Saturday Pocono Weekend Notebook

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service

LONG POND, Pa. – Defending Pocono race winner Denny Hamlin conceded Saturday that securing NASCAR records do indeed matter to him and his legacy.

The 43-old veteran holds an active driver’ series best mark of seven wins at Pocono Raceway – including his career first victories in the NASCAR Cup Series – a sweep of the 2006 season. Hamlin currently has 54 wins – one shy of NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace’s 55-victory total and second only to Kyle Busch’s mark of 63 wins among active drivers.

“Where I’ve shifted my goals in the final years of my career is to try to get to a big win number, get inside the top-10 of all-time winners,’’ said Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.  

“That’s the goal I can achieve week in and week out, right? Certainly, always have goals of winning a championship and that goes over a long period of time. But week-to-week, that’s what fuels me to continue to go to the racetrack and do this grind every week, is to try to nail down victories. 

“To me, I think when this is all said and done, all these different formats have changed cars, have changed over time, but the wins still stand as equal. I think that’s why I value them so much.’’

Byron Looks Ahead to the Brickyard

Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron conceded he’s genuinely excited to return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval next week for the 30^th anniversary of the Brickyard 400 – the inaugural race in 1994 won by Hendrick executive and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon.

After racing on The Speedway’s road course the last three years, the NASCAR Cup Series will again race on the 2.5-mile oval next Sunday.

“I’m excited for it. I think the track is fun to make laps on,’’ said Byron, who drives the same No. 24 Chevy that Gordon drove to a record five IMS trophies. “I’m sure it will be tricky with the Next Gen car, probably a little bit edgy. But I think it will be everything we want as drivers, to be back on the oval with the history that it has.’’

Penske and the Playoffs

Team Penske driver Austin Cindric fully admits it’s a big deal that Penske was the first team to earn a Playoff sweep – all three drivers qualifying for the 2024 Playoffs.

All three Penske drivers advanced to the Playoffs with wins in the last month and a half. Cindric won at World Wide Technology Park on June 2. Teammate and reigning series champion Ryan Blaney won two weeks later at Iowa and Joey Logano – a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion – won two weeks at that at Nashville.

“As a team, we’ve won the championship with Joey and Ryan the last two years, and it’s all about using that system to be able to get to the next round each time,’’ said Cindric, driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford. “Whether if that’s winning races late in the Playoffs or having enough points, our guys have been able to really execute in that round of eight and propel themselves into a position to be in the Championship Four.

“That’s all just about having your best day. I think for us, it’s about maximizing each opportunity with each Playoff track and being able to understand where our strengths and weaknesses are. Apart from that, the biggest way to win the championship is to be in it.’’