Hamlin: From Back to Front to Victory Lane
FireKeepers Casino 400:
Denny Hamlin scored the win Sunday afternoon at Michigan International Speedway in the FireKeepers Casino 400. The win tied Hamlin on the all-time wins list with the late Kyle Busch - Hamlin then appropriately had a Kyle Busch flag and hat to honor him during his celebration. Hamlin's third win of the year also allowed him to knock a chunk of his points deficit off and close the gap to the top spot.
This was, once again, a phenomenal race at Michigan. The multi-groove, fast two-mile oval delivered exceptional racing. And it was exciting from the jump. Poor Connor Zilisch had a rough start with two spins in the first handful of laps, putting him out of the race early. After that, things calmed down a smidge as far as cautions, but the racing was intense, and Tyler Reddick soared to the Stage 1 victory. In Stage 2, business picked up a bit, and things started to get shuffled around. A handful of cautions, headlined by a multi-car pile-up triggered by Carson Hocevar on a restart, really jumbled things up and took out some key players, including Stage 1 winner Tyler Reddick, who took a massive hit en route to his first DNF (and finish outside of the top-15) for the 2026 campaign. With some pit strategy at play and clean air, Chase Elliott cruised to a Stage 2 victory. The intensity was ratcheted up in Stage 3 as drivers and teams were throwing their final proverbial Hail Mary to set themselves for their best finish and charge to the checkered flag. But Stage 3 was briefly halted for a red flag after Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott had a horrific crash that broke part of the Turn 3 and 4 wall. And horrific feels like an understatement. Both drivers did climb out under their own power, but unfortunately, Bell has a fractured wrist. He will continue to race this weekend at Pocono, and we should be thankful for safety advances since then. Shortly after we returned to racing, another restart pileup occurred on the front stretch, setting us up for the final run to lap 200. After the green flag was displayed once again, Denny Hamlin took the lead and never looked back. Even with hard charges from Hocevar and Erik Jones, nobody could even sniff Hamlin's exhaust as he set sail off to an 11.11 second win over the rest of the field. The win, Hamlin's 63rd, tied him with Kyle Busch on the all-time wins list. Hamlin paid homage to the late Busch with a custom flag and hat featuring the "18" (a JGR 1 and the RCR/Busch 8)and Busch's signature. A classy gesture to cap off a historic and pivotal win for Hamlin and the 11 team.
Next up, NASCAR heads to Pocono Raceway to tackle the Tricky Triangle. The Craftsman Truck Series enjoys an off weekend before they return to the Coronado Naval Base street course. So, this weekend all we have is the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series and the NASCAR Cup Series. The O'Reilly field hits the track on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. on The CW with the MillerTech Batteries 250 Presented by KOA. The Cup Series takes its turn on the Tricky Triangle Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. on Amazon Prime with the Great American Getaway 400.
Pocono Picks:
Trucks = OFF
NOAPS = Connor Zilisch
Cup = Denny Hamlin
Comments