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HAMLIN PREVAILS IN THRILLING 1-2-3 FINISH FOR TOYOTA AT NASHVILLE
Toyota Claims First NASCAR Cup Win at Nashville, Places Five Camry XSE’s inside Top 11
LEBANON, Tenn. (May 31, 2026) – Denny Hamlin prevailed in a three-way
Joe Gibbs Racing battle during the closing laps of Sunday night’s
NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway.
Toyota drivers led 145 of the race’s 300 laps, but a late caution
reset the field and set up a dramatic finish. Hamlin and teammate
Christopher Bell raced side-by-side for most of the final four laps,
while fellow Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe made it a three-wide
battle as the trio took the white flag. Hamlin ultimately cleared both
competitors and secured his 62nd career Cup Series victory.
Toyota drivers were a constant presence near the front of the field.
Bell finished second, followed by Briscoe in third. Tyler Reddick of
23XI Racing placed sixth, while Erik Jones of LEGACY MOTOR CLUB finished
11th.
Reddick continues to lead the Cup Series standings, but Hamlin narrowed
the gap with Sunday’s victory and now trails by 97 points.
TOYOTA RACING Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Nashville Superspeedway
Race 14 of 36 – 399 miles, 300 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st,_ _DENNY HAMLIN
2nd, CHRISTOPHER BELL
3rd, CHASE BRISCOE
_4th, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.*_
_5th, Shane Van Gisbergen*_
6th, TYLER REDDICK
11th, ERIK JONES
13th, TY GIBBS
17th, RILEY HERBST
24th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
25th, COREY HEIM
32nd, BUBBA WALLACE
_*non-Toyota driver _
TOYOTA QUOTES
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Progressive Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
_Question?_
What a finish between you and your JGR teammates. How did you pull it
off in those final laps?
“Well, I think the 20 and the 19 were battling so hard on the first
corner, just let me get to the inside of the 20 on the first corner
there on the restart. From there, side by side with the 20. He drove in
so deep on that last lap into 1, but it allowed me to barely clear off
of (turn) 2. Man, what an unbelievable day – starting first, going to
last, and back to first.”
How did you know that you needed the patience to get through this entire
race after jumping the start?
“I definitely jumped the start, no doubt about that. Yeah, just
looking back on it, just didn’t wait quite long enough. I want to say hi
to Mari and Trish from Progressive, this whole team, Sport Clips.
Martha’s retiring. Happy retirement to Martha. Toyota, Jordan Brand,
Yahoo, National Debt Relief, King’s Hawaiian, Bob’s Discount Furniture,
just thanks to all the sponsors I’ve got. It’s been amazing. Thank you
to the sellout crowd. I appreciate you all sticking around. It’s been an
honor.”
How does it feel to be the first Toyota driver in the Cup Series to win
at Nashville?
“It’s amazing.”
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 DeWalt Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
_What was the last lap like from your perspective?_
“It was great racing. I hope the fans enjoyed that, it was a great
show. I’m just disappointed in myself and disappointed in my team.
They brought a great racecar and I didn’t get the job done.”
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd
_What opportunity did you have to win the race with Denny and
Christopher?_
“I kept trying to — we were running side by side. I kept trying to
back up my entries to get a big run and take it three wide. They kept
running each other up the racetrack, so I kept trying to hit the bottom.
Denny went to the apron. I was going to go three wide to the bottom
because I knew, if I hit the bottom, they were all going to run up. He
covered it, so then I went to the top and was able to get to
Christopher’s right rear. We were all driving so deep that we slide up
the racetrack. I was in no man’s land after that. Hate that we weren’t
on the better end of it. We had a really, really good Bass Pro Shops
Tracker Toyota, just felt like it was certainly capable of winning,
ended up third. Great day for JGR, went one, two, three. Wish we were
the ones in first.”
_ _
_Where is the speed coming from at JGR?_
“All the incredible people at Joe Gibbs Racing and the resources we
have at Toyota and TRD. Just very blessed and fortunate to get to drive
this thing. It’s a lot of fun going to the racetrack at the Cup level
knowing you can win any given weekend. Hoping we can keep it rolling and
end up on the better end of one of these.”
BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 Hardee’s Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 31st
_What happened that put you out of the race?_
“Minding our own business again. Another week our team doesn’t get
the finish they deserve. I’m tired, man. It’s hard to be in the same
boat constantly every week. You got to figure out how to put it behind
you and show up. I somehow become the bad guy the days following this,
but I got to figure out how to be better and learn from it. It’s
really hard when you are driving your best and trying to just make
progress throughout the race and you get wiped out. On to Michigan.”
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