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After Denny Hamlin won the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, June 7, he took time to remember late NASCAR legend Kyle Busch.
“We love you, KB,” Hamlin, 45, said over the radio during his victory lap. He also displayed a black flag with Busch’s No. 18 on it after getting out of his car and celebrating the win.
Hamlin’s victory gave him 63 in his Cup Series career, tying him for ninth all-time with Busch, who died suddenly on May 21. A death certificate obtained by Us Weekly revealed Busch died from a “chain of events” that began with pneumonia and progressed into sepsis, leading to fatal complications.
During Hamlin’s post-race press conference, he opened up about what the win meant to him, just weeks after Busch’s death.
The extended NASCAR community has spoken out in the wake of racing legend Kyle Busch’s death. The athlete died at age 41 on Thursday, May 21, following a “severe illness,” according to a statement released on behalf of the Busch family, Richard Childress Racing and NASCAR. “Our entire NASCAR family is heartbroken by the loss […]
“It’s a special one, no doubt about it, special for a lot of reasons,” he said.
Hamlin also touched on the difficulties he and the NASCAR community has endured over the past few months. In addition to Busch’s death, former NASCAR Cup Series winner Ned Jarrett died on Thursday, June 4 at age 93. Before that, former driver Greg Biffle and his family died in a December 2025 plane crash. Hamlin himself dealt with personal tragedy in December, when his father died from injuries sustained in a house fire.
Denny Hamlin
Photo by Brett Farmer/Getty Images“The offseason, you know, it was rough for me. It was rough for the NASCAR family,” he said.
Hamlin continued, mentioning the family that Busch left behind.
“We lost a lot of people,” he said. “This week we lost ‘Gentleman’ Ned [Jarrett]you know, the original bad*** of the 11. We’re still thinking of Kyle, Samantha, Brexton, Lennix.”
Hamlin returned to racing shortly after his father’s death, capturing his first win since the tragedy at the Penzoil 400 in March. His mom, Mary Lou Hamlinfiancée, Jordan Fishand three kids were all there to celebrate with him.
Mary Lou, 69, who was also injured in the fire, was heard yelling, “That’s my boy!” as she celebrated with her son.
“Ultimately, I’m still a competitor,” Denny said at the time. “Everyone has to go through the grieving process. There were a lot of different things throughout the offseason that were really tough.”
The late Kyle Busch’s 11-year-old son, Brexton, shared a heartbreaking tribute to the NASCAR legend one day after his death at age 41. On Friday, May 22, Brexton changed his profile photo on both Instagram and Facebook to a shot of his dad hugging him on a racetrack. The powerful picture was taken moments after […]
He added, “The thrill of going out there and getting more wins. That, to me, is what drives me and makes me work as hard as I do at this. Everyone goes through tragedies and stuff, but it doesn’t change who I am — and that’s a competitor that loves to go out there. This is my life’s work.”
In the moments after the win, Denny turned his attention to his family.
“I mean, this is a family sport. My family obviously had so much sacrifice to help me get here,” Hamlin said after climbing out of his car. “Now that I’ve grown, generations of Hamlins (are) following me. It’s great Mom gets to see this.”
