Denny Hamlin gets real on the ‘unprecedented’ outcome if he had won the Pocono NASCAR race

During the latest episode of his podcast Actions Detrimental, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin discussed the outcome if he had won the Pocono Raceway event. Hamlin lost the Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.COM race to his teammate, Chase Briscoe, by a small margin.

After missing out on the Mexico City race, the #11 Toyota Camry XSE driver made a solid comeback at Pocono, securing the pole position. However, this wasn't enough to secure his eighth victory at the 2.50-mile 'Tricky Triangle' track. He fell one spot shy of taking home the win after finishing behind Briscoe.

The #19 Toyota Camry XSE driver fueled up on lap 119 of the 160-lap race and stretched it to the victory lap. He did a remarkable job of holding off Denny Hamlin from taking the lead. Briscoe crossed the finish line 0.682 seconds ahead of Hamlin, and reflecting on the same, the latter stated (via YouTube):

"Had I won this week, I would be on an unprecedented heater. I mean I still probably am on the track off-track. Like, we're white-hot right now." [02:45]

Chase Briscoe took home his maiden victory of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. Denny Hamlin secured yet another top-five finish this season, ending the 400-mile race as the runner-up, while Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney wrapped up the event in third place.

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NASCAR granted Denny Hamlin a playoff waiver despite missing out on the Mexico City race

According to the sanctioning body's rule book, all drivers must compete in all stock car racing events to qualify for the playoffs. However, Denny Hamlin, missed out on the NASCAR Viva Mexico 250 held in June to be present for the birth of his third son.

Notably, the governing body granted Hamlin a playoff waiver, marking his absence due to medical reasons. Interestingly, the oldest driver on the grid competed consecutively in 406 races and never missed a race since 2014.

Reflecting on his records, Denny Hamlin stated on his podcast:

"Usually by this time, the performance starts to go away... your performance is tailing off, and I just don't feel that way. I feel as strong as ever, and I really wanted to win on 700. Will I be around to see 800? I don't think so. I think that that's probably closing. I don't know. We'll see. I've got to stay at this current level. The minute I feel like it's slipping, I'm out of here." (56:29 onwards)

After securing a P2 finish at Pocono Raceway, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver ranks among the top five drivers on the points table. With 545 points, Hamlin ranks fifth on the table with three wins, nine top-ten finishes, and eight top-five finishes in 16 starts so far this season.