Denny Hamlin credits Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson for his ‘super special’ Dover masterstroke

Denny Hamlin overcame a rain delay and two overtime restarts to bag his third win of 2025 at Dover Motor Speedway. He has 58 wins in the NASCAR Cup Series, two short of reaching Kevin Harvick’s all-time win tally.

It marked Hamlin’s second consecutive victory at the Delaware-based racetrack. Rounding up the top five spots were Chase Briscoe, Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, and Ty Gibbs. As things stand, Hamlin is one of the drivers still vying for their first Cup Series championship.

“Winning here in Dover is super special to me,” Hamlin said during a post-race interview (as quoted by NBC). “This is a place I’ve not been very good at the first half of my career. Having a back-to-back here over the last few years is amazing.”

Denny Hamlin then revealed that he had been watching legendary drivers like Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. at Dover Motor Speedway. This seemed to have helped the driver pick up the nuances of racing at the Monster Mile.

“I just studied some of the greats here. I was very fortunate to have Martin Truex as a teammate. Jimmie Johnson, watching him win 10 times here. You learn from the greats and you change your game to match it, you have success like this,” he added.

Denny Hamlin ranks fourth in the drivers' standings with four wins, 10 top-fives, 11 top-10s, and 663 points. His next race is scheduled for Sunday, July 27, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“I thought I was going to win the race”- Denny Hamlin’s JGR teammate recalls the final moments from their recent Dover outing

Denny Hamlin (L) speaks to Chase Briscoe after winning the NASCAR Cup Series AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover Motor Speedway - Source: Getty

There was a time during Sunday’s 400-lap Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 when Denny Hamlin’s teammate and Joe Gibbs Racing newcomer Chase Briscoe was sure that he was going to win the race. However, he never expected Hamlin’s Camry to be as fast as it was coming into Turns 1 and 2.

Reflecting on the same, the former Stewart-Haas Racing driver said:

“I didn’t think he was going to be able to do that. I almost cleared him off of (turn) two. I thought I timed it right, so I was going to clear him going into (turn) three, just because I had the lane you typically want to be in. He was able to hang right there – another two or three inches and I thought I was going to win the race.”

Despite his best efforts to catch Hamlin, Briscoe fell 0.310 seconds short at the checkered flag. Per reports, Hamlin led 67 laps in all en route to his series-best triumph of the 2025 season.

“He did a great job, obviously there is a reason that guy has won nearly 60-something Cup races. Glad that we were able to have a good finish,” Briscoe added.

Next up for the drivers is the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Fans can watch the feature (the 22nd of the season) live on TNT Sports (2 p.m. ET onwards) or listen to its exclusive radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.