With his latest victory in the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville, Denny Hamlin reached 62 Cup Series career wins. And with this, he took himself to just one short of Kyle Busch's tally of Cup wins.

Shortly after his Nashville win, the Joe Gibbs Racing star shared his thoughts about reaching Busch's record. In the post-race press conference, Hamlin said (via Cup Scene on YouTube):

"| thought about it and certainly aspired to eventually get there. I knew my career was going to end before his career was going to end. We didn't know what was going to happen, but I had kind of resigned to the fact that I thought we weren't going to overtake Kyle. We still might not. We don't know if this is the last one, we don't know."

Hamlin, further shedding light on Busch's contribution in NASCAR, added:

"But yeah, I mean, it just shows how good he was for so long. And I saw the stats online where we ran together 500 and some races, and he finished ahead of me 10 more times than I beat him, and so in the same equipment."

Kyle Busch picked up 63 Cup Series wins before his unfortunate passing on May 21. Thanks to his incredible Cup, O'Reilly Auto Parts, and Truck Series performances, the late driver is the winningest across the three NASCAR tiers.

Although Hamlin might overtake his winning tally this season or in 2027, Busch's legacy is here to remain for days, months, years, and decades to come.

What Does Denny Hamlin Think of Kyle Busch?

Following the sudden demise of Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin shared his thoughts on the two-time Cup Series champion. Having raced alongside him for nearly two decades, and 15 years as teammates, Hamlin has seen Busch up close enough to form an opinion about him.

"Just an unbelievable talent," Hamlin said. "Our sport, he was the generational talent of my era. Like when I came in, you had the Tony Stewarts retiring, Jeff Gordons, it was Jimmie (Johnson), but Kyle was the one, throughout the entire time, that was dominant. So he was the gold standard as far as talent was concerned."

Kyle Busch breathed his last in Charlotte, days before the 2026 Coca-Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. As per reports, he suffered from severe pneumonia, which rapidly progressed into sepsis. He passed away at the age of 41 and is survived by his wife, Samantha, and their two children.

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Written by

Sabyasachi Biswas

Edited by

Yask Kotak