At a track where he has enjoyed more success than any active NASCAR driver, history awaits Denny Hamlin at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver will make his 400th consecutive start in the Cup Series and the 36th of his career at the 0.533-mile oval in Bristol, Tennessee. Hamlin has a circuit-leading four victories at the short track nestled in an area known as “Thunder Valley” near the Tennessee-Virginia state line.
With its high-banked concrete surface ringed by 146,000 seats, Bristol bills itself as “The Last Great Colosseum,” and Hamlin has been on a gladiatorial roll with consecutive victories at Martinsville Speedway and Darlington Raceway. With his next win, he would become the winningest driver in Joe Gibbs Racing history (breaking a tie with Kyle Busch at 56 wins) and join teammate Christopher Bell by notching the second three-race winning streak this season.
“I try not to psych myself out too much about it because I think you sometimes put so much emphasis on those type of situations, and you end up making silly mistakes,” Hamlin said. “I just try to be as even keeled as I can. It is a new week. It is another great opportunity to win another race. If it just so happens that it is three in a row, that would be awesome and a very proud moment in my career, but it is not something that we set out to do each and every week.”
Hamlin also is tempering expectations because often “the stars have to align perfectly” as they did at Darlington. He seized the win by leading only 10 of 297 laps, including the last six after a swift pit stop catapulted his No. 11 Toyota into the lead and past Rusty Wallace into 11th on NASCAR’s all-time win list.
He has been more dominant at Bristol, winning by leading at least 142 laps in two of the past three races. After his Sept. 16, 2023, victory, Hamlin taunted the Bristol crowd with “I beat your favorite driver. All of them,” and he will be sure to hear some jeers raining down again Sunday when he will start fourth.
“You definitely hear the cheers and the boos,” said Joey Logano, who has recovered from a norovirus bout to take aim at a third Bristol win. “They’re much more in your face. It’s cool. It kind of brings a little bit more of the stadium environment that other sports get to enjoy a little bit more.”
Hamlin, 44, has fed off that crowd energy for 20 years in NASCAR while pursuing his elusive first title.
“My drive is still there,” he said. “Obviously, the performance is still there. I’m just going to keep trying to win all that I can in this window when it is still there.”
The mood within NASCAR has been somber after the deaths of two longtime industry members this week. Motorsports journalist Al Pearce covered 56 consecutive Daytona 500s before dying at 82, and Hendrick Motorsports director of communications Jon Edwards, 53, was a PR specialist during Jeff Gordon’s four Cup championships.
After becoming Gordon’s right-hand man, Edwards also worked with Kyle Larson since the star joined Hendrick in 2021 and won his first Cup championship. Larson, who is racing in all three national series at Bristol, is one of several drivers whose vehicles are sporting decals in honor of Edwards.
“He meant a lot to me personally,” Larson said of Edwards being his closest friend on the No. 5 Chevrolet team. “Definitely a sad week for the industry, but we’re going to mourn his loss and try to win some races for him this weekend. He would want us to not be sad. He was always a happy person, so we’re going to hold our heads high and represent him well this weekend.”
Larson (+400) is the BetMGM Sportsbook favorite, followed by Hamlin (+425), Christopher Bell (+650), Ryan Blaney (+750) and Chase Elliott (+900).
For the second time this season, Hendrick driver Alex Bowman will start from the pole position Sunday with tire wear expected to be a major factor in the 500-lap race at Bristol.
“I’m excited to see what we’ve got,” said Bowman, who dedicated his seventh career pole to Edwards. “It’s going to be tricky for sure. It’s probably difficult to manage from the front. It’s easy to run too hard. I think it could be really good for us.”
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. qualified second, followed by Larson, Hamlin and Ryan Blaney.
“It’s going to be treacherous,” Stenhouse said after a two-hour practice and qualifying session marked by excessive tire wear.
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