Feb 13, 2026; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin during practice for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Feb 13, 2026; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin during practice for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Denny Hamlin is on a record-breaking run in the NASCAR Cup Series, getting three back-to-back wins for the first time in his two-decade-long career. However, the next two races might not be the kindest to him.
He has a dismal record at road/street courses, and the Cup series heads to San Diego’s Coronado Naval Base road course for the first time this weekend.
However, with the playing field leveled for San Diego, with none of the drivers having any experience at the track, Hamlin’s crew chief, Chris Gayle, believes that the No. 11 JGR Toyota driver can make it four wins in a row.
At the post-race press conference in Pocono, Gayle admitted that Denny Hamlin is weaker on road courses, but also shed light on JGR's prep.
"We've known the road courses were coming up. We know it's not his strength, per se," said Gayle (via Cup Scene on YouTube). "I look at San Diego particularly as a wild card. I think there’s going to be a lot of chaos there. It’s unknown to everybody. And I look at it a lot like Chicago Street Course. We finished fourth with him Chicago street course last race."
Jun 14, 2026; Long Pond, Pennsylvania, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin celebrates in victory lane after winning The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images
Jun 14, 2026; Long Pond, Pennsylvania, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin celebrates in victory lane after winning The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images
"I’m optimistic that we should be able to go do that there. I think San Diego, we're gonna we're gonna be better than we probably think going into it," he added.
Gayle’s approach to the race in Sonoma, the weekend after San Diego, is a bit different. Hamlin has been subpar at the track in the last four years, but his crew chief believes that JGR has the correct tools in place for Hamlin to receive the inputs necessary to approach the Sonoma track competitively.
Gayle, who has been Hamlin's most successful crew chief in a 21-year-long career, also spoke about Hamlin’s mentality, which makes him a scary driver to compete against.
Denny Hamlin’s Approach Looking at the Points Table
Denny Hamlin was over 100 points behind Tyler Reddick, the championship leader, before he won in Nashville. With three wins on the trot, Hamlin has slashed almost all of the lead and reduced it to 19 points.
But Hamlin’s record at road courses in comparison to the No. 45 23XI driver is vastly different. Reddick has a better all-around track presence and is a serious threat even at road courses. With two road course races on the trot, there is a fear that Reddick opens up the lead to Hamlin again.
However, per Chris Gayle, Denny Hamlin isn't focusing on the points battle.
"I don’t think he cares about that that much, to be quite honest with you, first or second, I think he just wants wins. And I think it's that simple for him," Gayle said in Pocono.
The mentality reveals Hamlin’s competitive edge and the will to keep dominating the sport he has been in for over two decades. Hamlin seemingly has a retirement date set for himself, but that isn’t altering his winning mentality as he looks to build further on his 64 Cup race wins.
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Written by
Debrup Chaudhuri
Edited by
Yash Kotak