Denny Hamlin made his 700th Cup Series start at the Nashville Speedway on Sunday. As any driver would, he expected to be in Victory Lane at the end of the day. But Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and Spire Motorsports youngster Carson Hocevar proved to be better than him at the end of 300 laps, and he had to settle for third place behind them.
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The victory was Blaney’s first of the season and secured him the all-important playoff spot. Hamlin told the press later that he was simply too good on the long runs and that it was what made the difference. He also pointed out that this character in the No. 12 Ford Mustang was visible as early as the practice runs that drivers went through.
In his words, “I thought that the No. 12 showed in the really long run in practice, it was a lot better. Not a lot better than us but just better than some other cars. So, we never really ran that long until we got in the race, and his car lost less speed than mine did. Mine really went off a cliff and got loose. A bunch of cars around us were getting loose. His did not.”
Denny Hamlin on why the tire advantage didn’t play on this track and the vibes of being on baby watch pic.twitter.com/kQ53Nq1E9h
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) June 2, 2025
Hamlin won the opening stage and led 79 laps in total despite issues with his helmet hose and hydration system. Blaney, on the other hand, led a race-high 139 laps to secure his win. He finished 2.830 seconds ahead of the second-placed Hocevar. It was a compelling victory after what seemed like an eternity of winless races since the beginning of the season.
Hamlin’s explanation for why drivers couldn’t pass each other
Not being good enough in the long run was one reason for Hamlin to lose out on victory. Another was an anomaly that he hasn’t been able to figure out yet. Once Blaney got out of reach, he had been racing with the expectation that a caution would come out and bunch them all up back together. But he got jumped by Hocevar before then, and a weird phase followed.
He detailed it, “Then the track went through a really weird phase in the last 30 laps where everyone had it pinned to the bottom. I think there were not enough cars running in the middle, so it threw dust into the middle and top lane, which were not an option. That definitely hurt the passing.”
Either way, the results are checked and marked green. Blaney is officially a Cup Series race winner in 2025 and will be racing in the playoffs alongside Hamlin and the others. The next goal for these drivers is to capture the $1 million prize money that the In-Season Tournament brings.
