Denny Hamlin, the team owner, had an almost perfect Sunday at The Brickyard. Denny Hamlin, the driver, didn’t leave Indianapolis Motor Speedway quite as satisfied.
Such is the nature of life sometimes for the three-time Daytona 500 winner who drives the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing but co-owns the No. 23, No. 45 and No. 35 Toyotas for 23XI Racing alongside NBA legend Michael Jordan.
While feeling some personal disappointment after failing as a driver to win the Brickyard 400, one of NASCAR’s crown-jewel races, Hamlin couldn’t help but find a silver lining on Sunday after watching one of the cars he co-owns — the No. 23 of Bubba Wallace — go to Victory Lane.
Denny Hamlin Knew The Odds Of Winning At Indy In his No. 11 Car Were Against Him
Unfortunately for Denny Hamlin, his Brickyard 400 fate as a driver was virtually sealed before the green flag ever waved on Sunday at Indianapolis.
Starting at the rear of the field in a backup car after crashing his primary in qualifying on Saturday, Hamlin expected finding the front to be a struggle. After all, the 2.5-mile speedway is notoriously one of NASCAR’s toughest tracks to pass on, due in large part to its mostly flat corners.
“I knew that I’d blown this chance for this weekend because of all the obstacles to try to win from the back,” Hamlin said. “Without luck, it’s nearly impossible.”
There's trouble for @dennyhamlin on his qualifying lap! pic.twitter.com/mhYh8tzWLL
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 26, 2025
Hamlin still managed to salvage a solid Sunday, though, bringing his No. 11 car home third — while Bubba Wallace and the No. 23 team that Hamlin co-owns kissed the bricks in celebration of a victory.
“It’s not my car number, and it sucks that it’s not my team, team 11 out there doing it, but I’m still very gratified,” Hamlin said. “Because, truthfully, I took our chances of winning out (in qualifying). I knew that there was just — the possibility of winning from the back here was so small. Not only that, but I knew the car that we had was not going to be nearly as fast as what we had yesterday.
“I just was content with getting a good finish.”
Driver/Team Owner Had A Proud Parent Moment At The Brickyard
Even though the outcome of Sunday’s race was bittersweet for Denny Hamlin, he could take tremendous solace in watching Bubba Wallace — one of the drivers he hired — capture easily the biggest victory of his Cup Series career up to this point.
“I had a role in it,” Hamlin said. “I helped mentor these guys. They’re in my brain every single Monday and Tuesday. I’m trying everything I can to teach them all the tricks in the book that I have. So, I know that there’s a part of me out there.”
While winning as team owner is different than winning as a driver, it’s still extra special in its own way for Hamlin. Especially considering all the time and effort he devotes to 23XI, which didn’t even exist as recently as five years ago.
“When those guys go out there and they get trophies, I make sure I get my own, treat it as my own, because I can assure you, it’s much harder to win as a team owner than it is a driver,” he said. “Building a team from scratch is a huge undertaking. You feel more gratification. I had my hand in every little piece of that race team, from the branding to the sponsorship to the competition to the everything.
“That’s why parents always feel much prouder when their kids accomplish something more than they do.”
Denny arrived and kissed the bricks, too. pic.twitter.com/XF5BvMSMpg
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) July 27, 2025
