.
“All the guys on the wall right here, they made it happen,” Hamlin said. “Thank you to them and to [crew chief] Chris Gabehart. The whole team just gave me a great car. I think the key moment, really, was Kyle did an excellent job executing during the green-flag pit cycle, and then we were able to get the lead there on that restart, then got the caution that allowed us to control the restart.
“That was really the key moment for us, and certainly feels good winning here at Dover.”
