Denny Hamlin reflects on what 60 NASCAR Cup Series wins means to him: 'Never know when it's your last one'

Denny Hamlin officially placed himself amongst the greats in NASCAR history after his win in Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. His 60th Cup Series victory tied him with Kevin Harvick for 10th on the all-time wins list.

Hamlin was emotional after the race, spotted wiping tears away from his eyes after crossing the start/finish line. He nearly broke down entirely when speaking to Marty Snider of NBC Sports on the frontstretch. From the declining health of his father Dennis to the emotions of capturing win No. 60, Hamlin had a lot on his mind in that moment.

As for 60, Hamlin now shares space on a list which includes drivers such as Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and Jeff Gordon — giants of the sport. Hamlin sees one name on that list that sticks out the most — his own.

“On NASCAR’s social post, and it was like win No. 1, the ticker went to like win No. 27, like the 2016 Daytona 500 was win No. 27? How have we won so many races in the last nine years? Like, that’s a lot. We’re now at 60 and 2016 Daytona 500 was No. 27. I mean, we’ve gotten hot lately, and they rack up quickly,” Hamlin said on Monday’s Actions Detrimental podcast. “It’s crazy because as a driver and we expect to win so much, you feel like if we go four or five weeks without winning, it feels like a frickin’ eternity. But it’s hard to win, and if you can average three-and-a-half, four wins a year, they just tally up really quickly.

“For me, personally, what does it mean? I still feel like when I look at the names of the list that I’m now a part of, the top 10, I feel like my name does stick out as not one of the greats of the sport. I see the names, and these are the legends of the sport. These are the people who grew the sport, the best of the best. Lots of them are guys I raced against in my era, so I knew how good they were. It’s just very gratifying that I was able to still race at a high level this long into my career. Like, year 20 is just as strong as year one or year five when you’re kind of at your peak. That’s what’s gratifying is just how long we’ve been able to be successful at it.”

Denny Hamlin is missing just one thing on NASCAR resume

Make no mistake, Hamlin is an all-time great — championship or not. And after winning at Las Vegas, Hamlin will race for a championship next month at Phoenix Raceway.

Hamlin is 44 years old and knows he doesn’t have much time left behind the wheel of a race car. But Hamlin is as sharp as ever; he doesn’t see that light switch turning off any time soon.

“I say all the time, the light switch is gonna go off eventually. You just never know when it’s your last one and maybe this is the last one. We just never know,” Hamlin said. “But man, I don’t feel it. After those last 10 laps, my confidence is really, really high that it ain’t going away any time soon.”