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Hamlin Talks Brickyard Dream, Dale Jr. Picks Playoff Dark Horse and More

Welcome to Hoot in the Oval — your all-access pass to everything NASCAR. From Denny’s clutch finishes to Ross’s wild moves, Chase Elliott fandom to Bubba’s bold takes — we’ve got the stories that fuel the track and the timeline. Fast, loud, unfiltered. Buckle up, y’all. 🏁

The latest edition of our newsletter covers :

  • Hamlin talks about making his Brickyard dream a reality

  • Dale Earnhardt Jr. names his dark horse for the playoffs

  • Denny Hamlin on Joey Logano

  • Ryan Blaney is happy NASCAR is sticking with Bowman Gray

🏁Inside the Oval

Denny Hamlin Admits Fulfilling Brickyard Dream is a Tall Order, and His Record Proves That

James Dennis Alan Hamlin, aka Denny Hamlin, is in the midst of one of the best seasons of his NASCAR Cup career.

At the age of 44, he is the oldest active full-time driver in NASCAR’s premier series. And Hamlin is driving like he’s in his prime, leading all drivers with a season-high four wins (and now 58 in his career). He may finally end this season with his first-ever Cup championship.

Among those 58 wins, the Virginia native has three in the sport’s biggest race, the Daytona 500. He also has seven wins at Pocono, two wins at Talladega, five victories at his native Richmond, six wins across the state at Martinsville, five at Darlington, and four at Bristol.

But he has never won at the oldest (and most iconic) racetrack on the Cup circuit: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

In the midst of one of his best seasons ever, what better way to put an exclamation mark on the 2025 campaign, short of winning the championship, than to finally win the Brickyard 400.

Rumor has it that Hamlin already has an empty space in his massive trophy case, just waiting to put the Brickyard winner’s hardware there.

Will this finally be the year he fills that vacant space? Hamlin admits it won’t be easy, but he’s also never been more motivated than he is now.

“I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to go back-to-back [wins] so bad,” said Hamlin, who won this past Sunday at Dover and hopes to make it 2-for-2 at Indy. “That’s a track that I’ve come so freaking close to winning. And I just want to cross off all the major racetracks on our schedule.”

In a sense, Indy is to Hamlin what Daytona was to the late Dale Earnhardt. Sunday will be the 20th time (17 on the actual IMS oval and three times on the road course) that Hamlin has taken the green flag at the massive 2.5-mile oval in the heart of Indiana. Incidentally, Earnhardt finally won the Daytona 500 in his 20th start.

Could lightning or at least coincidence finally strike in Hamlin’s favor on Sunday?

To date, his best finish at Indy has been third place, done three times (2008, 2014, and 2018). He knows the mountain that stands in front of him, but he’s ready to climb to its peak on Sunday.

“It’s going to be hard,” Hamlin admitted. “We’re going to have to qualify well. There are just so many things that are going to have to go really well for us to win that race. (I’m) highly, highly, highly motivated.”

🏁Insider Take

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Claims Chase Briscoe Is the Biggest Dark Horse Heading Into the NASCAR Playoffs

Dale Earnhardt Jr. loves to make predictions. And in this week’s Dale Jr. Download podcast, he made a massive one.

When asked to name his dark horse in the NASCAR Cup playoffs, Junior didn’t even hesitate. His pick: Chase Briscoe. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has definitely impressed Earnhardt this year.

Briscoe is in his first season with JGR after a moderately successful four-year run with Stewart-Haas Racing, which closed up shop at the end of last season. And moving to JGR has revitalized his career.

He comes into Sunday’s Brickyard 400 sitting seventh in the Cup standings, with one win, eight top-five and 10 top-10 finishes, along with four poles. That’s Briscoe’s best performance ever in the Cup Series – and there’s still 15 races, including 10 playoff events, to go.

“We're all impressed with Briscoe,” Earnhardt said on his podcast. “Another great result [Briscoe has finished runner-up in the last two races at Sonoma and Dover]. He benefited from a lot of things that happened late in the (Dover) race to be able to gain a little bit of track position, but he did have a great car running a top 10, top five throughout the day.”

Briscoe took a bit of time to get used to his new team and new crew chief, James Small. But since winning the pole and finishing third in the grueling Coca-Cola 600, Briscoe’s comfort level and performance with JGR have definitely taken several steps forward.

“Since sometime around the 600, he's been qualifying really good and he seems to have figured out how to take advantage of the tools that this 19 car has,” Earnhardt said. “And the other thing that I like about Briscoe is he always seems to come on late, and especially in the playoffs, he overachieves.” 

