Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch are two of the best NASCAR drivers of their era, both ranking in the top 11 all-time for Cup Series wins. On the latest episode of the Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin credited Bush for a huge development in his career.
During Busch’s appearance on the podcast, Hamlin talked about their time together as teammates with Joe Gibbs Racing. He specifically credited Busch for helping him improve at mile-and-a-half racetracks years ago.
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“One thing I absolutely have to give Kyle credit for. This is undisputed because I know because I went through it. He made me wayyyy better on the mile-hand-a-half racetracks. Watching him and understanding kinda how he approaches mile-and-a-halfs. That changed, mile-and-a-halfs were not my strong suit, they are actually my strong suit now.”
Denny Hamlin on Kyle Busch helping him at mile-and-a-half tracks
Hamlin, who currently has the 11th-most Cup Series wins in NASCAR history (56), has stated his career goal is to reach 60 victories and ideally surpass Kevin Harvick for 10th place. However, he might not’ve ever reached that total without what he learned from Bush about driving mile-and-a-half racetracks.
It wasn’t just watching Bush at the 1.5-mile tracks. Hamlin also recalled specific moments during testing at Charlotte Motor Speedway and at Chicagoland Speedway, where watching what Busch did and even getting in the No. 18 car for a test drive opened his eyes to changes he needed to make.
“I’ll never forget, there was a Charlotte test and I was just kinda watching him and, I don’t think he knows this, I said ‘I’m gonna drive it like him now.’ I got faster. Then I got in a test at Chicagoland, I actually got in his car, the 18 car. I said, I want to feel, he’s clearly got speed, I don’t at the time, let me see what he thinks is a good feeling car. I drove it and I was like, ‘Woah, it doesn’t even feel like it’s from the same manufacturer. This thing drives totally different.’ From that point forward, I just kinda changed the feel I wanted in my car, what I was looking for. I think I was sending my team down a path that just wasn’t as good. That really was an eye-opener for me and you absolutely made me better, for sure.”
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Busch was with Joe Gibbs Racing from 2008 to 2022. During that span, Hamlin won races at Charlotte, Kansas, Texas and Miami. He remains one of the top drivers on 1.5-mile tracks today, with that success helping him be one of just 15 drivers with 50-plus career Cup wins.
The two also credited one another for how they pushed each other to be more competitive, always trying to one-up each other on the track. It helped forge a strong relationship between two of the biggest names in the sport and helped two of the best NASCAR drivers keep improving.
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