Sunday's win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway marked Denny Hamlin's fourth trip to victory lane in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season's first five races. However, unlike those first three trips, which all came consecutively as an owner following Tyler Reddick's historic trifecta to begin the season, this one was all about the driver.
Despite a pit road speeding penalty under caution on lap 84, Hamlin drove his way back up to fifth by the end of the second stage and made the winning move around Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell with 49 laps to go. He held off Chase Elliott for his first win of the season in the No. 11 Toyota.
Hamlin led a race-high 134 laps and completely dominated in his first trip back to Las Vegas since he punched his Championship 4 ticket back in October. It may still be early in the 2026 season, but after moving up to fourth in the standings, Hamlin has to be pleased with where he is at.
Not only that, but Reddick and Bubba Wallace, two of Hamlin's drivers at 23XI Racing, still lock down the top two spots in the standings after strong starts to the season. Hamlin specifically used Reddick's history-making performances as some extra motivation on his way to his first 2026 win on Sunday.
Denny Hamlin used Tyler Reddick's success to his advantage
"It's been really good," Hamlin said when asked how he processes what the first month of the season has been during his post-race media availability, per NASCAR.com. "I mean, obviously, things have gone really well for me personally and the team.
"To win early in the season is always a really good thing, to have my cars going out there and winning three straight to start the season. I mean, those are all big momentum builders and so, it certainly helps me, and if anything, Tyler's wins fueled me to shake the tree and like, ok, let's get ours now."
Hamlin made it clear after Reddick won the third of those races consecutively at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) how impressed he has been by his driver's improvement and how complete of a driver he has become. It is hard for him not to be excited by his team's hot start to the season on the ownership side, but that success appears to have given him even more motivation as a driver.
Denny Hamlin responds after tumultuous offseason
Keep in mind, this is the same driver who came agonizingly close to his first Cup Series championship at Phoenix Raceway in November, only to fall victim to an ill-timed caution and come away empty-handed to Kyle Larson.
Then, there was the court battle with NASCAR, which, after 14 months, finally ended during the first month of the offseason, allowing Hamlin's focus to shift back to the race track. Shortly after that, Hamlin's father, Dennis, was killed in a house fire that also injured his mother, Mary Lou.
Understandably, Hamlin did not get off to the best start to 2026, with back-to-back finishes outside the top 10. However, he picked up a 10th place finish at COTA and followed that up with a fifth place showing at Phoenix Raceway. Now, he can add a win to that list, one that helped him surpass Kevin Harvick for 10th on the all-time list with 61.
Given Hamlin's career up to this point, a win so early in the season should not come as a surprise, even after the emotional offseason that he had. It does not appear that he has missed a beat as an owner or as a driver.
He experienced the thrill of victory for the first three weeks of the season as the 23XI Racing co-owner and has now rounded back into form as a driver. With some favorable tracks coming up and some clear speed in the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas, Hamlin may only be getting started.