Toyota GAZOO Racing – Denny Hamlin
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
POCONO, Pa. (June 21, 2025) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to the media on Saturday prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway.
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Progressive Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
How important is it for NASCAR from a growth standpoint to keep building and fostering relationships with athletes from other professional sports?
“There’s definitely a lot of crossover. There’s been examples of that. Promotion of the sport has always been important. There’s only so many sports fans and so many eyeballs and programs they can watch at one time, so you are fighting for those eyeballs. If you can appeal to another sports audience and show them that this is a sport too. Our drivers are athletes or whatever it might be, then you try to get some new fans in our sport.”
What’s it like being a family of five and have you gotten any sleep?
“He’s (Jameson) been great. He’s slept through the night the last three nights in a row. So it’s been really, really great.”
What has made you so good at Pocono over the years?
“Truthfully we’ve been even better than our average finish. We’ve had some tough engine breaks and other things here and there. It’s a track that no matter the car we drive or the tires or the aero package, none of that really matters. You still make speed at this racetrack the same way no matter what car you are driving. I think it’s been one of the few tracks I haven’t had to change my approach to it depending on the car that I’m driving. I think that’s why the success has been sustained.”
Watching last week’s race at home as a fan, what were your impressions of everything?
“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. There were lulls, but that’s just part of it because sometimes someone wins by 16 seconds and that’s ok. I think they (Amazon Prime) 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.”
Why do you think Amazon Prime’s coverage has resonated with race fans?
“I think they have racers in the booth. If you look at the people that they have, they know the sport inside and out. Dale Jr. hosts a podcast each week that talks about the sport. Steve Letarte is one of the best, if not the best at just keeping you constantly engaged. I just think it’s the rapport they have with each other that’s so good. They are not bound by network and having to hit commercials. I think they talked about it on (Dale) Junior’s podcast this week about being flexible when they take their breaks. I think that’s certainly important because a lot of the gripe you hear is maybe nine laps to go and it’s necessary for network to go to commercial and it’s just not the right time. Unfortunately, that’s just how network TV works.”
What is your overall opinion of the street race in Chicago as it enters the third year?
“I hate that the street race has been mired by rain. I think there was an absolutely amazing feel to the inaugural race and then it downpours and you have to force people to leave. Anytime they have to leave you don’t know if you’ll get them back or not. I think they’ve been up against it as far as conditions are concerned. The track has been good, it’s been racy and has passing zones and the scenery is fantastic as far as the backdrop we are racing in. There’s a lot of positives for the Chicago Street Race. It will probably move around in the future, but it’s in the mold in which I would like to see any street race they continue to implement in the future.”
What are your overall thoughts about the implementation of the in-season tournament?
“I’m a sports guy, so I’m going to be engaged with it. I’ll know who I will have to beat next week. I’ve told the team, we are going to try and do what we can. We are going to be up against it because we are going to tracks that aren’t very favorable to me. But we are going to try to do our best to beat that one car for the next four to five weeks.”
How are you physically feeling after getting the week off last week?
“Really good. I’m older so my body has to go through a reset every seven days. I get to where it’s pretty good by the time we get to Friday and Saturday. But then by Sunday I mess it up again. I go through that cycle all over again. It was good to have a week break. I had the same break everyone else did a month or so ago. I can tell you that the second week off is phenomenal if we can get that back.
You had it before where you’ve had to step out of the car and have time off. What’s the process of getting reacclimated when you come back?
“It wasn’t like I was sitting around hanging by the pool. I did work. When it came to the simulator and meetings, I missed all that stuff. Obviously the focus was on her and being in the hospital longer than normal. I felt like I was a little rusty this week in the sim, it took me an extra 30 minutes to get back in it, but once I did it felt good and feel like I will fire off well today.”
How did the process go as far as the delivery and the decision not to travel to Mexico?
“Truthfully, before Thursday I was going to go to the weekend as scheduled. The labor was tremendous and we knew would have to be there longer than normal and I just said there’s no way I could leave in the next 36 hours, which is what I needed to go there and do the job correctly. If we were racing at Darlington I would have been there on race day. It was just bad timing from a logistical standpoint. You have twelve hours of logistics just to get to Mexico and it didn’t make any sense to me knowing that those few days after can be a fragile time and I can’t just hop back in the plane and easily come home once I’m there.”
What is behind naming your son Jameson?
“I’m James, that’s James’s son, Jameson. And Drew, we wanted to keep J.D. as part of it. J.D. Gibbs was a big part of getting here to the Cup Series. James Dean was the car owner I drove for in late models that got me the equipment to win all of those races to get seen by J.D Gibbs. I’m J.D., so we are just keeping it going.”
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