Denny Hamlin stands at a crossroads. On one hand, he's gunning for his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series title. On the other, a driver from his own team, 23XI Racing, stands in his way. And Hamlin has made a choice. He wants to keep it all on track.

In the post-race press conference, Denny Hamlin was asked how it was to race against a driver from his own team.

Responding to the question, Hamlin said, “I mean, it’s unique, but nothing has changed. I mean, me and Tyler’s dialogue on a weekly basis is as high as it’s ever been. You know, I believe in him. I want him to finish second. I think he’s got years and years and years and years and years to win lots of races and a championship. And my clock is, the hourglass is getting low,” he added, as seen in the video posted by Cup Scene on YouTube.

At 45, Hamlin is the oldest driver on the grid. He's on the first year of a two-year contract that he says will be his last. And after coming tantalizingly close to a title last year, Hamlin has mounted another campaign to shed the title of being the winningest Cup Series driver without a title. However, Tyler Reddick stands as his biggest rival at the moment.

As the standings hold after the race at Naval Base Coronado, Reddick is the leader with 716 points, but only by a mere eight points, as Hamlin is currently closing in from second place with 708 points after 17 of 36 races this season.

Hamlin then added that ownership will not change how he helps 23XI. “So, but I will do everything I possibly can to give them all the tools they need to go out there and win,” he continued. “I will never hold back any information from them or anything that they ask me, because that’s part of my responsibility. It’s part of the advantage that we have.”

For Hamlin, the Anduril 250 provided some relief as he finished 14th, while Reddick was down in 25th after an incident on the track.

But as it stands, Hamlin could have more competitors come 2027, especially with Toyota's driver development program.

The Toyota pipeline suddenly looks like NASCAR’s most dangerous development machine

Corey Heim’s breakthrough at San Diego has completely obliterated the argument that the developmental pipeline is a future threat, for it is already establishing itself as a present-day force.

Heim won in just his 13th Cup start, while 23XI has already confirmed him for a full-time No. 35 Toyota ride in 2027.

Now this matters even more when Tyler Reddick is already at the top end of this exact ecosystem. Reddick opened 2026 with three straight wins, including the Daytona 500.

It signalled that his pace alongside Heim’s rapid rise is a strong indicator that Toyota has managed to turn this pipeline into a race-winning production line, well before anyone predicted.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Uday Jakhar

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar