Denny Hamlin certainly seemed rejuvenated and ready to battle again in 2026 for another opportunity to win his first NASCAR Cup Series title after Sunday’s dominating victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 45-year-old Virginia born NASCAR veteran put on a commanding performance to win Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 over Chase Elliott.
His convincing return to victory lane Sunday came at Las Vegas where he won his 60th NASCAR Cup race last October. It also marked his 61st NASCAR career win and first win since narrowly losing the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship final at Phoenix and first win since the death of his beloved father in a December house fire.
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After an extremely long and smoky victory burnout, an elated Hamlin commented on his 61st NASCAR Cup, “It is just so satisfying, so gratifying! You just never know what can happen year over year, if you still have it or not. I wasn’t totally locked in for the first few weeks. We’ve just been hitting our stride now. It took a few weeks to feel like driving. Over the last couple weeks, I definitely regained my love for it, got refocused.
“An amazing job by this team (Joe Gibbs Racing). We made a lot of adjustments during the race. If I needed to go get a couple of tenths, I think I could. I just had enough speed during the day to make it happen. This was one of the more dominating races we’ve had in years.”
Perhaps the most appropriate comment on his victory Sunday by the 45-year-old veteran Hamlin made as he crossed the finish line saying confidently, “Old dogs can hunt!”
Finishing second in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 was Chase Elliott, followed by William Byron in third, with Christopher Bell, and Ty Gibbs rounding out the top five.
The NASCAR teams head back east to the challenging Darlington Speedway for next Sunday’s sixth race of 2026.
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