Denny Hamlin secured his 59th career NASCAR Cup win and his fifth victory of the 2025 season at WWT Raceway, ensuring his place in the Round of 12. This race was also notable for marking Toyota’s 200th win in the NASCAR Cup Series and delivered a 1-2 finish for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Speaking after the race, Hamlin said, “Yeah, it’s so big for everyone at Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Progressive Toyota was great there at the end. So happy to get this victory. My dad’s not feeling well at home. Just shout-out to him. The whole family’s here. (…) Man, it’s just a great victory. Love that Denny time flag, poster is pretty good. Y’all can boo me. You can either get on the bandwagon or you can get run over by it.”
Hamlin took the lead with a three-wide pass during the final restart, with teammate Chase Briscoe finishing second after splitting Brad Keselowski. Briscoe, now also qualified for the next playoff round due to his earlier Southern 500 win, helped secure Joe Gibbs Racing’s strong result.
The top five were rounded out by Chase Elliott in third place, Ryan Blaney in fourth, and Joey Logano in fifth. Other drivers who finished within the top ten included John-Hunter Nemechek, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, and Ty Gibbs.
Early race action saw Kyle Larson taking an initial lead before a caution involving Kyle Busch prompted split pit strategies among leading teams. Further incidents affected several competitors: Josh Berry suffered another crash after contact from Elliott and will need a strong performance at Bristol to remain in contention; Austin Dillon spun out his brother Ty Dillon but later apologized; Blaney was spun by Larson near Stage 2’s end, resulting in post-race discussions between them.
Stage wins went to Briscoe (Stage 1) and Wallace (Stage 2). In the final stage, mechanical issues and debris cautions shaped pit strategy until Ty Dillon’s brake failure triggered a key yellow flag near the end. The final restart left Keselowski unable to keep pace with Hamlin and Briscoe.
The event underscores Joe Gibbs Racing’s continued strength as both their drivers advance further into playoffs following this significant team milestone.
