Considering Denny Hamlin earned a P3 during his 700th career start and while doing so, the NASCAR Cup Series driver compiled the second-most laps led (79), placing first in Stage 1 win, third in Stage 2 and gaining an extra playoff point for executing the fastest lap.
Oh, and he was expecting the birth of his baby at any moment.
Was Hamlin happy with his milestone outing?
Not by a long shot.
It was a humid, uncomfortable ride. Twice, the hose that is used to generate air via his helmet came unattached. The second time occurred with about 100 laps remaining in the final stage.
“I lost my (expletive) helmet hose again,” he said over the team radio. “Gotta get the interior of our car right. (Expletive) unacceptable!”
Crew chief Chris Gayle responded: “Copy.”
Forced to drive with his visor up to get air, Hamlin remained with the lead pack from the start of the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, but couldn’t hold off Ryan Blaney’s long Stage 3 run to earn his first win of the season. The 2023 Cup champion led a race-high 139 laps.
Hamlin also complained about not having any water or a cool suit during the event at the 1.33-mile concrete oval.
“That’s three elements that the other driver’s had I didn’t have,” he told reporters after the race. “So yeah, I got hot. I had to Carson Hocevar the helmet visor up there to try to get a little air in.”
Despite his dis-satisfaction with the driving conditions, Hamlin moved up two spots in the drivers’ standings. Entering next weekend’s events at Michigan International Speedway, Hamlin ranks fourth with 443 points, 104 behind front-runner William Byron.
For the second week in a row (and third time this season), @dennyhamlin turned in the @XfinityRacing Fastest Lap last night at @NashvilleSuperS. pic.twitter.com/emKqka4N4Z
— Joe Gibbs Racing (@JoeGibbsRacing) June 2, 2025
NASCAR National Series, ARCA Menards Series Weekend Schedule
Here is a list of NASCAR National Series and ARCA Menards Series events this weekend at Michigan International Speedway (All Times ET):
Friday
- 1 p.m.: Truck Series practice
- 2 p.m.: ARCA Series practice
- 3:05 p.m.: ARCA Series qualifying
- 5 p.m.: ARCA Series Henry Ford Health 200 race
Saturday
- 8:05 a.m.: Truck Series qualifying
- 9:30 a.m.: Cup Series practice
- 10:40 a.m.: Cup Series qualifying
- Noon: Truck Series DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 Powered by Precision Vehicle Logistics race
Sunday
- 2 p.m.: Cup Series Firekeepers Casino 400 race
Your grand marshal for the #FireKeepersCasino400: Kerby Joseph! pic.twitter.com/sWcwL6B2AF
— Michigan International Speedway (@MISpeedway) May 28, 2025
Firekeepers Casino 400 Entry List
NASCAR Cup Series officials released the entry list for Sunday’s Firekeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway:
Entry, Driver, Car No.
- 1, Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet
- 2, Austin Cindric No. 2 Ford
- 3, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet
- 4, Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford
- 5, Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet
- 6, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford
- 7, Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet
- 8, Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet
- 9, Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet
- 10, Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet
- 11, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota
- 12, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford
- 13, AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet
- 14, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford
- 15, Chase Briscoe, No. 19, Toyota
- 16, Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota
- 17, Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford
- 18, Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford
- 19, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota
- 20, William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet
- 21, Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford
- 22, Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota
- 23, Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford
- 24, Cole Custer, No. 41 Ford
- 25, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota
- 26, Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota
- 27, Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
- 28, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Ford
- 29, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet
- 30, Cody Ware, No. 51 Ford
- 31, Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota
- 32, Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford
- 33, Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet
- 34, Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet
- 35, Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Chevrolet
- 36, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet
A night worth celebrating for @tydillon!
This evening’s race at @NashvilleSuperS marks 500 career national series starts for the driver of the No. 10. pic.twitter.com/swCAlLYZux
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 1, 2025
