Denny Hamlin goes Back-to-Back at Michigan in Historical Emotional Triumph | FireKeepers Casino 400 Race Recap

Photo: “Denny Hamlin Las Vegas Fall 2024” by TaurusEmerald / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY SA 4.0 International | Image & License

Denny Hamlin’s path to victory at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday was anything but straightforward. What began as another uphill climb ended with one of the most memorable victories of Hamlin’s illustrious career.

The weekend opened under a cloud of remembrance as NASCAR legend Ned Jarrett passed away peacefully on June 4 at the age of 93. His death came just two weeks after the sudden passing of NASCAR great Kyle Busch, who died from pneumonia at the young age of 41.

Denny Hamlin, still in his prime at the age of 45, appeared as poised as ever to capitalize on his No. 11 Toyota Camry’s speed, earning the pole position for the second consecutive week. However, Hamlin was forced to surrender his starting spot and join a lengthy list of drivers heading to the rear of the field as his team made unapproved adjustments after qualifying, per NASCAR. The penalty would instead hand Carson Hocevar the distinction of leading the field to green from the “technical pole” position at his home track.

Much like a week ago at Nashville Superspeedway, Hamlin would once again have to work his way through the field after dropping to the rear.

Photo: “Michigan International Speedway’s front stretch, view from the infield early on race day.” by N8huckins / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY SA 4.0 International | Image & License

Early in the race, Tyler Reddick, Carson Hocevar, Ty Gibbs, and Bubba Wallace established themselves as the drivers to beat. Still, Michigan’s wide racing surface produced plenty of action…and plenty of cautions.

Reddick, the points leader and favorite to win coming into Sunday, saw his race unravel after he won the opening stage. On lap 83, Carson Hocevar would deliver an ill-timed push to John Hunter Nemechek on the front straightaway, triggering a multi-car incident which ended the days of Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon. While Hocevar came out unscathed, Ty Gibbs was taken out of contention, Bubba Wallace sustained splitter damage, John Hunter Nemechek received suspension damage, and Denny Hamlin would lose the track position he had gained from the start of the race after being spun out during the incident. The wreck would mark Reddick’s first DNF of the season and his first finish outside the top 15.

Many drivers, including Nemechek, had words to say about the wreck, frustrated with Hocevar’s frequent aggressive driving, according to team radio:

Photo: “John Hunter Nemechek at Homestead–Miami Speedway in 2018” by Zach Catanzareti / Flickr / CC BY SA 2.0 | Image & License

“Damn idiot, dude. Every Week.”

As the race entered its latter stages, cautions became customary. At the end of Stage 2, there had already been 8 incident-related yellow flags. By the time Stage 3 began, many of the initial Toyota favorites were out of contention. The spotlight would end up shifting to Stage 2 winner Chase Elliott, Michigan native Erik Jones, as well as Kyle Larson, Daniel Suárez, Christopher Bell, and Denny Hamlin — who had fought his way back to the front yet again.

However, on lap 148, while battling for the lead on a restart, Elliott got loose and made contact with Bell, sending Bell into the outside wall in one of the hardest impacts of the Next Gen era. The crash brought the race to a red flag for roughly 30 minutes as NASCAR crews repaired heavy damage to the SAFER Barrier in Turns 3 and 4. Both drivers climbed from their cars under their own power, but Joe Gibbs later stated to reporters that Bell was dealing with wrist and ankle issues when asked about his condition following the race.

Photo: “joe gibbs” by Zach Catanzareti Photo / Flickr / CC BY SA 2.0 | Image & License

“When he gets home, we’re going to make sure that he gets everything that he needs to get there, whatever it might be, and then we’ll just have to kind of wait. So, it is his wrist and his ankle, I think, so we’re just going to have to wait.”

The prolonged delay reset the complexion of the event once again. With many of the usual contenders out of the race, Daniel Suárez, Carson Hocevar, Bubba Wallace, and Erik Jones found themselves in a legitimate position to nab a victory at one of NASCAR’s fastest tracks.

Unfortunately for them, Denny Hamlin, who had worked methodically through the field multiple times, found himself restarting 4th with 39 laps to go, back among the frontrunners with a chance to complete an unlikely comeback. Hamlin would go on to deliver a breathtaking three-wide move underneath Spire Motorsports teammates Suárez and Hocevar to seize control of the race. From there, the outcome was never in doubt, as Hamlin never looked back.

While no driver had been able to separate from the field throughout the entire afternoon, Hamlin proceeded to build an astonishing advantage of more than 11 seconds over the final green-flag run all the way until the finish.

Top Finishers

1. | #11 | Denny Hamlin** — Joe Gibbs Racing — Toyota 2. | #43 | Erik Jones — Legacy Motor Club — Toyota 3. | #23 | Bubba Wallace— 23XI Racing — Toyota 4. | #5 | Kyle Larson — Hendrick Motorsports — Chevrolet 5. | #77 | Carson Hocevar — Spire Motorsports — Chevrolet 6. | #7 | Daniel Suárez— Spire Motorsports — Chevrolet 7. | #22 | Joey Logano— Team Penske — Ford 8. | #12 | Ryan Blaney —Team Penske — Ford 9. | #17 | Chris Buescher— RFK Racing — Ford 10. | #19 | Chase Briscoe* — Joe Gibbs Racing *— Toyota

The victory marks the 63rd of Hamlin’s NASCAR Cup Series career, tying the late Kyle Busch for 9th on the all-time wins list just weeks after his tragic passing sent shockwaves through the NASCAR community. The historic milestone was not lost on Hamlin. Following the checkered flag, Hamlin honored his longtime competitor and former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate with a lengthy burnout celebration and further extended the tribute by carrying a Kyle Busch flag through the window net of his No. 11 Toyota.

It was a powerful image, seeing a future Hall of Famer paying tribute to another on the very day their names became linked in the record books. Corey LaJoie summarized it perfectly on Amazon Prime’s Post-Race Coverage:

“I had goosebumps from my head to my feet watching that 11 car fly that 18 slash 8 Kyle Busch flag.”

The win also reshapes the regular-season standings picture. Entering the weekend, Tyler Reddick was maintaining a 97-point lead over Denny Hamlin. After Michigan, Hamlin’s win paired with Reddick’s 35th-place finish significantly cut into that advantage, reducing the gap to just 51 points as the season continues to build toward The Chase next weekend at Pocono Raceway.

Last offseason, Hamlin had previously mentioned that he was working on his ability to gain and maintain track position on restarts. His last two wins, now at Michigan International Speedway and Nashville Superspeedway, can be largely credited toward efficient late-race restarts and successful, decisive moves for the win. Hamlin’s ability to continue to adapt and improve his skills at the age of 45 adds another layer of proof to show why the future Hall of Famer remains one of the most formidable drivers of his generation.

“Just an unbelievable feeling to be able to strap in every week… I don’t take it for granted.”

- Denny Hamlin in his post-race interview, per NASCAR on Amazon Prime