{"id":715,"date":"2026-05-18T17:37:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T17:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=715"},"modified":"2026-05-18T17:37:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T17:37:04","slug":"denny-hamlin-doing-his-homework-to-stay-on-top-of-nascar-heading-into-coca-cola-600","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=715","title":{"rendered":"Denny Hamlin doing his homework to stay on top of NASCAR heading into Coca-Cola 600"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Denny Hamlin was so bothered by his middling performance at Dover Motor Speedway 12 years ago that he saw a sports psychologist to restore his faith.<\/p>\n

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After winning the NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday for his third consecutive victory at the 1-mile track, he spoke with the confidence to conquer any oval in the Cup Series.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very weird and unique at this point in my career that I\u2019m in this place,\u201d the 45-year-old Hamlin said. \u201cBut if we\u2019re going to a track that turns left, I expect to win every single week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next up for the 21-year veteran is the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and the oldest driver on the circuit will be among the favorites for the longest race in NASCAR.<\/p>\n

Points leader Tyler Reddick and Chase Elliott are also expected to be strong in the 600-mile event, but their combined total of 21 Cup starts at the track in Concord, North Carolina, is dwarfed by Hamlin\u2019s career total of 34.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think my experience is carrying me more now than ever,\u201d the Joe Gibbs Racing driver said.<\/p>\n

Coming off his second All-Star Race victory, Hamlin seems primed for a second Coke 600 win at Charlotte, which is one of seven 1.5-mile tracks that play host to a combined 11 races this season.<\/p>\n

In the past three races on 1.5-mile speedways, Hamlin has a win ( at Las Vegas Motor Speedway ), a second ( behind Elliott at Texas Motor Speedway ) and a fourth ( Kansas Speedway, where he dominated until a late caution allowed Reddick to snatch an overtime win).<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s marathon race at Charlotte will be more consequential as a 2026 title predictor. The track\u2019s Oct. 11 race has moved from the road course to the oval for the first time in nine years. Charlotte will be one of four 1.5-mile ovals in the revamped Chase, the 10-race championship run to conclude the season.<\/p>\n

Hamlin, whose sterling resume includes 61 wins but no Cup title, will undoubtedly be studying Charlotte all week, hunting for ways to improve his restarts by adapting his driving style. He calls that trait his biggest strength and credits his massive Dover improvement to watching videos of Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex taming the Monster Mile.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just watched lap after lap after lap and said, \u2018I\u2019m going to copy that, right or wrong,\u2019\u201d Hamlin said. \u201cIt started working.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The No. 11 Toyota driver now shares that knowledge with teammates Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe and Ty Gibbs, who scored his first Cup victory last month at Bristol Motor Speedway and leans regularly on Hamlin\u2019s advice.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery Monday when we have our driver meetings, it\u2019s kind of like a master class,\u201d said Heather Gibbs, mother of Ty and co-owner of Joe Gibbs Racing. \u201cDenny has so much wisdom, so much experience. He\u2019s great with giving feedback. He\u2019s still at the top. He definitely hasn\u2019t fallen off. We keep joking, \u2018Hey, what about another year?\u2019 To have someone step into the 11 car and win, you\u2019re not going to have that. Denny is kind of a legend in that car. I can\u2019t even imagine thinking of putting someone else in that car.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hamlin is signed through the 2027 season and has indicated it\u2019ll be his last.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to finish like this,\u201d he said. \u201cI do not want to go through the regression. My ego will not allow me to be mediocre. So I\u2019m going to have to leave some on the table at some point, right? In order to know that you can win your last race, you\u2019re going to have to go into the next year saying, \u2018I\u2019m not doing it, but I could have.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Chris Gayle, Hamlin\u2019s crew chief, said his driver\u2019s desire to retire on top makes it easy for the team to avoid tapering off.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not many (wins) in front of him anymore,\u201d Gayle said. \u201cEvery one is probably more and more sweet to him at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Open concerns<\/h3>\n

Running the All-Star Race without a warmup act backfired for several drivers.<\/p>\n

Instead of the All-Star Open, a race in which top finishers can transfer into the main event while the qualified drivers sit out, the entire 36-car field raced in the first two segments before the 200-lap dash for a $1 million prize.<\/p>\n

More than half the field was involved in crashes during the first two segments, eliminating Chase Elliott and Ross Chastain and leaving Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson with damaged cars incapable of contending. Hamlin was among several drivers who lobbied to bring back the All-Star Open.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think having the Open is fun,\u201d Heather Gibbs said. \u201cYou get major street cred when you race your way out of the Open. It\u2019s rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dover future<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s unclear if the All-Star Race will be one and done at Dover. Track president Mike Tatoian has been told the track will be on the 2027 Cup schedule (which will be released in a few months) but possibly return as a points race, which Dover hosted annually from 1969-2025.<\/p>\n

Dover has no lights, and Hamlin wants the All-Star Race as a nighttime event.<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely prefer Dover as a points race,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s no other track like this on our schedule. It requires such a unique style of driving, far different from any oval, that you can\u2019t lose tracks like this. The fans really are passionate here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Adam Scott officially set for 100th consecutive major at US Open as field starts to fill<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP auto racing: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/auto-racing<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Denny Hamlin was so bothered by his middling performance at Dover Motor Speedway 12 years…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nDenny Hamlin doing his homework to stay on top of NASCAR heading into Coca-Cola 600 - Raleigh Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=715\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Denny Hamlin doing his homework to stay on top of NASCAR heading into Coca-Cola 600 - Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Denny Hamlin was so bothered by his middling performance at Dover Motor Speedway 12 years...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=715\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-18T17:37:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/e57f8b47c8aadd0c90a0d62dd92aa91c.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"853\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=715#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=715\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\"},\"headline\":\"Denny Hamlin doing his homework to stay on top of NASCAR heading into Coca-Cola 600\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-18T17:37:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=715\"},\"wordCount\":978,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=715#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/e57f8b47c8aadd0c90a0d62dd92aa91c.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=715#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=715\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=715\",\"name\":\"Denny Hamlin doing his homework to stay on top of NASCAR heading into Coca-Cola 600 - 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