The first five weeks of this NASCAR season have been nothing short of incredible for Denny Hamlin. His 23XI Racing team has the top two drivers in the standings and his own car reached the checkered flag first in Las Vegas this past Sunday. But Sunday’s race was far from perfect for him.
On the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin said that he was “shocked” by a speeding penalty mid-race that forced him to change his tactics. He conceded that he miscalculated but thought he was doing exactly what he was supposed to at the time.
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“We got that penalty. I was shocked,” Hamlin said. “If I run my lights the way you tell me to, I shouldn’t be speeding. I thought that I ran my lights very similarly to what the team wanted me to run.”
“That just means we miscalculated, as a team, the distance between the lines, or NASCAR’s scoring of that zone,” he added. “For all of us to speed in that one spot, that means that it was a hotter section than what we thought it was going to be.”
The Race Plays Out
Hamlin went on to explain how he overcame having to overcome such a huge spot deficit. At one point he managed to pick up 10 spots in about 15 laps, which bolstered his confidence.
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“About 15 laps in, and I gained, I don’t know, 10 spots in 15 laps?” Hamlin said. “I was like, ‘There’s plenty of time left. We’re good. We’re fine.’”
MARTINSVILLE, VIRGINIA – MARCH 30: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Progressive Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway on March 30, 2025 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)Logan Riely/Getty Images
(Logan Riely/Getty Images)
From there, he stayed steady and maneuvered his way to the checkered flag.
With his win, Hamlin not only secured yet another spot in the NASCAR Cup playoffs later this year, but rose all the way to No. 4 in the standings. He’s behind only Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace and Ryan Blaney. Solid company to be in.
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Up next: The Goodyear 400 at the iconic Darlington Raceway.
This story was originally published by The Spun on Mar 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the NASCAR section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
