Hamlin Triumphs in Pole Position Sweep, Showing Unstoppable Drive
Mar 14, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin (11) during qualifying at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. | Credits- Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Denny Hamlin went through a lot in the months building up to the 2026 season, with a long-awaited title slipping through his fingers last year in Phoenix, and then losing his dad to a tragic house fire.
No one would blame him had he chosen to step aside, or at least taken the year to recover. Instead, Hamlin came back and went straight back to work in the NASCAR Cup Series. Through five starts this season, he has stayed near the front of the field in every race except the opener at Daytona International Speedway.
The run reached a high point at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where Hamlin led 134 of 267 laps and won the Pennzoil 400 on Sunday. Speaking after the win, Hamlin explained why he chose to keep racing despite the weight he carried through the off-season. “Well, I mean, ultimately I’m still a competitor, right?
And, you know, everyone’s got to go through that process, the grieving process,” he began. “ And just there were a lot of different things through the offseason. It was, you know, really, really tough.
And, yeah, I mean, I showed up at Bowman Gray. I ran the race. ” Hamlin admitted that the loss affected him deeply.