By Neha Dwivedi, Staff Writer
Starting from the front row just outside of the pole winner, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin looked to repeat his trip to Victory Lane that he took in October 2025.
After falling as far back as 31st due to a pit road speeding penalty, Hamlin charged through the field, led 134 of 267 laps, and crossed the line 0.502 seconds ahead of Chase Elliott. William Byron, Christopher Bell and Ty Gibbs followed to round out the top five.
The win marked Hamlin’s 61st in the Cup Series, moving him past Kevin Harvick on the career list. It also placed him among Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon as drivers to win across 20 seasons, a mark that speaks for itself.
“That is awesome,” Hamlin said. “My name is not like others.”
The road to the checkered flag was not a straight line. The pit road speeding penalty at the end of Stage 1 forced Hamlin to regroup. He clawed back to finish Stage 2 in fifth after spending that stretch digging out of the hole he had put himself in. He finished Stage 1 in third but restarted 21st on Lap 89 and picked his way through traffic, inch by inch.
“I don’t know when the last one was, typically in the Next Gen (car) when you speed on pit road, if it’s somewhere near the middle of the race, you’re usually not seen again,” Hamlin said after being quizzed by Kickin’ the Tires about overcoming the penalty. “But I just knew within about 15 laps after that first restart, when I was cutting through everyone, I was like, ‘Well, there’s still time. I can’t waste any time getting around guys. I can’t get stuck behind anyone.’ So we just kept marching. When we got to fifth by the end of the second stage, I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m back in it.’ I’m close enough to the front that surely those guys up front looking at the scoring pylon and have had to think, ‘Holy shit, he’s back already.’
“We got through the field quick. So we knew we were going to be strong. Guys work on their cars. Everyone makes their stuff better. Chase came on at the end, similar to what he did in ’21. But today was just our day. Speeding penalty… The car was just too fast for a speeding penalty to stop us.”
After the restart on Lap 174, Hamlin moved into second behind Byron. By Lap 185, he slipped past on the inside and began to stretch the gap. The race took another turn on Lap 211 when Byron edged ahead in Turn 3 just before Connor Zilisch spun to bring out the only caution for an on-track incident. On the restart at Lap 218, Hamlin got the jump, passed Bell and kept the field behind him until the finish line.
When it was over, the moment hit home. Hamlin took time to gather himself after the burnout before climbing out. On pit road, his daughters came to meet him in the middle of his interview with Jamie Little. His fiancée, Jordan Fish, and his mother came to hug him on the pit road, turning the scene into a family affair.
Reflecting on the stretch behind him, including the sting of a title that slipped away, Hamlin said, “I knew it took a few weeks to feel like driving. Over the last couple of weeks, I definitely regained my love of it, got refocused. These are great opportunities for us.
“I just work really hard. I still, to this day, work really hard at my craft to try to continue to get better. Days like today certainly make me feel happy about where I’m at in the sport still and what I can still do.”
On having his family there, he added, “This is a family sport. My family obviously had so much sacrifice to help me get here. And now that I’ve grown in generations, Hamlins following me. Mom gets to see us. I know dad’s still saying that’s my boy. Hell of a day.”
In the press conference, Hamlin kept it simple. He mentioned how the first win of a season always carries significance. After months away and all that came with it, the result showed him that his level had not slipped.
About the most memorable moments of the race, Hamlin said, he would remember, “Half of it is the drive through the field. The other half is, like, the family being able to be here when they weren’t here for 60. We were driving on the track earlier today. It was like, Yeah, I don’t remember this, I don’t remember that. It’s been years since y’all have been at the racetrack.”
Kyle Larson’s Strong Run Jeopardized Due To Handling Issues
Behind Hamlin, Kyle Larson showed pace early but saw the race turn into a grind. Starting fifth, he led 62 laps and took the lead by Lap 94 with a push from Byron. He spent much of the race near the front, logging 91 laps inside the top five and 94 inside the top ten.
Stage 1 turned into a duel, with Bell taking the stage win while Larson settled for second. Stage 2 followed a similar script, this time with Byron out front and Larson again crossing the line in second. When the final run played out, the No. 5 car faded, and Larson came home seventh.
Larson later pointed to the stretch between Stage 2 and Stage 3 as the moment the race slipped through his fingers. He said the car began to step out near the end of Stage 2, allowing Byron to get by. At the start of the final stage, he did not get the launch or the push he needed, leaving him side by side as Bell built a run that was tough to cover. From there, the balance kept shifting, and Larson was left hanging on until the end line.
Daniel Suarez Squares Off With Former Trackhouse Racing Teammate, Ross Chastain
Further back, sparks flew between Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain. Running near the back half of the top 20, the two battled for 17th place in the closing laps. Chastain edged past on the outside and finished 17th, with Suarez right behind in 18th.
But the issue did not end at the line. On the cool-down lap, Suarez pulled alongside, and the two made contact before heading to pit road. Once stopped, both drivers climbed out and squared up. Words were exchanged, followed by a slight shove, before crew members stepped in.
Afterward, Suarez fired back, telling Fronstretch.com, “For some reason, our relationship has always been very weird. Almost like a little bit of two-faced of his part for some reason. And today I saw actually what I thought he had in his mind for a while.”