Denny Hamlin dedicates NASCAR
victory at Michigan to Kyle Busch after tying him on career win list
[June 08, 2026]
BROOKLYN, Mich. (AP) — There were no boos for Denny Hamlin after
this winning burnout at Michigan International Speedway.
Holding a black No. 18 flag out the window, the Joe Gibbs Racing
star celebrated his 63rd career victory by smoking the tires of his
No. 11 Toyota down the straightaway in honor of Kyle Busch, his late
teammate whom he tied for ninth on the all-time win list in the
NASCAR Cup Series.
“Truthfully, I had to outlive him to tie him,” said Hamlin who
radioed “We love you, KB” on his victory lap. “He was an amazing
teammate. He taught me so much at tracks like this. I just can’t say
enough.”
It was the second consecutive victory for Hamlin and his second
consecutive win at Michigan, where he celebrated last year by
taunting fans who booed him.
But there were only raucous cheers from the front-stretch
grandstands Sunday as Hamlin jogged up to the flag stand to get the
checkered flag while still carrying his Busch tribute flag
Busch drove the No. 18 from 2008-22 for Gibbs, teaming up with
Hamlin for a NASCAR-record 523 races. Busch's death on May 21 rocked
the NASCAR industry, which was already grieving over the offseason
deaths o f Greg Biffle and his family in a plane crash. Hamlin’s
father also died in a Dec. 28 house fire.
Noting that Hall of Famer Ned Jarrett also died last week, Hamlin
dedicated his third win this season to Busch and his family.
“The offseason, it was rough for me, and it was rough for the NASCAR
family,” Hamlin said. “Just an unbelievable feeling to be able to
strap in every week, and I don’t take it for granted, this
opportunity that I’m in. I just love we’re making the best of it.”
Just like last week’s win at Nashville Superspeedway, when the Joe
Gibbs Racing car started on the pole position but was penalized for
jumping the start, Hamlin qualified first at Michigan but dropped to
the back at the green flag because of a penalty for unapproved
adjustments to his No. 11 Toyota.
Hamlin patiently worked his way to the front over 400 miles. He took
the lead for good on a three-wide pass during a restart with 38 laps
remaining, sweeping into first around Spire Racing teammates Daniel
Suarez and Carson Hocevar, a home-state favorite.
Hamlin won by 11.110 seconds, his widest margin of victory in Cup
and the largest win at Michigan since June 1991.
“This Joe Gibbs team just keeps giving me amazing race cars,” Hamlin
said. “This Toyota was just amazing. And at the last run there, it
just hammered down. It had a few good restarts, and then once we got
to the lead, I was going to lay it out.”
Erik Jones (another Michigan native) finished second after also
starting from the rear for unapproved adjustments. Bubba Wallace was
a season-best third, followed by Kyle Larson and Hocevar, who
notched his best Michigan finish.
“I don’t think anyone was going to contend with Denny at the end,”
Larson said. “He was flying.”
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Denny Hamlin celebrates winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at
Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich., Sunday, June 7,
2026. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Crash causes red
The race was stopped with 51 laps remaining to repair a damaged
SAFER barrier after a hard crash involving Christopher Bell and
Chase Elliott.
During a restart on the 148th lap, the drivers were running side by
side for second. Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet bobbled and skidded up
the track into Bell’s No. 20 Toyota, which shot into the outside
wall at the 2-mile oval where speeds top 200 mph.
The impact with Bell’s Camry severely deformed the SAFER barrier,
which is comprised of steel and foam to absorb energy in wrecks. A
red flag was displayed for 20 minutes to fix the damaged section of
the barrier.
Both drivers climbed from their cars and walked to an ambulance for
a trip to the track’s infield care center. Team owner Joe Gibbs said
after the race that Bell had wrist and ankle injuries that would
need to be evaluated this week.
Elliott patted Bell on the shoulder and apologized for the wreck
before they entered the ambulance.
“I’m fine; it was totally my fault,” Elliott said. “I feel really
bad for Bell, just taking him out. I was trying to run on the bottom
and make use of our fresh tires and at least get to second and
hopefully stay side by side with him. I got in there and got free
and thought I was going to spin and was committing to spin out, and
as soon as I started to commit to spinning, it just hooked up and
hooked a right. Unfortunately, it sent Christopher into the wall
super hard, and then me shortly there behind.
“Just racing really hard. I felt like that was kind of a turning
point in the race. We needed to make something happen. I stepped
over the line again and paid for it. … I just told him I’m sorry.
Obviously, it was not on purpose.”
Rough rookie season
A nightmarish debut season in the Cup Series continued for Connor
Zilisch, who crashed twice in the first eight laps and finished last
in the 37-car field. The Trackhouse Racing driver has finished
outside the top 30 the past three races and is still seeking the
first top 10 of his rookie campaign.
“I was really loose, but it’s just unfortunate,” Zilisch said.
“Another short race for us. We’ll go try and get them at Pocono next
week.”
Up next
NASCAR will make its lone trip this season to Pocono Raceway on June
14. Chase Briscoe won last year to earn his first victory with Joe
Gibbs Racing.
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