“Very fitting”: Denny Hamlin’s former crew chief reacts to JGR star’s milestone win at Gateway 

Chris Gabehart reacted as Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 team gave Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) its 11th win of the season on Sunday, September 7, at Gateway. It also put Hamlin as the 11th on the all-time NASCAR Cup driver win list.

Hamlin entered the race already in a good spot to reach the next playoff round, 43 points ahead of the cutline. But after leading a race-high of 75 laps and beating teammate Chase Briscoe to the finish line at World Wide Technology Raceway, he increased his Cup Series career wins to 59 and Toyota's to 200th wins.

Chris Gabehart, the 44-year-old's former crew chief, pointed out the recent milestone win on X, writing:

"Very fitting that the 11 produces our 11th [win] of the season and [Toyota's] 200th [NASCAR] Cup win! [Denny Hamlin] has been a major part in the achievement of that goal! And now, we look to continue the [Joe Gibbs Racing] hot streak at my favorite race... its [ItsBristolBaby]!"

Chris Gabehart

@CG1751

Very fitting that the 11 produces our 11th 🏁 of the season and @ToyotaRacing 200th @NASCAR Cup win! @dennyhamlin has been a major part in the achievement of that goal! And now, we look to continue the @JoeGibbsRacing hot streak at my favorite race... its @ItsBristolBaby!

This is Hamlin’s seventh straight year reaching the quarterfinals and his 11th time in 12 years with this playoff format. He will not have to worry about the final race of the Round of 12 at Bristol Motor Speedway this week.

JGR has the most NASCAR Cup wins at Bristol (15) among all active teams. Hamlin has been a main contributor to JGR's dominance. He has four Cup Series wins at the short track, two of which came in the last three races there. The team's first win at Bristol came in 2001, and Hamlin secured its latest last year during the spring race at the 0.533-mile track.

This year's Bristol race is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 13.

Denny Hamlin has 'two more shots' at a Brickyard win

Denny Hamlin, who is in his 21st full-time Cup season, is the oldest driver in the playoffs. He has a contract with JGR for two more years, and the Florida native has implied that 2027 might be his last season.

Despite his 59 race wins, he has yet to triumph at the Brickyard. After his heroics at Gateway, Hamlin said that he wants to retire while he is still competitive and has two more shots at a Brickyard win.

"I'm just not going to leave this sport on my deathbed, just leaking oil, running in the back of the pack. I have way too much pride for that. I'm way too cocky for that. There's just no way. I want to be able to win my last race," Denny Hamlin said (via on3.com).

"I haven't won the freaking Brickyard. I'm going to have two more shots at it, and that's it, to round this thing out," he added.

Hamlin, who is yet to claim a Cup championship, also stressed that the number of titles does not outweigh the number of wins in the series.