Still wants to win on and off the track.
Even at 45-years-old, it’s pretty clear that Denny Hamlin is just as competitive as he’s ever been. The driver of the #11 car for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series won his third race of the 2026 season last night at Nashville Superspeedway, beating out his teammates Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe in an absolutely incredible finish in Music City.
But it was a long day for Hamlin, despite starting on the pole for the race.
The Cracker Barrel 400 was delayed for about an hour by rain, so there’s no doubt drivers were a little antsy by the time they finally got on the track. And as Denny led the field to the green flag for the start of the race, he appeared to take off a bit too early and ended up getting a penalty for jumping the start.
Denny was forced to come down pit road and serve a penalty, which put him in the back of the field for most of the first stage. Of course it also makes it all the more impressive that he was STILL able to come from last to first to win the race, and during his victory interview Denny admitted that he went too early:
“I definitely jumped the start, no doubt about that.”
It was the first time in his 734 career Cup Series races that Denny has been penalized for jumping a start or restart. So what was going through his mind and why did he take off so early? Well according to the winner, it was because he was thinking about a bet that his team had made with the guy starting beside him.
Denny is, of course, the team owner for 23XI Racing alongside NBA legend Michael Jordan. And one of his cars, the #45 of Tyler Reddick, started on the outside of the front row at Nashville. So Denny’s team made a little bet ahead of the race with 23XI Racing: If Denny finished ahead of Reddick, one of their team members had to wear gear from Denny’s #11 team next weekend, but if Reddick beat Denny, his team member and podcast co-host Travis Rockhold would have to wear #45 team gear and make a statement on their Actions Detrimental podcast.
Oh, and if Denny won the race, the #45 team would have to put “Denny Bros” on Reddick’s car next week as a nod to Hamlin’s fans.
https:/twitter.com/TravisRockhold/status/2061214877696299277
Well apparently Denny was thinking about the bet – and beating Reddick to the starting line – when he jumped the start yesterday:
“I think there was a little bit of gamesmanship going on. The Denny Bros had a bet with the car chief of the 45 on who finished ahead of who. And so there were mind games going on, even on the grid. And so my goal was to lead this race on lap one. I did it, as it turns out, illegally. But it probably played into my decision of I’m going to get a good jump and I went too soon.”
I mean, good for Denny for trying to help his team out. And ultimately it worked out for everybody on the #11 team: Denny not only beat Reddick but he also took home the win, so look for “Denny Bros” on the #45 car this week and a member of Reddick’s team in Denny Hamlin gear at Michigan.
