Denny Hamlin admits 23XI win more satisfying than his own victories after Brickyard triumph

Denny Hamlin called 23XI Racing's Brickyard 400 victory more satisfying than any he has accomplished as a driver. Bubba Wallace delivered the team's first win of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last Sunday. Hamlin finished third in the race, his best result in 17 career attempts at the Brickyard.

During a post-race press conference, the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver talked about treating 23XI drivers' wins as his own and kissing the bricks. Hamlin, who has four wins of his own this season, also explained why ownership feels different and wins carry deeper weight.

"I can assure you it's much harder to win as a team owner than it is a driver. Because Joe Gibbs and that whole team, they do all the work. ... All I have to do out here, each weekend, is drive it to the best of my ability and I got to send them in the right direction to make the car go faster," Denny Hamlin said (03:50 onwards).

"Building a team from scratch is a huge undertaking. And, so I just, you feel more gratification because I had my hand in every little piece of that race team, from the branding to the sponsorship to the competition to the everything," he added.

Hamlin launched 23XI with co-owner Michael Jordan in 2021. The team has collected nine Cup wins in over 160 starts.

Meanwhile, Wallace became the first Black driver to win a major race on IMS's 2.5‑mile oval. He survived a rain delay, two overtime restarts and stiff competition from Kyle Larson in the closing laps to break his long winless streak dating back to Kansas in 2022. Wallace is locked in the playoffs, and teammate Tyler Reddick is also comfortably above the cut-off line with a 156‑point cushion.

Reddick ranks fifth in the overall championship with eight top‑10 finishes.

"Something changed mid-last year" - Denny Hamlin on Bubba Wallace's shift in mindset.

During the same press conference at Indy, Denny Hamlin reflected on Bubba Wallace's work ethic change last year.

Wallace endured a winless 2024 Cup Series season and ranked 18th in final standings with no victories. He and his wife, Amanda, also welcomed their first child in September of last year. Bubba has also previously described fatherhood as life‑changing and called it his greatest motivation.

"Something changed mid-last year. You can relate it to having a child or whatever, but something happened mid-last year where I saw a change in attitude that then changed work ethic," Denny Hamlin said (06:43 onwards).

Meanwhile, Hamlin currently leads the Cup drivers with four wins so far at Martinsville, Darlington and Michigan. His last victory came at Dover.