Denny Hamlin reflects on the 'toughest line to walk' after outdueling JGR teammate Chase Briscoe for Dover victory

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin secured his fourth win of the 2025 Cup Series season at Dover Motor Speedway in a nail-biting fashion against his teammate, Chase Briscoe. He was featured in a post-race interview with Cup Scene after the win.

Hamlin had a decent mid-pack finish in the 400-lap race on Sunday, July 20, clinching P13. Meanwhile, his teammate Briscoe was in P2 behind pole-sitter Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott. However, things changed during Stage 1, and the #11 Toyota Camry XSE driver jumped 10 spots, finishing in P3. Following the same pace, Hamlin wrapped Stage 2 in third place while Briscoe was in seventh.

During the race's final stage, both Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe had an intense battle for the win. But Briscoe had no intentions of wrecking his teammate for a win. Following the same, Hamlin crossed the finish line 0.310 seconds ahead of the #19 Toyota driver, securing his fourth win of the season. Reflecting on the same, Hamlin told Cup Scene [01:04 onwards]:

"Yeah, that's the toughest, it's the toughest line to walk truthfully because if it is someone else you don't mind running them up in the fuzz, right? If it's a teammate, you gotta sit down, you gotta see that guy tomorrow afternoon. So it's just a little different in that aspect. But, you know, when we went back, right before we went back, me and Chris were walking back to our cars and I said, "Just don't wipe me out." I was just, you know, I was afraid with him on, you know, we got old tires. I don't know what the grip level of the track is. I just didn't want JGR to clean itself out and then, you know, somebody else win it."

"And I think truthfully he probably laid off of me there off of four and ended up wrecking himself because he didn't want to have the big contact. So yeah, it was good hard racing. I mean ultimately I got the better end of all the restarts in the end but it was certainly stressful to have to overcome those three overtime finishes there, or however many cautions it was. It was a tough battle," he added.

With 663 points, Denny Hamlin is fourth in the Cup Series drivers' standings. He has secured four wins, 11 top-10, and 10 top-five finishes this season.

---

NASCAR granted Denny Hamlin a playoff waiver in the 2025 Cup Series season

NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin missed out on the Mexico City race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in June 2025. Hamlin opted to stay put for the race for the birth of his baby boy.

Following the new rules, the governing body made it mandatory for all drivers to compete in all points-paying events in the regular season to be eligible to qualify for the playoffs. However, exceptions can be made on medical grounds, and NASCAR marked it as an emergency, allowing Hamlin to take the waiver.

Reflecting on the same, Martin Truex Jr.'s brother, Ryan Truex, filled in for Denny Hamlin in the race and drove the #11 Toyota Camry XSE. Truex parked Hamlin's car in P23, while Shane van Gisbergen took home the win. Also, the JGR driver has consecutively competed in 406 races, and the Mexico City-based race marked his first off since 2014.