At 45 years old, Denny Hamlin is still performing at his peak.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver continues to put a whooping on the NASCAR Cup Series field this Spring, and Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway represented that perfectly, after the Chesterfield, Virginia-native took the lead late in the event, and pulled to an 11-second lead by the time the race finished.
It’s been one hell of a weekend for Hamlin. On Saturday, the driver of the No. 11 National Debt Relief Toyota Camry XSE suffered a flat tire in practice but immediately rebounded in qualifying to win the pole – his 50th in the NASCAR Cup Series (which allowed him to join NASCAR’s 50-50 club). The damage, from the earlier-mentioned flat tire, though, forced him to start Sunday’s 400-mile contest from the rear.
Hamlin was nowhere to be found in the first two stages of Sunday’s event, collecting three stage points, but the National Debt Relief-sponsored machine came alive in Stage 3, as Chris Gayle got his driver some much-needed track position to put him into position to pounce.
The pass for the victory came shortly after a restart, with 39 laps remaining, when the No. 11 got around Coca-Cola 600 winner Daniel Suarez for the top spot, and never looked back, jetting away to a ridiculous lead – the largest Margin of Victory at Michigan since 1991 and the largest Margin of Victory on an oval in the Cup Series since 2018.
“This Joe Gibbs Racing team just keeps giving me amazing race cars. This National Debt Relief Toyota is just amazing. At the last run there, just hammering down. Had a few good restarts, and once we got to the lead, I was going to lay it out, all I had.”
The victory is Hamlin’s third of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series campaign, and the 63rd of his career at NASCAR’s top-level, matching Kyle Busch, who passed away unexpectedly two weeks ago at the age of 41. Hamlin spent his celebration honoring Busch with a flag carrying the No. 8 and doing a burnout in the shape of the No. 8 on the frontstretch in front of the Michigan fans.
“The off-season, it was rough for me, it was rough for the NASCAR family, we lost a lot of people,” Hamlin said, reflecting on Busch. “This week we lost Gentleman Ned [Jarrett], the original badass of the No. 11. We’re still thinking of Kyle, Samantha, Brexton, and Lennix. You know, just an unbelievable feeling to be able to strap in every week, and I don’t take it for granted, this opportunity that I’m in. I just love we’re making the best of it.”
Hamlin gapped the field by 11.110 seconds, allowing us to lose focus on Erik Jones, who finished second for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB at Michigan – his best finish since winning the 2022 Southern 500. Bubba Wallace had a strong afternoon, leading nine laps, and came home in the third position.
Kyle Larson finished fourth, with Carson Hocevar rounding out the top five. Coca-Cola 600 winner Daniel Suarez recorded a strong sixth-place result, with Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, and Chase Briscoe rounding out the top 10 from Michigan.
Chase Elliott led the most laps on the afternoon, at 67, but was involved in a horrific accident with Christopher Bell, in which both cars went careening towards the outside wall at full speed, making a gnarly impact. Both drivers were released from the infield care center, but Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing, says there is some concern about wrist and ankle injuries for Bell, who will be evaluated in North Carolina.
That was one of a record 11 cautions on the afternoon – the most in Michigan history.
The NASCAR Cup Series will head to Pocono Raceway for its 16th event of the season. Coverage will take place next Sunday, June 14, at 3:00 PM ET on Prime Video.
Photo: Getty Images
