Denny Hamlin responds to how shocked he was about his JGR teammate Chase Briscoe’s NASCAR victory

Denny Hamlin was impressed with how his teammate and Joe Gibbs Racing newcomer Chase Briscoe saved fuel on the final 30-lap dash en route to his maiden win of the 2025 season. However, he never thought Briscoe would be able to pull it off.

Briscoe had the option to pit. But he didn't. The Mitchell, Indiana, native kept managing fuel instead. Hamlin asked the No. 19 team how many laps Briscoe’s car would fall short by, and their estimate was about three or four laps. That is a deficit almost impossible to overcome at Pennsylvania’s Tricky Triangle.

But the last caution came out, giving Briscoe the leeway to trap a fast-charging Hamlin in the dirty air. Unable to pass, Hamlin had to settle for a runner-up position. Later, he did walk up to Briscoe in victory lane to congratulate him. After all, what Briscoe did at the 2.5-mile, three-turn racetrack was unthinkable.

“I asked them how short he was,” Denny Hamlin said on his Actions Detrimental podcast. “They said 3 to 4 laps or something like that. I was like, "Woah, he's not getting that". And then the caution came, and I was like "S**t, this is gonna get him three-quarters of the way there". They did everything they had to do. He executed perfectly.”

Briscoe is now in the playoffs alongside Denny Hamlin and his other teammate, Christopher Bell. Ty Gibbs is the only driver from the JGR camp who has yet to qualify for the postseason. As things stand, the only way to do that is to win a race over the next nine weeks.

The drivers will now prepare for next week’s race, the Quaker State 400 at Echopark Speedway, formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway. Scheduled for Saturday, June 28, the 260-lap event will stream live (7 pm ET) on TNT Sports, while PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will provide exclusive radio coverage.

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“I was entertained”- Denny Hamlin lauds Amazon Prime Video’s 2025 NASCAR coverage

Denny Hamlin missed last week’s race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, as he stayed home to look after his fiancée, Jordan Fish, following the birth of their third child. However, he had the chance to watch the NASCAR Cup Series race on TV as a fan.

It turns out that Denny Hamlin was impressed with Amazon Prime’s coverage of the race. During an interview at Pocono Raceway, the Tampa, Florida native said (quoted by Forbes),

“From a broadcast standpoint, I was entertained. Even when the racing wasn’t super entertaining, what I liked was the broadcast gave you another story they were talking about. Their production was fantastic and their pre and post-race show kept me engaged.”

“I think they do a good job of telling the stories and getting you excited about strategy and showing how one driver may catch another and be on the lookout for it. They are doing a great job so far,” he added.

However, Prime Video’s five-race stint is over, and TNT Sports is ready to take over. Like Amazon Prime, TNT will also televise five points-paying races this season, starting with the Quaker State 400 at Echopark Speedway and ending with the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 27.