Denny Hamlin Demonstrates Resilience with Fourth Win of 2025
Denny Hamlin once again proved that pressure brings out his best. Just days after facing a setback in court, the veteran driver delivered a masterclass performance to secure his fourth NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season. He narrowly edged out teammate Chase Briscoe in a thrilling double-overtime finish at Dover Motor Speedway.
Driving the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Hamlin crossed the finish line 0.310 seconds ahead of Briscoe, adding to his wins at Martinsville, Darlington, and Michigan. He led 67 of the 407 laps in the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 and now has 58 career Cup Series wins—just two short of Kevin Harvick for 10th on the all-time list.
“Winning here at Dover is super special to me,” Hamlin said after the race. “This is a place that I’ve not been very good at the first half of my career. To go back-to-back here the last two years is amazing.”
Despite the celebration, legal challenges continue to surround Hamlin’s other major commitment—his 23XI Racing team. A federal judge recently denied 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports’ request to compete with charters while their antitrust case against NASCAR moves toward trial. This ruling means their six entries must currently compete as open teams, which jeopardizes guaranteed race spots and consistent funding.
None of this has shaken Hamlin’s resolve. “If you want answers, you want to understand why all this is happening, come Dec. 1, you’ll get the answers that you’re looking for,” he said. “All will be exposed.”
He added, “Dec. 1 is all that matters. Mark your calendar. I’d love to be doing other things. I’ve got a lot going on. When I get in the car today, nothing else is going to matter other than that. I always give my team 100 percent. I always prepare whether I have side jobs, side hustles, more kids—that all matters—but I always give my team all the time that they need to make sure that when I step in, I’m 100 percent committed.”
On Sunday, that focus showed. The race, which marked Dover’s first July Cup event since 1969, started in sweltering conditions and was briefly halted by rain with 14 laps to go. Inside the car, temperatures topped 140 degrees. During the red flag delay, Hamlin considered changing firesuits. But when the track dried, he returned to the wheel and held off two overtime restarts with worn tires to seal the win.
“We’ve got a lot left,” he said. “I just studied some of the greats here. I was very fortunate to have Martin Truex as a teammate. Jimmie Johnson, watching him win eleven times here—you learn from the greats and you change your game to match it, you have success like this.”
The final restarts were anything but straightforward. Christopher Bell, battling for the lead, spun with seven laps left in regulation and triggered a crash that collected William Byron and Noah Gragson. That set the stage for the overtime drama.
Briscoe gave Hamlin all he could handle in the closing laps. “I thought I did everything I needed to,” Briscoe said. “I thought I had him there for a second. I wish the Camry, the back, was about three inches shorter. I was so close to clearing him. I just couldn’t do it. Obviously, racing a teammate, I wanted to make sure at least a JGR car won.”
Alex Bowman came home third, followed by Kyle Larson and Ty Gibbs in fourth and fifth. Shane van Gisbergen, who entered the weekend on a two-race win streak, suffered a punctured tire on Lap 11 and ended the day in 30th.
Sunday’s race also had implications for NASCAR’s new In-Season Challenge. Ty Gibbs and Ty Dillon advanced to the final round, edging out Tyler Reddick and John Hunter Nemechek. Gibbs’ top-five finish eliminated Reddick, while Dillon’s 20th-place run beat Nemechek—who was the first driver one lap down—by a single position.
It’s “Ty vs. Ty” at Indy, as the $1 million bracket-style tournament now heads to the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway next weekend.
Joey Logano, meanwhile, marked his 600th career Cup Series start with a 14th-place finish, becoming the youngest driver ever to reach the milestone. Only Richard Petty has won on his 600th start.
As for Hamlin, his on-track dominance contrasts sharply with the off-track uncertainty surrounding his co-owned team. But if Sunday proved anything, it’s that he remains unfazed and entirely focused.
The NASCAR Cup Series returns next Sunday for the Brickyard 400 Presented by PPG (2 p.m. ET, TNT Sports, HBO Max, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), with five races left before the playoff field is locked in. All eyes will be on Hamlin, both on the track and in the courtroom, as the season builds toward a dramatic conclusion.
