Toyota GAZOO Racing – Denny Hamlin
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
CHARLOTTE (August 27, 2025) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to the media on Wednesday as part of NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Media Day.
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Progressive Insurance Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
How does racing at New Hampshire and Gateway change the first round of the Playoffs?
“I think it makes it probably a little bit more predictable. Overall, I feel like we don’t have a road course, we don’t have another superspeedway in that first round. So, I think that first round the fast cars are going to be the ones that you’ll have to beat. There will probably be less opportunity for one of your favorites to get knocked out early.”
What makes your 19th year in the Playoffs different than the previous years?
“It’s just another chance to roll the dice. That’s it. I don’t feel any better or any worse than what I have last year or the year before that or the year before that. They’re all very, very similar. I feel as though our team is as strong as it’s ever been, but we’ve seen in the short sample size, it’s just a matter of whether you get unlucky at times or you catch a caution at the right time or not. Do you stub your toe on pit road? Those are the small things that decide whether you move on in the Playoffs or not.”
Is there a dream track in the Playoffs where you’d like to get your 60th win?
“I’d love for it to happen at Martinsville, truthfully. I think that would be a really big one for me just being a short track that I felt so strong at for so many years and ultimately a track that meant a lot to my short track upbringing.”
What are the 11 team’s strengths and weaknesses going into the Playoffs?
“Our strengths are just conventional ovals. Anything that turns left is going to be our strength. We’re in the unique position, there’s truthfully about four or five of us that are the fastest cars every single week and there’s others, right? It’s just, do you have enough of a head start through your Playoff points and whatnot to keep moving on? Do you have enough to sustain a bad day that everyone has during the course of a season? The challenge will be obviously Talladega. I don’t think I’ve avoided a superspeedway wreck in about 10 years now – or it feels that way. And then, what happens at the Roval, right? There’re so many different strategies and stuff that can happen. What points position are you in before you get to there? A lot of that will be dictated in the first couple races of that round.”
Do you feel like there’s a natural favorite in the Playoffs this year?
“It’s just too hard to predict because it’s unpredictable. Again, you would think of the four or five fastest cars, at least probably three of them will make it into the final four, but there’s just no guarantees. I do think though this 10-race of tracks should produce a sample size enough to where you’re going to see the cars that have good speed get the points and then move on. But I don’t know. I wish I could tell you how this thing goes because I thought I’ve known for 19 years, and you just never know because I’ve seen it all. I’ve seen anything that you think might happen usually does and you’re either on the good end of it or on the bad end of it.”
Do you expect to make the Championship 4?
“Yeah. It’s the goal at the beginning of the year is to make the Championship 4. To do that you obviously have to put in some work during the regular season and you’ve got to perform well in the Playoffs. I think our record in the Playoffs speaks for itself. Our average finish drops every year in the Playoffs. We run better every year in the final 10 than what we do in the regular season. It’s just a matter of all the other variables. Does someone who’s way below the cut that ran horrible, do they win and get in and knock us out? Or does someone ride the wall and knock us out? Again, I’m so tainted that I’m just very nonchalant with like let’s just win races and let’s see where this thing ends up.”
There was a point this season where fuel strategy was determining every race win for a couple months.
“Because of track position. Yeah, track position is just so big, and so it’s turned every race into a fuel mileage or did there for a while. A lot of it is just really the focus of being on track position and no one wanted to give it up because passing has become more and more difficult over the last few years.”
Do you think that’s going to be a theme during the Playoffs?
“I think it just depends on the situation, but I’d say that people will most likely be fighting for track position more than they have during the regular season because they know the end is near if they don’t.”
How much more in tune are you to fuel saving now than in the past?
“I’m less. I mean, I’m the same as I used to be, but the team, it’s more a focus for them than it’s ever been.”
Do you have to trust your team with fuel mileage?
“You do. You can’t beat the supercomputer. As much as you think you know, as much as you try to tell your team how much fuel you’re saving, ultimately the computers know, and you don’t. So, you just try to do the best you can to do your job and that is if they tell you to go all out, get all the speed you can. If you’re told to save fuel, you have to do it the best of your ability and there’s some obviously that are better than others.”
Do you think you’re treated fairly and is 23XI treated fairly as the lawsuit goes on?
“I think we’re treated fairly by the NASCAR officials that are at the race track. Yes.”
Who isn’t treating you fairly?
“The others.”
Does it affect you?
“No. It just makes me angrier.”
How do you tune that out and focus on your job?
“Because I want to win the championship. I want to win 60 or more races and so that is my number one goal and so I’m not going to let anyone distract me from that no matter what their motivations might be.”
Can you and 23XI win a championship this year with everything going on?
“Yeah. Because I believe the people at track treat us very fairly.”
Is it a surprise that the lawsuit has dragged on this long?
“No, no surprise.”
What have you learned about how different rounds affect driver’s mindsets?
“I think for everyone, it’s a little bit different. I think it depends on who you are. If it’s your third or fourth time doing this, you’re probably still very nervous today and tomorrow and the next day. I am certainly not. It’s not even a thought of mine. It’s just another race and again it’s another opportunity for me to win. I try not to think about too much or hyper focus on these small moments that will decide whether you move on or not. I just try to put the big picture in mind and do the best I can and I’m going to be okay with the result. But every person is different, and every driver is going to give you a different answer on that because of what their level of confidence is or how nervous they are?”
Do you think there’s a favorite in this Playoff field?
“I think there’s a couple.”
How does someone separate themselves and take charge in the Playoffs similar to Alex Palou in INDYCAR?
“It’s going to be something you hear a lot, it’s just who executes the best. When you look at the field and you break it down into numbers you’re going to see where are they running and where did they finish? And whoever can tighten up that gap, that’s going to be the person that is going to be the one you’re watching and seeing pull away. There’s just not going to be that because there’s just more variables and more luck involved in NASCAR than there is in INDYCAR just because of how the races play out. They’re closer together, there’s more wrecks, there’s more pit stops, more variables and things like that – more caution flags. So, you’re just not going to have that. Not in this format. It’s just a matter of who can do the best job of executing.”
Where does this season stack up compared to others?
“Very similar. I’ve been confident before but also had my heart broke for something out of my control. I just try to do the best I can to play it day by day and week by week. Right now, the focus is all on Darlington. I haven’t looked at one shred of thing from St. Louis. It’s not even on the radar. I’m so week to week with my goals that I feel as though, let’s just somehow figure out how to get to 60 wins before the end of the season, and if I can do that it’s probably going to put myself in a pretty good position to win.”
Have you noticed anything different about your crew chief, Chris Gayle, this week?
“I haven’t seen a whole lot of Chris Gayle (crew chief) this week. Truthfully, I’ve been out of town. I’ll see him this afternoon. But I just hope he maintains a level head and takes it as freely as what I am. I’m not going to put any undue pressure on him. I think he’s very capable and certainly has led this team to have as many wins as anyone else in this series. I have got full confidence in him, and as long as he maintains that level head and doesn’t change based off of the moment, I think we’ll be successful.”
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