Denny Hamlin has made it pretty clear that one of the few milestones that he is yet to achieve in his illustrious Cup Series career is kissing the bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway by winning the Brickyard 400. He can check that off his bucket list now.
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23XI Racing’s No. 23 driver, Bubba Wallace, won the crown jewel event on Sunday and enabled Hamlin to kiss the bricks as a team owner. In his post-race interview, Hamlin was asked if he felt satisfied about kissing the bricks as a team owner rather than as a driver.
He responded by explaining how it is a lot more difficult to win races as a team owner than as a driver. “When those guys go out there and they get trophies, I make sure I get my own,” he said. “I can assure you, it’s much harder to win as a team owner than it is as a driver.”
He used the example of his dynamic within Joe Gibbs Racing to make his case. Getting a car to Victory Lane involves heavy participation from every member within a team rather than the driver alone. So victories are never a one-man show. “Building a team from scratch is a huge undertaking,” Hamlin continued.
“I feel more gratification because I had my hand in every little piece of that race team, from the branding to the sponsorship to the competition to everything. That’s why, you know, parents always feel much prouder when their kids accomplish something more than they do.”
The win was 23XI Racing’s first of the season and first-ever crown jewel triumph. So Hamlin has every reason to be proud.
Is Hamlin okay with not winning the Brickyard 400?
At the end of the day, Hamlin is a competitor on the field and he wants to reach the checkered flag ahead of everyone else, including his drivers over at 23XI Racing. It is natural for him to feel bittersweet when results such as the one on Sunday occur. He broke down the emotion in detail.
He said, “They’re in my brain every single Monday and Tuesday. I’m trying everything I can to teach them all the tricks in the book that I have. And so, I know that there’s a part of me out there. Yeah, it’s not my car number and it sucks that it’s not my team 11 out there doing it, but I’m still very gratified.”
At 44 years of age, Hamlin is still not thinking much about retiring from the sport. It is entirely possible that he secures a Brickyard 400 win as a driver before he hangs up the racing suit.
