Denny Hamlin broke through at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for his first win of the season last weekend. The result came months after the 2025 Cup title slipped through his fingers and merely two and a half months after he lost his father in a fire at his parents’ home. When the race ended, Hamlin paused the burnout, sitting with the moment before stepping out to take the checkered flag, as if letting it all sink in.
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The win was his 61st in NASCAR’s top tier, pushing him past Kevin Harvick on the career win list and placing him alongside the likes of Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and Jeff Gordon as drivers who have won across 20 seasons.
When the stat was put to him in a post-race interview with Jamie Little, Hamlin did not beat his chest. “I feel very fortunate to be on the list, but you know, those guys were far more talented than I have ever thought about being.”
However, that stance did not sit well with some. On his podcast, Dale Earnhardt Jr. pushed back, making it clear he was not buying what Hamlin was selling. “I’ve heard him say this before. He gets out of the car, and he says, I’m not as good as all those guys. I gotta work harder. I don’t believe he’s correct. I do believe he’s as good as some of them guys. I think that he’s better than quite possibly a Cale Yarbrough. Some of those big names that he’s looked up to.”
“Couple more years, you might put him on the Mount Rushmore. I do believe, talent-wise, he ranks way higher than he wants to admit.” Junior pointed to a pattern across eras, where many drivers fade once they hit their 40s. However, Hamlin has not followed that, holding his ground while others have seen their edge slip.
Kyle Petty echoed that take on Inside the Race, alongside Alex Weaver and Steve Letarte. “They begin to lose the feel of what they wanted out of the car. Denny is still on top of that,” said Petty of the JGR veteran’s talent and determination to keep on going, despite his age.
He opined that Hamlin belongs in the same breath as the sport’s benchmark names. He placed the JGR ace in a line that runs through Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, and Jeff Gordon, arguing that if Hamlin were dropped into any era, he would still find a way to win and cut out his place. Now all that remains for Hamlin is to achieve the biggest prize that has long eluded him, the Cup Series championship trophy.
