Denny Hamlin’s quest for a historic third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victory came to a dramatic halt at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday. Kyle Larson delivered a dominant performance that ended Hamlin’s winning streak and reignited one of NASCAR’s most compelling rivalries. The two drivers, who have now finished 1-2 an astonishing seven times, put on another masterclass, but this time it was Larson who came out on top.
Hamlin came into Bristol riding high after wins at Martinsville and Darlington. He was trying to be the first driver since 2021 to win three straight Cup races. For a while it looked like his No. 11 Toyota might have a shot against Larson’s No. 5 Chevy. But as the laps ticked away at the half-mile track, Larson just had too much speed for Hamlin to overcome.
Denny Hamlin Acknowledges Larson’s Dominance
“We really did (all we could), but you gotta give that team their due and Kyle and his due. yeah, they just had a dominant performance and it looked like a pretty flawless day for him,” Hamlin said after climbing out of his car.
“It was all I had to try to keep up there… I just wanted to keep them honest at the end, that’s all I tried to do, but he just was too much to handle.”
Hamlin pointed out one key difference in their performances: “I thought the #5 was able to navigate traffic slightly better than I was and that was a big benefit. On open race track I could run with him and was able to catch him there on the second long stint but I just couldn’t navigate the traffic quite as good as he could.”
The race weekend had a somber tone as the NASCAR community mourned Jon Edwards, the longtime communications director for Hendrick Motorsports who had recently passed away. Hamlin acknowledged this loss: “This weekend, we’re all keeping Jon Edwards’ family … We’ve lost so many great individuals in our sport this past week. Our hearts are with them.”
Even with the second-place finish Hamlin has been on a roll lately with four straight top-five finishes. “It’s been a great run here the last month. We’ve been really good. Just gotta continue this momentum and it all starts tomorrow, you go back to work and figure out how you can get a little bit better.”
Larson dominated the race from start to finish, leading 411 of the 500 laps and sweeping both stages. Despite Hamlin’s best efforts, he crossed the finish line 2.25 seconds behind Larson, who picked up his 31st Cup win and third victory at Bristol.