There aren't many racetracks in NASCAR’s Cup Series that Denny Hamlin hadn’t won at, but entering Sunday night the Nashville Superspeedway was one of them.
Now, the 45-year-old driver can check that box.
Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota took the checkered flag in the Cracker Barrel 400, giving him his second win of the season. It’s the first win for a Toyota car at Nashville since the speedway began hosting Cup Series races in 2021.
“What an unbelievable day,” Hamlin said.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin wins the Cracker Barrel 400 on Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway.
The victory was the 62nd of Hamlin’s Cup Series career, putting him one win away from tying the late Kyle Busch for ninth all-time. Hamlin — who is now the Cup Series wins leader among active drivers following Busch’s shocking death on May 21 — grabbed the checkered flag and did the “Busch Bow” in celebration. The two drivers were teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing from 2008 to 2022.
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Hamlin started the day as the pole sitter, but was penalized on the first lap for jumping the start, pushing him all the way to the back of the pack.
Hamlin battled back though and led 57 laps. He also had the fastest lap of the night at 29.73 seconds.
Chris Buescher blew a rotor with 12 laps to go and hit the wall in the third turn with his No. 17 Ford, bringing out the 11th caution of the night. Before that final yellow flag, Zane Smith had led the previous 18 laps before Christopher Bell ran him down after taking fuel and fresh tires at lap 260. Hamlin pitted just a few laps before Bell.
Spire Motorsports driver Carson Hocevar (77), Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott (9) and Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney (12) crash at the end of the Cracker Barrel 400 on Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway.
Just four laps remained when the green flag came out for the final time with three Toyotas from JGR — Bell, Chase Briscoe and Hamlin — holding down the top three spots. Out of the restart, Hamlin shot to the front and went side-by-side with Bell. Entering the final lap, the three JGR drivers went three-wide, then Hamlin cleared Bell exiting turn two into the back straightaway and held off his two teammates for the victory. It was the third time this season that Bell finished second.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished fourth in his No. 47 Chevrolet for Hyack Motorsports, marking his second top-five finish of the year. Stenhouse was followed by Shane van Gisbergen, Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar in 10th. For van Gisbergen — who has seven Cup Series wins on road courses — the fifth place finish marks his best on an oval.
Reddick still holds a 97-point lead over Hamlin for the top spot in the point standings.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin (11) pits during the Cracker Barrel 400 on Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway.
Nashville’s concrete track claimed the brake rotors of four drivers in the race, ending their nights early. In addition to Buescher, rookie driver Connor Zilisch slammed his No. 88 Chevrolet into the wall after blowing a rotor on the 72nd lap and Ross Chastain had the same happen to his No. 1 Chevrolet on the 81st lap.
AJ Allmendinger — who was running in third — crashed his No. 16 Chevrolet into the wall on the 173rd lap after blowing a rotor. Allmendinger won the first stage of the race after jumping ahead of Blaney and then held off Kyle Larson. It was the first stage win for Allmendinger in a Cup Series race since 2023.
Other drivers that were knocked out of the competition due to wrecks included Brad Keselowski and Bubba Wallace. Neither of the crashes seemed to be their faults.
Keselowski was turned by Austin Dillon on the 193rd lap as the field stacked up out of a restart. Keselowski's spotter TJ Majors seemed to believe Dillon wrecked the 2012 Cup Series champion intentionally after an earlier incident with him, saying on the radio, “The 3 just wrecked you on purpose. He's mad from earlier."
Dillon was being blocked by Keselowski on lap 145 when he received contact from Keselowski’s teammate, Buescher, sending him spinning. Speaking to reporters after being seen in the infield care center, Keselowski seemed to agree.
“It’s pretty clear (Dillon) wrecked me intentionally in that replay,” Keselowski said.
Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron's (24) car is worked on after a crash during the Cracker Barrel 400 on Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway.
Buescher was involved in the incident that knocked Wallace out of the race, too, in a chain reaction that began with Hocevar moving his No. 77 up the track, trapping Buescher in the corner and forcing him into Wallace. Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota smacked the wall, made contact with William Byron’s No. 24, then drifted down the track where his nose slammed into Alex Bowman’s right rear tire.
After a strong start to the season where he finished in the top 11 in the first five races of the season, Wallace has just one finish inside the top 21 in his last five races.
“Just minding our own business yet again, another week that our team doesn’t get the finish that we deserve. I’m tired, man. It’s hard to be in the same boat constantly every week,” Wallace said. “It’s really freaking hard when you're driving your best and just trying to make progress throughout the race and you get wiped out.”
The race featured a record number of lead changes for a Cup Series competition at Nashville Superspeedway with 31. It was the fourth consecutive Cup Series sellout for the venue. The start of the race was delayed about an hour due to rain.
