Denny Hamlin chose a fitting way to celebrate after scoring his 63rd career NASCAR Cup Series win. He took extensive time to honor his former teammate, Kyle Busch, who passed away on May 21 at the age of 41.
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Hamlin, who went from last to first on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway, crossed the finish line 11.11 seconds ahead of Erik Jones in second place. He then said "We love you, KB" over the radio before pulling to the apron, where a crew member handed him a special flag featuring the number 18.
This flag had Hamlin's font for the "1" and Busch's stylized font for the "8." It also had Busch's autograph on the bottom, which fans saw as Hamlin circled the track. He then performed a massive burnout while continuing to hold onto the tribute flag.
The Prime Video broadcast team remained silent for this entire time while letting Hamlin perform the tribute.
For Kyle. pic.twitter.com/wsRpizRtfh
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 7, 2026
Once the veteran driver finished the in-car portion of the celebration, he climbed out of the window and headed to collect the checkered flag. He continued to hold this tribute flag in his hand as he conducted his post-win interview with Prime Video pit reporter Trevor Bayne.
"I mean, the off-season, it was rough for me, it was rough for the NASCAR family, we lost a lot of people," said Hamlin, whose father passed away in December after a house fire.
"This week we lost Gentleman Ned (Jarrett), the original badass of the 11. We're still thinking of Kyle, Samantha, Brexton, Lennix.
"You know, 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."
Hamlin and Busch spent 15 years together at Joe Gibbs Racing. They battled each other for wins countless times, but they also pointed to each other as important reasons for their success.
This win was not simply another trophy for Hamlin, who continues to produce deep into his 40s. This race at Michigan marked the 63rd time that he won at NASCAR's top level. It put him into a tie with Busch for the ninth-most wins in Cup Series history.
This win also marked the second consecutive week when Hamlin won the pole in qualifying but went back to the rear of the field at the start.
Last weekend at Nashville Superspeedway, he received a penalty for jumping the start of the race, so he dropped to the back in the opening laps. He then went out and won after leading 57 laps.
