Anyone who believes that a NASCAR race cannot be won from the back of the pack needs to watch Denny Hamlin go from taking back-to-back poles, being sent to the back of the grid, and winning both races back-to-back. Michigan was Nashville déjà vu for Hamlin.

What Denny Hamlin achieved, first at Nashville Superspeedway and then today at the Michigan International Speedway, is the stuff of dreams. Not only did he take his third win at the track, but also a 63rd win in the Cup series, matching his former JGR teammate Kyle Busch in all-time wins.

And what's more, after the win, Hamlin gave another déjà vu to fans as he replicated the tribute Jeff Gordon paid to Dale Earnhardt when Gordon drove a victory lap at Phoenix back in 2007 while holding up a 3 flag.

Hamlin performed a burnout while carrying a Kyle Busch flag that featured the number 18 with both digits in distinctly different numbers to pay tribute to the 8 and 18, the numbers that Busch was associated with. 

As he crossed the checkered flag, the first words he spoke on the radio were, "Great job, guys. Great car. We love you KB."

And after stepping out of the No. 11, Hamlin said, “The Joe Gibbs team just keeps giving me amazing race cars. National Debt Toyota was just amazing. At the last run there, it just hammered down, had a few good restarts, and then once we got to the lead, I was gonna lay it out all I had.”

Hamlin carried the Busch flag out of his car and waved it around as he walked up the steep Michigan banking to get the checkered flag. Hamlin won the pole but had damage to his car, the repairs of which sent him to the back of the pack for the start of the race. 

He also remembered another NASCAR legend who passed recently: “The offseason, it was rough for me, it was rough for the NASCAR family. We lost a lot of people this week. We lost Gentleman Ned(Jarrett), the original bad*** 11. We’re still thinking of Kyle, Samantha, Brexton, Lennix.”

But it was his tribute that got all the attention.

Hamlin showered with fan praise after replicating Gordon

Denny Hamlin may not be the most loved figure in NASCAR, at least until a year ago, and his wins don’t often draw praise from all quarters of NASCAR, but this win and his celebrations made fans shower him with uncharacteristic praise. 

Fans blew up X with multiple comments recognizing Hamlin’s Gordon-like gesture.

A fan wrote, “For the first time since @JeffGordonWeb retired I was junping off the couch cheering for @dennyhamlin. Lfg. Do it for the old guys that got there because they won.”

Kyle Busch fans also celebrated the Hamlin victory with words of kindness. One wrote, “An absolute classy move by Denny honoring Kyle with that flag.”

Another wrote, “Might be the most emotional I have gotten from a Denny win ❤️‍🩹That was amazing.”

One keen observer looked at the marks Hamlin’s tires left as he performed burnouts and wrote, “Finishing it with the figure 8 burnout for KFB was peak.🔥”

Driving from the back of the grid twice back-to-back, Hamlin has put on a showing of what’s possible in a NASCAR race and why it’s so exciting.

Remembering Kyle Busch first with his iconic bow in Nashville and then with a flag is exactly why another fan wrote, “A Denny Hamlin win that everybody enjoyed.”

Speaking of the championship picture, Tyler Reddick is now facing some serious competition as Hamlin has reduced the gap to just a 51-point difference between them.

The No. 11 JGR driver has picked up  110 points across the last two races, and with Reddick crashing out early, Hamlin has significant momentum as he chases down both his 23XI Racing driver and his first-ever Cup Series title.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason