Denny Hamlin loves to kid around with NASCAR fans, sometimes even good-naturedly chiding those who aren’t exactly fans of his. But after winning Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a milestone 60th victory in Hamlin’s NASCAR Cup career, he broke down in tears and thanked not only his fans but all NASCAR fans for allowing him to have such a fantastic career so far.
Advertisement
As a bonus, the win makes Hamlin the first of the four drivers who will make up the Championship Four field to determine the 2025 Cup champion in three weeks.
And, of course, Hamlin is hoping that after more than 20 years of Cup racing, he could be on the verge of accomplishing one of the few things he has yet to do in his career: win his first Cup championship.
“(This) definitely means a lot,” Hamlin said. “This is the point where I usually give the fans some (grief) but not today. I appreciate all of you so much.”
Sunday’s win was a Cup Series-leading sixth of the season for the driver of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota Camry. He started first from the pole and finished first.
“Obviously, I want to say hi to my dad and family back at home, all the friends that came out here hoping we get 60,” Hamlin added. “I didn’t think we were (going to get 60 wins).”
He said 60 was the goal.
Well @dennyhamlin, you can cross this milestone off the list! pic.twitter.com/6guVhPpWHL
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 13, 2025
The 44-year-old’s previous wins this season came in the spring races at Martinsville and Darlington, as well as at Michigan, Dover and six weeks ago at Gateway.
This was the fourth time Hamlin has earned at least six wins in a season: a career-high eight in 2010 (when he finished runner-up for the season), six and seven back-to-back in 2019 and 2020 (he finished fourth both seasons), and six so far in 2025, with three more chances to add to that half-dozen total.
When Hamlin sensed the win was within reach late in the race, he didn’t worry about the other drivers around him. He focused solely on what he hoped to do, and then he went out and did it.
“Just put the pedal down those last 10 laps and made it happen,” Hamlin said. “Chris (crew chief Chris Gayle) did an amazing job on that final stop getting the car just right.
“I just held it down. It’s all I could do just to go for it. It feels great.”
