To a familiar mixture of cheers and boos, Denny Hamlin climbed onto his No. 11 Toyota鈥檚 doorsill and unfurled a blue flag emblazoned with 鈥�11 Against The World.鈥�
Waving it at the Martinsville Speedway crowd, Hamlin seemed to be on Sunday while also taunting those who thought he was done winning on NASCAR鈥檚 premier circuit.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 me,鈥� he said, adding that if he can't trash talk it takes away his superpower. "I鈥檓 not nearly as good. My friends, it drives them absolutely crazy. It fuels me and it just makes me feel good. ... I love when someone says I can鈥檛 do it, going out there and doing it.鈥�
For Hamlin, the triumphs often come amid turbulence, and the adversity (some self-induced) has been plentiful lately.
He and 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan that has dragged on for six months and might remain unresolved through the end of the year.
His team started the season hunting for a primary sponsor to replace FedEx, which left after 20 seasons with Joe Gibbs Racing.
And the victory at Martinsville (the Virginia track a few hours west of his hometown of Chesterfield, a Richmond suburb) snapped two long droughts for Hamlin 鈥� a 31-race skid without a victory and a 10-year winless streak at the 0.526-mile oval where his six wins are more than any active Cup driver.
Tying NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace for 11th on the all-time win list won鈥檛 solve his legal battles. But the self-proclaimed 鈥淜ing of Irrational Confidence鈥� reveled in dominating Martinsville with the speed of a championship contender after facing questions since last year about whether the 44-year-old鈥檚 two-decade quest for a title had turned pointless.
鈥淚 know that when I got the car to do it, I can be the best,鈥� Hamlin said. 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 felt like I鈥檝e held back the car at any point. Certainly, I鈥檓 not immune to understanding that Father Time is undefeated. Everything that I need to be good to be a race car driver is still really sharp.鈥�
Crew chief Chris Gayle, who won in his seventh race since being paired with Hamlin, has been surprised by his new driver鈥檚 work ethic. Late into Saturday night before Martinsville, Hamlin was texting Gayle about his car while poring over throttle and braking data from the October 2022 race (the last time he felt dominant at the track).
鈥淎s he鈥檚 gotten older, he鈥檚 had to almost ramp up the amount of work he鈥檚 done,鈥� Gayle said. 鈥淗e may have gotten by earlier without doing that. He鈥檚 with us in the simulator at least six to seven hours a week. He does that to be a part of the team. That speaks to where his head鈥檚 at at this age.鈥�
Team owner Joe Gibbs said Hamlin spends more time in the simulator than his three teammates 鈥� all of whom are at least 14 years younger 鈥� and the Hall of Fame football coach wants to keep his veteran leader for the long term.
鈥淭he one thing I鈥檝e learned about athletes, the ones that really have it and are special, you better be careful about anything early,鈥� Gibbs said about determining when it's time to hang it up. 鈥淟et them go. So we鈥檙e going to ride Denny for as long as we can.鈥�
Hamlin smiled when told Wallace never won again after his 55th victory in March 2004 at Martinsville. Wallace retired from Cup the next season.
鈥淚 won鈥檛 feel bad to break his 55 record when I do,鈥� Hamlin said, adding that his retirement was 鈥渁 long way away.鈥�
Rough racing
NASCAR officials are reviewing the controversial Xfinity finish at Martinsville Speedway to determine if drivers will be punished in its midweek penalty report. Sammy Smith admitted he intentionally wrecked Taylor Gray from the lead in Turn 3 on the final lap, causing a multicar crash. Gray earlier had bumped Smith from the lead.
Hamlin was among several who called out the poor driving and sportsmanship, and he planned to address it further in his weekly 鈥淎ctions Detrimental鈥� podcast.
鈥淚 think the sanctioning body needs to get involved a little bit and step in on egregious things,鈥� Hamlin said. 鈥淚t was just horrible driving by most of the people. It鈥檚 just not a good look. You shouldn鈥檛 be able to just wipe someone out. We have a black flag for a reason. We should start using it.鈥�
Executive moves
NASCAR named president Steve Phelps as its new commissioner overseeing all aspects of NASCAR, the IMSA sports car series and the 15 tracks owned or operated by NASCAR. Though NASCAR once had a stock car racing commissioner who handled penalty appeals, the sanctioning body is billing Phelps as the first with the expanded responsibilities of the newly created role.
鈥淲e are thrilled to name Steve Phelps as NASCAR鈥檚 first commissioner,鈥� NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France said in a statement. 鈥淗is leadership, professionalism and well-earned respect from across the sports industry speak to his unique value for the sport.鈥�
Steve O鈥橠onnell will move from NASCAR鈥檚 chief operating officer to replace Phelps as president and handle daily oversight of its three national series and its commercial, media and track operations.