Denny Hamlin Awknowledges a NASCAR Career-Best Run Amid Two Straight Wins
Denny Hamlin has a profound quote out there in the universe, deriving from Netflix's NASCAR documentary series, Full Speed. "It's hard for me to describe how hard it is to drive a racecar. I might birdie a hole that Jordan Spieth doesn't birdie. But there's no other athlete in any other sport that would ever run a lap faster than I can run a lap. It's impossible."
Love or hate Hamlin, he is right. No one can do what he does, and right now, that is especially true. On the latest episode of Hamlin's podcast, Actions Detrimental, he glowed in his glory of recent weeks, which features back-to-back victories from Michigan and Nashville.
Denny Hamlin Says He is on an 'All-Time Run'
"(This is) one of the best runs that we've ever been on," Hamlin exclaimed on his podcast. "If we can keep this up, that'd be great."
Hamlin is on a streak that seems unbeatable right now. He won this past Sunday's race at Michigan International Speedway by over 11 seconds ahead of 2nd place. The week before Nashville Superspeedway, Hamlin also won. The most interesting nugget of all? Hamlin won both those races from the rear of the field.
At Michigan, Hamlin's car had to undergo underbody repairs, which fall under NASCAR's category of 'Unapproved Adjustments.' He was sent to the rear, despite having earned pole position. After other cars were similarly penalized, Hamlin began the race in 33rd/37th place.
The week before Nashville, Hamlin jumped the start, hitting the gas before the restart zone to begin the race. That forced him to do a pit road pass-through penalty under the green flag, which cycled him to the back of the field.
Regardless of both issues, the No. 11 Toyota has been so fast that it matters none, and Hamlin is streaking. He now has 3 wins in his last 4 starts in the NASCAR Cup Series, which extends back to the All-Star Race win at Dover.
The win percentage for Hamlin is 25% in this 16-race 2026 season. "I don't think this win rate is quite sustainable," Hamlin went on to explain on his podcast. The run is great, but that would pace him for 9 wins. Kyle Larson is the only driver to have achieved 9+ wins in a season (2021) since Jimmie Johnson won 10 times in 2007.
While Hamlin does acknowledge a potential comedown-to-earth, he enters this weekend at Pocono Raceway primed for a 6th win. His average finish at Pocono in the NextGen era is 1.5. Over his 20-year career, Hamlin has also won more races (7) at Pocono than at any other track. His next best is Martinsville, having won 6 times.
"For all of my Cup career, it was like, 'Kyle Busch wins, Kyle Busch wins, Kyle Busch wins.'" Hamlin appreciates the fact that he has now tied Busch in career Cup Series wins at 63. He has managed to catch up to the legend that is the late Kyle Busch, having won just as much in NASCAR's flagship Series.
As for now, Hamlin hopes to maintain the momentum. Post-race win at Michigan, he explained that 2027 is still on track to be his final season, as Brent Crews will likely take over once Hamlin's career wraps up. The reason? Hamlin refuses to exit the sport, 'washed up.' If he can win a Championship this year, the return speculation will die out, leaving any juice that remains in the conversation.
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This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 1:37 PM.