Denny Hamlin delivers 3-word reaction with in-car snap amid wreck mayhem at Atlanta

Denny Hamlin and several others were involved in a crash on Lap 69 during Saturday’s Cup Series race at Echopark Speedway, formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway. This ousted the Joe Gibbs Racing driver from contention and slammed him with his third DNF of the season.

While waiting for the race to wrap up, Hamlin took to X (formerly Twitter) and posted a picture of himself strapped to his No. 11 Toyota Camry. He left three words as the caption:

“Fun meter peaked.”

As reported by Dustin Long of NBC Sports, more than 16 drivers were involved in the multi-car pileup. Hamlin’s teammate, Christopher Bell, triggered another multi-car wreck not long before that. That one caught Bubba Wallace, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, AJ Allmendinger, Ryan Blaney, and Austin Dillon in the mess.

It was indeed a huge hit for Denny Hamlin, who had finished inside the top three in his last three races. In 16 races, the Tampa, Florida native has bagged three wins, eight top-fives, and nine top-10 finishes. He is currently ranked third in the driver standings.

The race at Echopark Speedway happened to be the first of NASCAR’s In-Season Tournament, which Denny Hamlin had entered as the highest seed. However, the wreck and the DNF might have huge implications going forward.

As things stand, Denny Hamlin will have to wait another week to bounce back. Next up is the Grant Park 165 in Chicago. The 75-lap event is scheduled for Sunday, July 6. Fans can watch it on TNT Sports, 2 pm ET onwards, or listen to live radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

---

Denny Hamlin gives a reality check to the 23XI Racing drivers amid mid-season woes

2025 is shaping up to be quite a lacklustre season for 23XI Racing and its drivers, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, and newcomer Riley Herbst. Notably, team owner Denny Hamlin sent a clear message to his drivers.

All three drivers suffered from brake rotor failure last week at Pocono Raceway. Denny Hamlin finished second behind race-winner and JGR teammate Chase Briscoe. Reflecting on where 23XI stands 17 races into the season, Hamlin said (via NBC),

“The progression is smaller, but it is still happening with Riley (Herbst) as well. We started at the bottom of the cellar, and it is slowly but surely getting a little bit better.

“That is what I’m looking at as an owner, but certainly, I need all my cars winning at some point. There are just too many resources, too many good people over there not to win more races, and certainly, I think we’ve underperformed as far as actual winning this year. We expect more, but a lot of it – I think we carry that burden,” he added.

So far, the drivers have been able to bag six top-fives, 11 top-10s, with 197 laps led in all. Notably, for Wallace and Reddick, last year’s metric included a win, nine top-fives, 15 top-10s, and 375 laps led.