Denny Hamlin Seemingly Throws Shade At Joey Logano After Winning NASCAR Cup Series Race At WWT Raceway

I guess you’ve earned the right to talk a little smack after a win.

Denny Hamlin is the oldest full-time driver in the NASCAR Cup Series at 44 years old (he’ll be 45 later this year), but he’s clearly still at the top of his game and having maybe his best season ever in his 20-year Cup Series career.

Hamlin notched his 5th win of the 2025 season yesterday at WWT Raceway in St. Louis, the most of any driver in NASCAR’s top series. He also secured his spot in the next round of the playoffs, which starts in two weeks at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. And there’s no doubt that he’s a favorite to take home his elusive first Cup Series championship this year.

Despite his 59 wins placing him at 11th all time, Hamlin has yet to win the trophy at the end of the season. And he’s no doubt anxious to check that box off on his resume before he retires in the not-so-distant future – if for no other reason than so people will stop asking him about having never won a championship.

In fact, during his press conference after yesterday’s win, Hamlin was once again asked about not having a championship on his resume, and the driver opened up on his future in the Cup Series and whether he has to win a title to consider his career a success:

“I want to be able to win my last race, and to do that I’m going to have to retire when I’m racing like this…

Just knowing that I’ve put a timeline on the end, that to me has been the #1 factor. I talked to [Kevin] Harvick the other day, and I knew exactly how many races were left, and it’s like, the countdown has begun. And I just don’t want to end knowing, ‘Man, those last 70 races, I didn’t really give it my all.'”

Hamlin confirms that when he says he has 70 races left, he’s referring to the end of his next two year contract, which means he’s planning on hanging it up at the end of the 2027 season. (It’s technically 80 races, since there are 8 remaining this year and 36 races in 2026 and 2027).

But Hamlin also seemed to throw some cold water on the talk that a lack of a championship would mean anything when it comes to evaluating his career after it’s done, saying that he’s more focused on number of wins than number of championships – and appeared to take a shot at longtime rival Joey Logano in the process:

“It’s always been about number of races… Obviously it’s well documented that I want to get the wins, and I feel like that will carry its weight long after.

When you compare me to someone that’s maybe got one or two, maybe even three championships, and half the wins, I don’t think that that person’s better than I am.”

Who could he be referring to with that last part? Well Logano has won three championships during his 18 years in the Cup Series, but only has 37 wins compared to Denny’s 59. And it’s well known that Hamlin isn’t exactly a fan of Logano, so naturally many assumed that he was throwing shade at the driver of the #22 car:

pic.twitter.com/H7EHjhisjb

— Quadfeed (@FeelsTimmyMan) September 8, 2025

Hamlin to Joey Logano pic.twitter.com/8lCX2Vu5Fy

— Is That Jones Boi (@IsThatJonesBoi) September 8, 2025

Oh we know… Not the first time & he’s not wrong (in either case)… pic.twitter.com/d9z0dqwCAw

— AP (@APerrella96) September 8, 2025

(If you’ve seen the video, you can already hear that last gif).

Of course Joey is also nearly 10 years younger than Denny, so he likely has more time in the Cup Series left to catch up to Denny in wins. But Denny has only been full-time in the Cup Series for 3 more years than Joey. And when Denny was at the same number of years in the series as Joey is right now, he was already at 48 wins – which is 11 more than Joey has at the same point in his career.

Joey may well catch Denny in wins, but it will likely take him longer behind the wheel, so that seems to be Denny’s point when it comes to evaluating each driver: Look at the wins, and not necessarily just the championships (or lack thereof).The post Denny Hamlin Seemingly Throws Shade At Joey Logano After Winning NASCAR Cup Series Race At WWT Raceway first appeared on Whiskey Riff.