Joey Logano delivered one of the most dominant performances of this season last Sunday. Leading 323 of 450 laps at North Wilkesboro Speedway, he crossed the finish line 0.859 seconds ahead of Denny Hamlin in the Window World 450, the first Cup Series points race at the historic 0.625-mile oval in nearly 30 years.
When Hamlin climbed out of his car, he did not head to his hauler. He walked straight over to Logano. What came next, the garage did not see coming.
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“Man, Joey was so good tonight,” Hamlin told reporters right after the two shared a handshake.
“You just have to compliment him on a great day and a great drive,” Hamlin said. “It was a wildly impressive drive. He maneuvered through traffic really well and did everything we’ve come to expect Joey to do.”
Between these two, handshakes are not normal. Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano own one of the most combustible rivalries in recent NASCAR memory, and short tracks have been the scene of almost all of it.
At Bristol in 2013, Hamlin spun Logano on Lap 348. Logano stormed to his window on pit road and a crew brawl broke out. Hamlin called him a “little child” on social media.
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One week later at Fontana, they collided on the final lap. Denny Hamlin fractured a vertebra in his lower back. Logano expressed zero remorse; he said he raced Hamlin exactly the way Hamlin raced him.
Six years later at Martinsville in 2019, Hamlin put Logano into the wall again. What started as a civil post-race conversation ended with Logano shoving Hamlin and another pit road brawl. Logano’s crew chief was suspended for dragging Hamlin by his collar. The JGR driver even mocked Logano in his post-race interview: “He would probably say, yeah short-track racing.”
But it seems like Hamlin put the rivalry to bed with his gesture, which no one expected. Part of what made this moment possible is where Denny Hamlin stands in 2026. He came in with nothing to prove and nothing to lose.
Hamlin had already clinched his Chase spot the week before at EchoPark Speedway, entering North Wilkesboro with four wins on the season. During the race, championship rival Tyler Reddick was caught in a mid-race pit road collision with Alex Bowman, suffered a broken toe-link, and finished 30th.
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Hamlin’s points lead stretched to 68 over Tyler Reddick. He now sits at 842 points, at the top, with five regular season races remaining.
“I still feel really good about our day,” Denny Hamlin said. “It’s such a big turnaround from where we were here last year.”
He was right on both counts. A year ago, this would have been a bitter result. Now, with a commanding lead and a playoff spot secured, second place behind a driver who led 323 laps is simply a good day.
There was no desperation. No score to settle. Logano drove a clean, dominant race and Hamlin acknowledged it like a veteran who no longer needs the drama. For once, he just let the result speak.
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