Dale Jr., by expressing his opinion and praising Briscoe, is warning the rest of the Cup drivers. “I'm not sure that anyone else is really ready to make this claim, but I’m feeling like Briscoe, to me, might be pretty dangerous [in the playoffs],” Junior said.

“I think Briscoe is the kind of guy that could get in there and cause some headaches for some of the drivers that we feel like will be the contenders in this playoff system.”

🏁 Trackside Trivia
(One stat. One year. Every edition.)

1990: The Race That Had Zero Lead Changes

The 1990 DieHard 500 at Talladega Superspeedway holds a bizarre NASCAR record: Zero official lead changes over the entire 188-lap, 500-mile race.

Dale Earnhardt started from the pole and led all 188 laps, flag to flag — the only time this has ever happened at a superspeedway race in modern NASCAR history.
Even with Talladega’s reputation for wild lead swaps and pack racing, no one officially passed him at the start/finish line for the lead.

While others briefly got ahead mid-lap, NASCAR only counts lead changes at the start/finish line, so the record books still show a big, round zero.

It was the last Cup race with no lead changes — and likely the last we'll ever see.

🗣️ Pit Politics

Did Denny Hamlin Take a Shot at Joey Logano With "Most Legitimate" Achievement Comment?

Denny Hamlin has never shied away from offering strong opinions on his Actions Detrimental podcast. But his recent comments about what defines a "legitimate" championship in NASCAR may have had a secondary target — reigning champion Joey Logano.

While praising Tyler Reddick’s 2024 regular-season title with 23XI Racing, Hamlin described it as one of the most credible achievements in the sport. “There’s been no flukes, been no accidental winners. It’s the biggest sample size we have in the sport, so that’s why I think it’s the most legitimate,” he said.

The timing of that statement raises eyebrows. Logano’s 2024 title came after a rocky season and a mix of circumstantial advantages (it was Alex Bowman’s Roval disqualification that helped Logano advance in the Playoffs). Of course, he also had a late surge in form. To critics, that only reinforced long-standing concerns about NASCAR’s Playoff system rewarding short-term outcomes over season-long consistency.

Hamlin didn’t name anyone, but his framing of "accidental winners" and the value of the regular season echoes those critiques.

Whether intentional or not, Hamlin’s remarks reignite a familiar debate: in modern NASCAR, what kind of championship truly reflects greatness?

🎙️ Hoot’s Radio Chatter

Ryan Blaney Lauds NASCAR for Sticking With Bowman Gray for the Clash in 2026

Ryan Blaney has praised NASCAR’s decision to hold the 2026 Clash at the Bowman Gray Stadium, calling it a win for both fans and the local community.

The historic quarter-mile oval in Winston-Salem, North Carolina — famously nicknamed “The Madhouse” — hosted the exhibition race in 2025 after a three-year run at the LA Coliseum. With a sold-out crowd and throwback racing that thrilled purists, the event was widely regarded as a success.

Blaney, who finished second in the 2025 Clash, was enthusiastic about the venue’s return. “I’m excited. It’s going back to Winston-Salem. Growing up around that area meant a lot to me… I saw a lot of people that I grew up with that came out to that race,” he said.

Beyond personal ties, the Team Penske driver emphasized the track’s impact on the sport: “I thought it put on a great show. I like that we were there with the mods… I don’t really think I would change much about it.”

Bowman Gray’s compact layout brings fans closer to the action than most modern tracks, a quality Blaney believes adds to the experience. “I’m happy that Bowman Gray got another shot at it,” he added. “It put on a great event.”

For NASCAR and drivers alike, Bowman Gray’s return reflects a deeper appreciation for short-track tradition — and a promising direction for future Clash events.

🏁 Lap Back in Time: NASCAR Stat of the Year
(One stat. One year. Every edition.)

1984: Terry Labonte’s Ironman Consistency Begins

In 1984, Terry Labonte didn’t lead the series in wins, poles, or laps led. But he did start something no one saw coming: A streak of 655 consecutive NASCAR Cup Series starts, a record that would stand for over a decade.

It began quietly at the 1984 Daytona 500 and didn’t end until 2000. Yes, the streak spanned over 16 years without missing a single race, navigating through injuries, team changes, and the evolution of the sport itself.

That year, Labonte completed over 96% of all laps — a consistency benchmark that foreshadowed his 'Ironman' nickname long before it became official.