Denny Hamlin Outlasts Field to Win FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway
Brooklyn,Michigan (June 8,2025)-By the time Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota coasted across the finish line and into Victory Lane at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, it had become clear: the FireKeepers Casino 400 was a battle not just of horsepower and handling, but of fuel strategy, patience, and late-race nerve.
With the grandstands full and the pressure mounting over the final 20 laps, Hamlin executed a calculated charge from 11th place to the front, managing his fuel to perfection. His third win of the 2025 season—and 57th of his Cup Series career—also marked a milestone for Joe Gibbs Racing, ending a Michigan winless streak dating back to 2015.
The victory came at the expense of race-long dominator William Byron, who led a race-high 98 laps in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. But while Byron was fast, he couldn’t stretch his final tank far enough. With just under two laps to go, the No. 24 sputtered and was forced to pit, handing the lead—and ultimately the win—to Hamlin.
“No, not really,” Hamlin said post-race when asked if he was worried about his own fuel status. “I just wanted to get the lead. Obviously, he [Byron] was doing a great job defending. But we were fast, and I knew if I got out front I could manage it.”
Indeed, Hamlin showed veteran poise, knowing when to attack and when to conserve. After grabbing the lead from Byron with four laps remaining, he had enough left in the tank to perform celebratory burnouts—though not quite enough to drive back to Victory Lane, where his car needed a tow after running dry.
The 44-year-old’s win in his 701st Cup Series start puts him in exclusive company—just the 10th driver in NASCAR history to earn a win after hitting the 700-start milestone. It also makes Hamlin the winningest driver in Joe Gibbs Racing history, breaking a tie with former teammate Kyle Busch.
The drama at Michigan wasn’t limited to the front of the field. Local favorite Carson Hocevar, driving the No. 77 for Spire Motorsports, was having a career day. The Michigan native led 32 laps late in the race and looked poised to claim his first Cup Series win in front of a hometown crowd. But a flat tire with 19 laps to go forced an unscheduled pit stop, ending his hopes. He finished a frustrating 29th.
“That one hurts,” Hocevar said. “We had the car. We had the position. Just bad luck.”
Byron, who inherited the lead after Hocevar’s misfortune, did everything he could to stretch the fuel, including defending his lead aggressively from Hamlin. The strategy didn’t pay off. As Hamlin surged, Byron was forced to abandon any hope of saving fuel, and the gamble unraveled with one and a half laps to go.
“We were going to run out, and we did,” Byron said. “We had a great car, but sometimes it’s just how the cautions fall and how much you have to burn when you’re leading. There’s not much you can do about it.”
Byron’s 28th-place result was a bitter pill considering his dominance throughout the day. It was his seventh stage win of the season after taking Stage 2, while Chris Buescher picked up his first stage victory of the year in Stage 1.
Buescher would ultimately finish second, continuing a solid season that now includes six top-10 finishes. The Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing driver sits 14th in the playoff standings, and while not in desperate need of a win, Sunday’s result gives the team much-needed momentum“We’re right there,” Buescher said. “That was a great run, we just needed a little more fuel or a little more time. Either way, proud of the effort.”
Behind him, Ty Gibbs came home third, his second top-five finish in three weeks. The second-year JGR driver continues to inch closer to playoff contention, needing a win to secure his place but showing pace that suggests he’s getting closer“We had a really fast Monster Energy Toyota Camry,” said Gibbs. “Wish we could’ve gotten the win, but the fuel strategy boxed us in. Still, this is a step forward.”
Bubba Wallace, co-driver for 23XI Racing—a team co-owned by Hamlin—finished fourth. Kyle Larson, who now sits 41 points behind Byron in the standings, rounded out the top five.
Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain took sixth, while rookie Zane Smith grabbed a season-best seventh for Front Row Motorsports. Rounding out the top ten were veterans Kyle Busch, Ryan Preece, and Brad Keselowski, giving RFK Racing the rare achievement of placing all three of its cars inside the top ten.
The race itself featured 13 lead changes among 11 different drivers and was interrupted by seven cautions for a total of 33 laps. A red flag stopped the race for nearly 12 minutes in Stage 2 after a multi-car crash sent Alex Bowman’s No. 48 into the wall. Bowman, who has struggled to find consistency this season, was evaluated and released from the infield care center. It was his seventh finish of 25th or worse in the last nine races—leaving his playoff hopes in jeopardy.
Other notable incidents included Nashville winner Ryan Blaney making contact with the wall late in the race, relegating him to a 32nd-place finish. Carson Hocevar’s late-race heartbreak and Byron’s fuel miscalculation were emblematic of how cruel fuel-mileage races can be.
As the dust settles from Michigan, the Cup Series is set to make history next weekend with its first international points race, the Viva Mexico 250 at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. With 11 races remaining before the playoffs, the standings are tightening. Nine drivers have wins so far this season, and Austin Cindric currently clings to the 16th and final playoff spot.
But for now, it’s Denny Hamlin’s moment.
“We’ve been fast all year,” Hamlin said. “We just haven’t been able to put it all together. Today, we did. And it feels good to finally win one here again.”
Fast, calculated, and unshakable under pressure—Hamlin showed why he remains one of the most formidable forces in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Race Notes:
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Average Speed: 142.574 mph
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Time of Race: 2 hours, 48 minutes, 20 seconds
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Margin of Victory: 1.099 seconds
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Cautions: 7 for 33 laps
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Lead Changes: 13 among 11 drivers
Top 10 Finishers:
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Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
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Chris Buescher (Ford)
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Ty Gibbs (Toyota)
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Bubba Wallace (Toyota)
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Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)
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Ross Chastain (Chevrolet)
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Zane Smith (Ford)
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Kyle Busch (Chevrolet)
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Ryan Preece (Ford)
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Brad Keselowski (Ford)
Next up: NASCAR heads to Mexico City for a historic showdown on foreign soil. But in Michigan, it was Denny Hamlin who proved once again that experience, strategy, and just a bit of gas can go a long way.