A pole, 61 wins and 1 missing guitar trophy: Hamlin’s uneasy return to Nashville

LEBANON, Tenn. (AP) — The question Denny Hamlin hears the most is whether he gets nervous before a race.

His answer usually is no.

That changes at Nashville Superspeedway where Hamlin is looking for his first victory.

“I’ve been so close over the last few years,” Hamlin said Saturday of racing at Nashville. “But I love the racetrack. I definitely do and certainly feel like it’s been a very raceable race track over the last couple (races) since they’ve worked the resin in and whatnot. So it’s, um, I’m a little nervous going into the weekend truthfully.”

Hamlin currently ranks second in the points race and has 61 career Cup wins. He has three top six finishes here including third twice with the latest last year. He has two wins this year with his last the All-Star race at Dover.

The Cracker Barrel 400 on Sunday night will be the sixth Cup race at the 1.33-mile, D-shaped oval, which also is NASCAR’s largest all-concrete track. Spotty rain showers washed out qualifying Saturday, putting Hamlin on the pole for the second time this year and 51st time of his career.

Now 45, Hamlin knows he is running out of opportunities and won’t hide how much he wants to take home Nashville’s signature trophy: a Gibson guitar.

“I really really want to win here pretty badly,” Hamlin said.

Nashville marks the start of the second half of the Cup Series schedule with drivers leaving here with 12 races remaining before the Chase for the Championship starts in September.

Ryan Blaney won here a year ago for his first victory of 2025, and he comes into this race third in the points race. Blaney said he doesn’t feel any sense of urgency right now, especially returning to a track that was very good to him a year ago.

“It’s hard to believe we’re already halfway through the regular season,” Blaney said.

Daniel Suarez has spent part of the week celebrating his win at the Coca-Cola 600 last week and was in Los Angeles on Friday for the premiere of his new documentary. That meant a red-eye flight to Nashville as he switches his focus back to racing while currently 10th in the standings.

Suarez knows his Spire Motorsports team won a big race. He sees more work to do with his No. 7 Chevrolet.

“I’m really pushing my team to continue to push in these areas to continue to improve because every single team out there is going to continue getting better,” Suarez said. “So we have to continue to move the bar higher and higher.”

Remembering Kyle Busch

Reminders of the two-time Cup Series champion who died May 22 are everywhere at the superspeedway. His No. 8 has been atop the scoring tower, painted on the infield grass and round stickers with both his number and his name are plastered on everything from race cars to laptops.

Battling a car

Ross Chastain is looking for his first victory this year and currently stands 23rd in the points standings. He had a colorful answer Saturday when asked if 13 races have helped his Trackhouse Racing team and others running Chevrolets figure out how to race with the body changes made to the car for 2026.

“Have you seen those videos online where they grease up a watermelon, throw in the air and see if they can catch it? That’s what it feels like,” Chastain said. “We’re trying. No, not where we need to be yet. Working hard.”

Driver change for 2027

Corey Heim will race full-time for 23XI Racing on the Cup Series in 2027, taking over the No. 35 car currently driven by Riley Herbst. Hamlin, co-owner of 23XI Racing, joined Heim for the announcement Saturday providing a stark contrast with his experience compared to his new driver. Heim turns 24 in July.

“Holy cow,” Hamlin said of the age difference.

“I think when I was his age I was still running eighth place in limited late models. While it seems like he’s been on this trajectory for so long to be in this position, still far ahead of where I was at this point. It’s wild. I mean I’ve been in the Cup series pretty much since he’s been born.”

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