Denny Hamlin reacts to winning in Carl Edwards throwback paint scheme at Darlington

Denny Hamlin has been on top of the world in the NASCAR Cup Series over the last two weeks. He dominated in his home state of Virginia at Martinsville, and then he followed that up with another victory at Darlington this past Sunday.

The latter win was special for a myriad of reasons. It’s always difficult to win two races in a row in NASCAR, but Hamlin got the job done while repping Carl Edwards during throwback weekend at Darlington. That meant a lot of Hamlin, and he spoke about honoring his former teammate during the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast.

“He mentioned, actually before the race, ‘Don’t go winning this race, I don’t want to have to do any backflips.’ I was super proud to represent Carl and that paint scheme,” Hamlin stated. “Certainly, got to know him as teammates, and certainly, really a role model off the race track. Listening to his life experience, if you haven’t checked out his interview on the Dale Jr Download, it’s absolutely fantastic. Just kind of on his whole perspective on this thing, and why he chose to step away.

“I, for the longest time, was a big conspiracy theorist on why he left. I mean, I was certain that he was going back to Ford. That’s what I felt was happening. He just left to then sit out for a year, that way his contract would expire, and then boom, he’s going to go back to Ford. But he had other things in mind. It’s a great story to hear. He certainly was not pleased with the end of that last race he was in. You know, how that all went down. He made the best choice for himself, his physical health and his family. It’s just — it’s really to be admired.”

At the moment, Hamlin and Edwards are in a unique group of drivers, as some of the top wheelmen never to win a Cup Series title. Still, Hamlin believes fans and drivers alike will look back on Edwards’ career and recognizes how phenomenal of a driver he was, as more time passes since his retirement.

“You don’t appreciate people until they’re gone. That’s typically the way it works in this sport,” Hamlin added. “Jimmie [Johnson’s] kind of still here, but when he really, truly hangs it up and stops and we’re — 10 years from now, 15 years now, we’re going to be in awe of like, what this guy accomplished. I think it’s the same with Carl.

“Carl was so raw talented. I mean, he was able to drive cars that I wasn’t able to drive, or Kyle Busch wasn’t able to drive. He was always kind of on an island with his car setups and the things that he liked, and he could make that work. It was amazing to see. When you’re in the moment and you’re in the time, you just don’t appreciate it like you do in retrospect years later down the road.”

All told, Denny Hamlin’s chase for win No. 60 will be something to behold, and he’s elated he received a chance to honor Carl Edwards in Victory Lane on his way towards the mark. The veteran wheelman made his former teammate proud, and now he’ll be looking to make it three in a row at Bristol this coming weekend.