Daytona Motor Mouths: Nashville brings sigh of relief for Ryan Blaney
The guys talk about Ryan Blaney’s win for Team Penske at Nashville, Carson Hocevar’s current spot in NASCAR and Kyle Larson’s merchandise sales.
Denny Hamlin was driving like a man in a hurry Sunday at Michigan.
That happens when you’re gonna become a dad (again) at any given moment.
While longtime fiancee Jordan Fish is back home awaiting birth of an overdue child (their third), dad was winning the 57th Cup Series race of his future-Hall of Fame career.
Hamlin battled late with William Byron, eventually passed him, then waved goodbye as Byron ran out of gas, leaving the runner-up spot to Chri Buescher, who was one second behind in Hamlin’s wake.
1. Denny Hamlin happily plays the villain role
During his post-race TV interview, Hamlin trotted out one of his favorite lines. He looked up to the grandstands, where a mix of cheers and boos were heard, and said, “Sorry, but I beat your favorite driver.”
On cue, he was asked, “who’s that?”
“All of them,” he replied (again).
He doesn’t care how repetitive that act becomes.
Byron’s premature dive down to the pits as the white flag was waving brought some drama. Did Hamlin have enough fuel? Turns out, he wasn’t all that concerned.
“Once I got to the lead, that’s when I started conserving,” he said.
2. Alex Bowman is alive and well and that’s a testament to modern technology
Bowman was just a kid when the SAFER Barrier and HANS Device became commonplace in NASCAR. All the same, he might want to pen a thank-you letter to the engineers who brought those saviors into the sport.
“I feel OK. It was the biggest hit I’ve ever taken in a stock-car by a mile,” Bowman said of a head-on, Lap 67 crash into the outside wall that wasn’t his fault.
He blamed the inherent turbulence and overall unpredictability of running near the rear of the field at a fast track like Michigan, where straightaway speeds reached 200 mph.
3. Up next: NASCAR goes South of the Border
There’s the South and even the Deep South. Both have long been considered NASCAR strongholds. Now we’ll see how things go in the “Deeper” South, as in Mexico City.
NASCAR’s Cup and Xfinity Series go international this coming week with Saturday and Sunday races on the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course. It’ll be the Cup Series’ first road-course race since March 2, and the first of three over the next five weeks.
4. Bonus Takeaway! And yes, it’s a Hemi
The rumors ended Sunday at Michigan, where the folks at Dodge announced they’re going back to NASCAR.
Thirteen years after Dodge left the Cup Series (on the heels of Brad Keselowski winning the championship in a Dodge, by the way), the manufacturer is re-entering NASCAR through the Truck Series, re-introducing the Ram pickup as well as the Hemi engine, whose return was announced earlier in the week.
In terms of “how” Dodge will return — a whole new factory team or an existing team — the details will have to come fairly soon, since Ram brand CEO Tim Kuniskis said he’ll have a truck on the starting grid when the 2026 season opens at Daytona.
“You know, it’s like the kid going to the prom,” Kuniskis said. “I’ve got the tux, got my dad’s car. Just don’t know who the date is going to be yet, but we’ll get there.”
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