Denny Hamlin makes bold Jimmie Johnson and Jeff – Sports News
Joe Gibbs Racing star Denny Hamlin took a shot at Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon as he claimed it’s more durable to win within the trendy period of NASCAR.
On Sunday, Hamlin claimed his first victory of the 2025 NASCAR season. The 44-year-old grabbed the lead on Lap 126 of 400 within the seventh NASCAR Cup Series race of the season and by no means seemed back, seizing control and cruising to his fifty fifth profession win – which sparked wild celebrations.
Hamlin pulled away towards the tip of the ultimate 75-lap green-flag run and held off the problem of Christopher Bell, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate. He finally beat Bell to the checkered flag by 4.617 seconds.
The victory – Hamlin’s sixth at Martinsville – was his first since April 2024 in Dover, and the win locations him alongside Rusty Wallace for eleventh on the profession Cup Series listing. Hamlin believes he needed to wait so long for his triumph due to the elevated stage of competitors and high quality of the sphere.
Speaking on his ‘Actions Detrimental’ podcast, Hamlin stated: “I have to work a lot harder now to, you know, continue to be on top of my game. It’s so close that the margins are so small, especially in the Next-Gen era.
“I used to say that winning 10-12 years ago, when I was racing, Jimmy and Jeff was so much easier than what it is now. A lot of it is because our technique was just better than everyone else’s, and I saw it when I was driving around everyone else.
“We would approach the racetrack a little differently and um you know obviously the minute, kind of, SMT came out and all of our proprietary information and data, all the drivers got to see it they got to see what these guys were doing and then we’ve just morphed our style into that, into where everyone’s driving really similar now and they’re all driving really similar cars.
“So, it’s the margins are small, you just look at the lap times, right? From 1st to 25th, I mean it’s we’re all within a tenth or so, I mean it’s just not much and so where are you going to find the edges?”
Gordon retired as a four-time Cup Series champion who additionally received the Daytona 500 on three events. Meanwhile, Johnson achieved seven Cup Series championships throughout an iconic profession.
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Ultimately, Hamlin believes racing and the chase for parity within the Next-Gen period has made competitors extremely tough. Kyle Larson agrees, suggesting it’s a stage taking part in area throughout the grid.
“I feel like everyone’s cars are really equal,” Larson stated. “The No. 11 (Denny Hamlin), I’m sure his car is equal, as well, but he’s just a really good short-track racer. He can keep the tires on it and get through track position really well. It’s so hard to pass here.”
Hamlin will chase more success when the NASCAR Cup Series continues with the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, April 6.
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