Denny Hamlin responds to booing NASCAR fans after Toyota's historic 200th victory: "Get on the bandwagon or you can get run over by it"

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin recently competed in the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday, September 7, 2025. Hamlin secured his 59th career win and 200th victory for Toyota at Gateway, and during a post-race interview, he clapped back at the NASCAR fans for booing him after his win.

The #11 Toyota Camry XSE driver had the fastest car during the qualifying session for the 300-mile main event. He secured his third pole position of this season with a best lap time of 32.33 seconds and a top speed of 139.19 seconds. However, he lost the lead to his teammate Chase Briscoe in stage one and finished in P3. Later in stage two, he fell four more spots and wrapped up in P7.

Denny Hamlin eventually took back his lead and won the 240-lap race by leading 75 laps. He crossed the finish line 1.620 seconds ahead of his teammate in the #19 Toyota Camry XSE. However, NASCAR fans were not happy about Hamlin taking the win and booed him. But the #11 Toyota driver had a response ready for them. In a post-race interview with NBC Sports, he highlighted the importance of the win and responded to the people booing him.

“Yeah, it’s so big for everyone at Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing. The Toyota was just great there at the end. And so happy to get this victory, and my dad’s not feeling well at home. So just shoutout to him, the whole family’s here, so fantastic day, and it couldn’t be better. ... Just step up. I mean, all I can do is just keep being a student of the game, keep trying to get better, and every week is a chance to get a little better," he said.

"I just told (Bill Murray) him to talk to the guys behind me and make sure they stay behind me the rest of the race. So we made that happen. Man, it’s just a great victory. Love that Denny Time flag. You all can boo me, but you can either get on the bandwagon, or you can get run over by it," Hamlin concluded.

During the 300-mile race at Gateway, all four Joe Gibbs Racing drivers secured a spot among the top ten drivers on the grid. Denny Hamlin won the main event, leading 75 laps, followed by his teammate Chase Briscoe in P2, Christopher Bell in P7, and Ty Gibbs with a P10 finish.

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Denny Hamlin got candid about which NASCAR round he's "concerned" about this year

Ahead of the first playoff race of the season, the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Denny Hamlin hosted a Q&A session on his Instagram account. During the session, a fan asked him about the round Hamlin was 'most concerned' about in the 2025 season.

The JGR driver secured his spot in the playoffs after winning the Martinsville Speedway race earlier this season. Hamlin shared the schedule for the Round of 8 on his Instagram story, featuring the Las Vegas Speedway race scheduled for October 12, 2025, followed by the Talladega Superspeedway race on October 19 and the Martinsville Speedway race on October 26.

Denny Hamlin has secured only one win at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in his career. On the contrary, he has four wins at Talladega Superspeedway and six at Martinsville Speedway, with his latest win coming earlier this season at the track.

After securing his fifth win of the season, the Tampa, Florida, native leads the Cup Series points table with 2120 points to his credit. He has secured five wins, 15 top-tens, 12 top-fives, and three pole positions in 27 starts this season.