Toyota GAZOO Racing – Denny Hamlin
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
DARLINGTON, S.C. (August 30, 2025) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to the media on Saturday after winning the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway.
Denny Hamlin scored his second pole of the season (Pocono), 40th pole in a Toyota, and 45th overall. It is his second pole in the Southern 500 (2018). Hamlin is the first driver in Toyota’s history to win 40 poles in the NASCAR Cup Series.
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
What gave you the confidence that it was going to stick in turns three and four?
“Truthfully, I didn’t have a whole lot. A lot of it came from the balance I had in (turns) one and two – it was so superior to what I had in practice that I knew that I under drove that corner, and at that point, I figured I would just go deeper into turn three and the result was good. It just stuck. They made great changes. We were average at best, I thought, in practice, but for one lap, they made the adjustments that they needed too, and we need to go to work to get that for race trim.”
Can you continue this momentum through the Playoffs?
“I hope so. That is what we are here for and certainly think we have a great first round of tracks that hopefully can help us get some points, whether that be stage points or wins, to keep giving us a buffer heading into the more roll the dice type tracks later in the Playoffs. That is the goal, and certainly feel like it lines up well for us.”
Should there be any surprise that you are performing at this track?
“I don’t know that I’ve qualified on the pole that many times, maybe in Xfinity, but just the way you have to race at this track, typically the amount of patience you have to have here just suits my driving style and it has right from the very beginning.”
How does as a driver best adapt to this track?
“It does. This track definitely goes through changes when rubber is on it versus not. Even the advantage that you have going out later in qualifying versus early, is a big, big difference, and then at the start of this race, there will be some sort of sunlight and then we are going to go into full night to build some adaptability in your car. We always plan for the end of the race and we figure out how to make it work at the very beginning, so certainly, when you start up front like we are, that is going to help us band aid the car for a little while until it comes in.”
What is the importance of qualifying well at this race?
“Well, we saw in the Spring the 24 (William Bryon) was hard to pass until he got in traffic and that is when it changed. Luckily, we have that type of an advantage at the race. It could end on lap one, and we could be second, but you just never know. I feel like it gives you the advantage to set the pace and then once you get the lap cars, hopefully, you have something left.”
What is you and your team’s achilles heel going into the Playoffs
“Just execution. That is the only thing that I can think of. If it is going to be posted on speed, pit crew, all of those things. We are at the top of the list, certainly in the upper echelon that are going to be racing for the championship, but there is all the variables that we just don’t know about. Ill-timed cautions, you pit, green flag cycle and someone crashes coming onto pit road, and a yellow comes out. It changes the complete complexion of the race, so it is some of the things we can’t control and some the things we can. It is all of the other stuff. It is not speed. It is not qualifying. It is not long run speed. We have all of those things. It is just other things involved in NASCAR racing that can take you out.”
How do you balance your Playoff run as a driver versus the Playoff run for your drivers?
“No, I’ve done it for quite a few years now, and I feel like there is a good balance that I try to have. I try to give them, while I am able to have access to everything, I give them a little bit of space during the Playoffs – I don’t think it is necessarily fair if I sit in their strategy meeting and then I set in mine. I certainly know more about their cars and what they have and how they prepare, more so than any other driver knows for any other team, but I do give them their competition space when it comes to the Playoffs, because ultimately, while I’m still driving, nothing would anger me more than to give them a secret of mine and then it knocks me out of the Playoffs. I let them do themselves for these 10.”
What is your reaction to Thursday’s hearing?
“From our side what was shared was just talking, bantering amongst ourselves and has nothing to do with the actual case itself. We provided important documents to the case.”
Is the trial a good thing for the sport or a bad thing for a sport? Is it a distraction?
“I don’t know. Everyone has to deal with it. The team deals with it. We have our own stuff we have to deal with, while going through this. One thing is for sure – that 2026 will be better.”
What mentally does it do for you to start on the pole in the Southern 500?
“It does, just because we struggled during practice and I was worried about, well, if we are stuck in this box for the weekend with this setup then we will probably qualify bad, we are not going to get very good stage points – on and on and on, but that is thinking too far ahead. It is about the moment and what I feel like we can do well is, we kind of put things aside and say okay, we will handle that later. Let us figure out what we need to go fast for one lap. What do you need for that? So, I focus on that. Give them the information and they make the proper adjustments like they did right there, so it is a big momentum boost for myself personally to know that we are able to get the car where it needs to be, even though it was considerably off in practice.”
How is the weather going to affect the driver and the car?
“For the drivers, it is going to be much better for the young guys that can’t stand the heat (laughter). It will be a lot better for them. Generally speaking, for the car, it is going to just tighten up the competition. What it is going to do – the lap times kind of shrink slightly, we are not talking a bit amount, but slightly. Track position will just mean a little bit more because of the cooler conditions.”
Have you gone to a cool suit?
“No. We’ve found the best way to have them not fail is to not run one. (laughter)”
How have you learned to overcome obstacles and put your eyes on the prize?
“Still, if the same thing happened today, I would still be very, very disappointed, but the difference is what I didn’t understand in that moment that was something I control. That was just something that was very unfortunate that happened that we go from essentially locking up the championship to unfortunately losing it the next week. I’ve just been more content being disappointed with the things that I can control, versus the things that I can’t. That has certainly put me in a much, much better head space as I’ve gotten older.”
How did you learn to deal with it like that? Did you work with anyone?
“Just age. I wish I could say that there was a light switch or something in general that prompted it, but overall, it was just experience and understanding that your mental health cannot stand being pissed off all of the time. You have just to understand the little victories and best you can be okay with that, and whatever the result is, it is.”
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