By Jerry Jordan, Editor
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Denny Hamlin comes into the 2025 NASCAR season opener at Daytona International Speedway with a record of three wins in 40 starts at the track – all of those wins coming in the Daytona 500 and he’s ready for another.
“What will a fourth mean? I can’t answer that,” Hamlin told members of the media gathered around him during the annual Daytona 500 Media Day. “I tried to figure out what it would be like to win one and I had no idea until I won one. And I had no idea until after two. Did I know what two meant? So, it’s all really, really hard to put into words but it’s just the tension when you come back, you’re in an elite class of drivers that have won this multiple times and it’s just one of those things that stays on your resume forever.”
Other drivers have reportedly said Hamlin has figured out the “secret sauce” to winning races at Daytona but he doesn’t see it that way. He said he believes he was lucky to be able to learn from some of the best racers at superspeedways, like Tony Stewart, Jef Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. It’s what he saw from them on the track that helped him. He also doesn’t think his record is spectacular but in NASCAR, it’s incredibly difficult to win and his winning three Harley J. Earl trophies is a rarity.
“I’ve only won three of them,” Hamlin said, of his performance driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. “So my record, if you look at it from a win loss perspective, it’s horrendous, but in our sport, they call it great. It’s amazing. I’m three for 40 or so, you know, I think it’s just for a while there I got the privilege to race against some of the greatest superspeedway racers that this sport’s ever seen. I was very lucky to come in the sport when I did when the Jeff Gordons and Tony Stewart and Dale Jr.s taught me, I was on track with them, and I saw right away their IQ was exponentially higher than what mine was when I was a young driver.”
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Asked about his ongoing legal battle with NASCAR over the charter system and how it weighs on his mind, Hamlin explained he had hoped it wouldn’t have reached the level it has but it did. And now that the racing season has started, he’s more than happy to focus on driving the car.
That said, as he was answering media questions during the official Daytona 500 Media Day, NASCAR’s attorneys were filing a legal brief in the Court of Appeals seeking to reverse a preliminary injunction that was entered by the U.S. District Court in the Western District of North Carolina.
Hamlin explained that he feels like he and his 23XI Racing business partner, NBA superstar Michael Jordan, tried to work with NASCAR to enact change without litigation but it got to a point where that was no longer an option.
“Well, I mean, for 20 years, I’ve tried my best to form change in a positive manner for the sport, and it’s one that I love. It’s what I aspired to be here when I was a kid,” he said. “But sometimes change, you know, comes, there’s the restraint that comes with change, right? And so, unfortunately, things just came to a head, and we had to exercise our legal options to make the change happen.
“We’ve said we love the sport, and you know, this is all going to be stronger because of it.”
The lawsuit and proceedings flying back and forth also reached a point where it may have impacted Hamlin’s performance behind the wheel, he said.
“I mean, you know, there was, a difficult time, kind of during the playoffs, a little bit last year where things were starting to get fouled and whatnot and playoffs are going on,” Hamlin added. “Then, this offseason, obviously, was all about ownership and the off-track stuff. But you know, actually, we’ve been very fortunate the way the timing has gone and when the court proceedings have been scheduled that now it’s, I’m straight driver.”
There is a hearing in May, but Hamlin said there is not much for him to do until then. Portions of the case are under appeal by NASCAR but the trial date is currently scheduled for December.
“There’s nothing I need to do for the next few months while things continue to proceed,” Hamlin said. “So, it’s a good time for me to focus on being a driver and trying to win as many races as I can.”
Contained in the legal brief filed Wednesday, NASCAR’s attorneys stated, “This appeal challenges the district court’s entry of two preliminary injunctions that force NASCAR into contractual relationships with two motorsports organizations actively suing it, on their preferred terms. The district court’s injunction orders flout federal antitrust law; misapply the established rules governing the use of preliminary injunctions; ignore unrebutted, legally significant evidence; and have sweeping implications for NASCAR’s 2025 Cup Series season. Any one of the district court’s many errors warrants reversal.”
The brief continues and states, “the district court took the bait” in regard to the arguments made by 23XI Racing, which NASCAR staunchly disagrees with.
“In two different decisions, it entered injunctions compelling NASCAR to enter into rewritten Charters with the parties actively suing it, despite the absence of any meeting of the minds on key contractual terms,” the document states. “These injunctions misuse the judicial power to force NASCAR to treat its litigation adversaries as its business partners and confidants, undermining the mutual trust that has fueled NASCAR’s growth and success. Worse, the district court conjured from thin air a categorical ban on sports leagues including releases broad enough to encompass antitrust claims in their agreements—eliminating the need to prove anticompetitive conduct, a crucial element of the Sherman Act Section 2 claim Plaintiffs are pursuing. No court of appeals has ever ruled that standard release provisions violate the antitrust laws. The district court’s misguided approach threatens countless commercial agreements, and demands correction. The district court’s decisions were riddled with errors, each warranting reversal of its injunctions.”