Denny Hamlin has kept the win counter ticking for more than two decades in the NASCAR Cup Series, and his latest strike at Las Vegas Motor Speedway pushed his tally to 61. The title chase still hangs over his career as an unfinished business, but cracking the list of the sport’s top winners has him knocking on a rare door.
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For years, Hamlin circled 60 as the number to chase, knowing the title fight can slip through a driver’s fingers. That point hit home again at Phoenix Raceway last year, where a late caution pulled the rug out from under him. So, now, wins, in his book, are the measure that no one can take away.
With Hamlin’s deal expected to run through next season, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has set his sights on 67 before he hangs up the helmet. Crew chief Chris Gayle, however, is not ready to draw a line in the sand.
From his side of the pit box, the target keeps moving. “I think he said 60 before he was done, right? And so he’s hit that number and eclipsed it, and he’s still racing. So I don’t know. I don’t know what might happen, and I know he’s signed up for a couple years here.”
Hamlin has already cleared the bar he once set, and as long as the engine keeps firing, Gayle sees no reason to put a ceiling on it. Plans can change, and as long as the pace holds, the wins can keep coming.
“So, man, I hope he hits that number and beyond specifically because I want to be involved with that and win that many races coming up here. So, yeah, you know, I don’t know what his plans might change. I think he definitely wants to be competitive at the end of his career, and you’re seeing that. So I think as long as he can stay competitive, we’ll see what happens,” Gayle continued.
Will @dennyhamlin retire when he hits 67 wins?
His crew chief Chris Gayle weighs in ⬇️
“I think as long as he can stay competitive, we’ll see what happens.” @JoeGibbsRacing
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— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) March 20, 2026
The latest win also saw Hamlin move past Kevin Harvick on the all-time list, placing him within reach of Kyle Busch’s 63-win mark. The gap is narrow, and the ladder is still there to climb, but the road ahead is not what it once was.
On “Inside the Race,” Kyle Petty took a view that cuts the other way. He pointed to a shift in the sport, where runs of wins in a season no longer stack up like they used to. In that light, he sees Hamlin as the last to cross the 60-win mark in this era and warned that Hamlin’s push toward 70 could turn into a struggle.
Petty did not rule out Hamlin’s more trips to Victory Lane, but he suggested the days of six or more wins in a season have gone by the boards. A handful each year may be the ceiling, and even for a driver of Hamlin’s standing, reaching 70 would mean threading the needle over time.
