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Denny Hamlin Seeking Elusive Brickyard 400 Triumph Following Dover Win

Originally posted on Racing America on SI | By Zach Evans | Last updated Jul 23, 2025 4:02 PM ET

This Sunday's Brickyard 400 presented by PPG isn't just a chance for Denny Hamlin to go back-to-back for the second time this season in the NASCAR Cup Series. It's also an opportunity for him to snag a crown jewel win that has eluded him for nearly 20 years.

Hamlin claimed the 58th win of his NASCAR Cup Series career on Sunday, winning the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover Motor Speedway. Of those 58 wins, seven have come in events considered among the crown jewels in NASCAR, with three Daytona 500s, three Southern 500s and the 2022 Coca-Cola 600.

That just leaves the Brickyard 400 to join elite company - Dale Earnhardt, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick - on the list of drivers with wins in all four races.

"I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to go back to back so bad," said Hamlin following his win at Dover on Sunday. "That’s a track that I’ve just come so fricking close to winning. I just want to cross off all the major racetracks on our schedule."

Since finishing 10th in his first Brickyard 400 in 2006, Hamlin has had several strong runs at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His five top-five finishes in the race tie him with Kyle Busch for most among active drivers.

In 2020, Hamlin was on the verge of winning the event, leading with seven laps to go. However, a flat tire sent him hard into the outside wall, ending his race and his shot at the elusive victory.

That proved to be the last chance for Hamlin to win the race for three years, as Indianapolis' NASCAR Cup Series date moved to the road course at the Speedway, Indiana facility. With the return of the Brickyard 400 to the oval in 2024, the chance to win the crown-jewel event has returned.

It is often incredibly difficult to pass on the famed race track, putting a premium on qualifying for this Sunday's race. Only twice in the past 10 runnings of the event has the winner started the race outside the top 10.

"It’s going to be hard," said Hamlin. "I mean, we’re going to have to qualify well. There’s just so many things that are going to have to go really well for us to win that race.

"It’s not like any other conventional track, where you've got speed, you’re just going to go through the pack. It’s just not that type of racetrack."

While the Brickyard 400 is the newest of the major NASCAR races, starting in 1994, it is the history surrounding the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that makes the event so special. One of the most renowned racing venues worldwide thanks to the history of the Indianapolis 500,

"The history of it is unlike any other," said Hamlin. "I mean, even when you’re driving it, you feel like you’re at a historic racetrack. Highly, highly, highly motivated."

Sunday's Brickyard 400 presented by PPG takes the green flag at 2 p.m. ET. Coverage of the event will be on TNT Sports, the IMS Radio Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.