Kyle Busch, a fellow driver, was recently interviewed by Denny Hamlin for his Actions Detrimental podcast. When asked why he doesn’t want Busch to win so many races, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver responded. According to him, he hopes to be among the top 10 drivers in NASCAR’s all-time win list. Known for his aggressive driving style, outspoken nature, and record-breaking accomplishments, Busch is one of NASCAR’s most decorated racers. He has won two Cup Series titles, in 2015 and 2019. Busch has 67 Truck Series victories, 102 Xfinity Series victories, and 63 Cup Series victories as of 2025. Denny Hamlin gave an explanation of why he didn’t want Kyle Busch to win a lot more races.
“I would have exceeded my goals because my goal was to get to 60,” he said when discussing his desire to surpass Busch on the all-time victories list. There are others who will go by, perhaps both of us. Yes, Larson is on his way. If Logano wins, say, three races a year on average, he has a shot. It’s more difficult than it seems. I would be thrilled to place among the top ten winners. “I simply believe it’s going to be difficult if we continue to run next-generation cars for people to win that many races,” Kyle Busch continued. The other problem is that you’re unlikely to win multiples every year if you’re not Gibbs, Hendrick, or Penske. In May 2025, Denny Hamlin has 56 Cup Series wins. He entered the 2025 season on the back of a strong 2024 season where he finished eighth in the final standings with three wins.
With two victories, five top-five finishes, and six top-ten finishes, he is now positioned seventh in the standings.
Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch reiterate NASCAR’s troublesome solution
The current Next Gen Cup cars’ composite bodies have drawn harsh criticism from Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, who blame them for the more aggressive and contact-heavy racing that has been observed in recent seasons. The durability of composite body panels, according to both drivers on the Actions Detrimental podcast, encourages drivers to be less cautious because automobiles can survive more contact without experiencing a substantial reduction in performance.
“We all have terrible driving skills. The composite bodies are the cause. That’s what it is. We all just rely on the idea that the body would simply pop back out and everything will be okay, so everyone just bumps into each other, goes over each other, hits everyone, and crashes the wall,” Busch stated on the podcast (1:05:39 onward). Drivers now frequently “run into everybody” because they know the car’s body would “just pop back out” in contrast to the older steel-bodied cars that penalized even little contact with bent fenders and destroyed aerodynamics, Busch remarked, citing his catastrophic incident at Kansas Speedway.
