Denny Hamlin Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – With the car of Ryan Newman sliding upside-down trailing sparks behind him, Denny Hamlin joined elite company on Monday night in the second-closest finish in Daytona 500 history. Hamlin beat Ryan Blaney to the finish line at Daytona International Speedway by .014 seconds, and while the driver of the No. 11 celebrated with a burnout on the infield grass, the emergency crew worked to extricate Newman from his No. 6 Ford, which came to rest on its roof at theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – On Sunday, Denny Hamlin will be going for his second-straight Daytona 500 victory and third in the last five years, but the driver of the No. 11 Toyota at Joe Gibbs Racing wasn’t always a favorite on the superspeedways. It took Hamlin getting schooled by restrictor plate masters like Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Tony Stewart to turn him from an also-ran at Daytona and Talladega to becoming a perennial favorite at those types of tracks. “People think of us a lot ofRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The tragic and untimely passing of Kobe Bryant and eight other people (Gianna Bryant, John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah and Payton Chester, Christina Mauser and Ara Zobayan) last month were among the subjects brought up in Wednesday’s Daytona 500 Media Day. Topics ranged from how the five-time NBA champion impacted their lives to their viewpoint on aviation. The most notable of the drivers was Ryan Blaney, who met and spoke to Bryant back in 2018. Blaney said that “The Black Mamba”Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – What felt like the Royal Rumble, the 42nd Busch Clash will go down as the ultimate attrition fest as only six out of the 18 drivers survived the mayhem at Daytona International Speedway. It seemed fitting that the race winning car was a total wrecked machine as Erik Jones got the assist of a lifetime from his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin (who was a lap down) to win the crash fest that saw three overtimes, resulting the total laps goingRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Denny Hamlin couldn’t win the Busch Clash at Daytona for himself, but he made sure his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate did. For nearly the entire final lap in the third attempt at overtime, Hamlin pushed the mangled Toyota of Erik Jones all the way to finish line in a race that saw only six of 18 cars running at the finish. With the nose of his car caved in and held together with tape, Jones led only the final lap—theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Editor’s note: Motorsports Tribune will be previewing the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season for the full-time drivers in the series leading into February’s running of the Daytona 500. Age: 39 Years in Cup: 16 Career Wins: 37 For the third time in his career, Denny Hamlin made it to the championship finale with a shot at the NASCAR Cup Series title, but like each time before, ultimately fell short at the end and had to watch as another driver hoisted the championship trophy. However, this time around wasRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. – With the thrill of victory, there is always the agony of defeat and there was plenty of the latter to go around for Martin Truex, Jr., Kevin Harvick, and Denny Hamlin Sunday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway. As Kyle Busch basked in his second Cup Series championship, the other three championship contenders could do no more than watch Busch’s burnout down the frontstretch and wonder what more they could have done for them to be the ones celebrating instead of the driver ofRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. – The preliminary races are over, now it’s time for the main event. Four of the best in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will face off Sunday afternoon at Homestead-Miami Speedway in a winner take all race. To the victor goes the championship, while it’s better luck next year for the other three. This year, it’s a Joe Gibbs Racing vs Stewart-Haas Racing showdown, with three JGR drivers – Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Martin Truex, Jr. – taking on the loneRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Joe Gibbs Racing comes into this weekend’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship battle with a 3-to-1 shot at taking home the title and if Saturday’s final practice is any indication, the championship will have to go through them. In a makeshift practice session that took the place of qualifying after rain washed almost everything out on Friday, Kyle Busch led the way at 31.959 seconds, 168.966 mph, with teammates Martin Truex, Jr. and Denny Hamlin in tow. The fourth of theRead More