MADISON, Ill. — Nothing seems to distract Denny Hamlin, and the veteran NASCAR star who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing proved it again with a laser-focused victory Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway to advance in the Cup Series playoffs.
After a week in which his father was ailing and the 23XI Racing team he co-owns lost a decision in its court battle with NASCAR, Hamlin compartmentalized his concerns and stayed on task for a virtually flawless weekend — starting from the pole position and leading a race-high 75 of 240 laps in the No. 11 Toyota.
“I just step up,” Hamlin said after his series-leading fifth victory this season. “All I can do is just keep being a student of the game, keep trying to get better, and every week is a chance to get a little better.”
With his 59th career win, Hamlin advanced to the second round of the playoffs and joined Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe, who finished second after winning the Southern 500 at South Carolina’s Darlington Raceway to open the 10-race schedule for the postseason. Chase Elliott finished third Sunday in a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, followed by Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano in Team Penske Fords as playoff drivers swept the top five spots at the 1.25-mile oval.
Hamlin’s crew called him to the pits for his final stop with 44 laps remaining, and he cycled to the front on a caution 15 laps later. The Virginia native seized the lead from RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski on the restart, delivering the 200th win in NASCAR’s premier series for Toyota.
He celebrated with a long burnout down the front stretch of the track near St. Louis, bringing boos raining down from a sellout crowd to Hamlin’s delight.
“You all can boo me, but you can either get on the bandwagon or get run over by it,” he said. “I want all the noise and all the heat.”
Relishing life as a NASCAR villain is one of many roles being filled by the multitasking Hamlin, who also co-hosts a podcast while running 23XI Racing, the three-car Cup Series organization that he co-owns with NBA legend Michael Jordan and Curtis Polk, the retired player’s business manager.
None of the off-track activity has had much of a noticeable impact on the on-track performance for Hamlin, who is in his 20th Cup season driving for NASCAR Hall of Fame team owner Joe Gibbs. With the win Sunday, he became the seventh driver in NASCAR history with multiple victories after his 700th start.
Gibbs marvels at how Hamlin, who will turn 45 in November and welcomed his third child in June, is able to juggle so much.
“He’s in one meeting after another,” the team owner said with a laugh. “The more stuff he does, the better off he is. He’s got a real drive to succeed.”
The ultimate prize would be a first Cup Series championship, and Hamlin took another step toward that goal by locking into the next round ahead of Saturday night’s first-round finale at Tennessee’s Bristol Motor Speedway. The short-track race will trim the playoff field from 16 to 12 drivers.
Shane van Gisbergen, Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman and Josh Berry are currently outside the top 12.
Hendrick’s Kyle Larson, who finished 12th on the track Sunday, can clinch a spot in the next round by simply starting at Bristol. Larson has won consecutive races at Bristol, with the 2021 Cup Series champion leading 872 of the past 1,000 laps on the 0.533-mile oval.
Bubba Wallace, the 23XI driver who finished eighth after leading 73 of 240 laps and winning the second stage, also is in a strong position to advance.
Berry will need a win at Bristol to advance to the next round after opening his Cup Series playoff debut with consecutive last-place finishes. The Wood Brothers Racing driver was tapped in the left rear by Elliott in Sunday’s race, sending Berry’s No. 21 Ford spinning into the wall at the second turn on the 36th lap.
“Chase and that team have done a lot for me, and I really doubt that was on purpose,” said Berry, who crashed on the first lap of the Southern 500. “Just wrong place, wrong time for us again. Obviously, it’s unfortunate. We’ll just go to Bristol and try to do the best we can and put ourselves in position to race for a win, and that’s really all we can do at this point.”
Elliott apologized for the incident after the race.
“I had no intention of getting into him,” the 2020 Cup Series champion said. “I’ve known those guys my whole life, so I just hope that they know it wasn’t anything intentional. I felt terrible about it right when it happened, and I wish I could take it back.”