NASCAR racing isn’t all the same. Each track has its own secrets that drivers need to unravel in order to be successful. Superspeedways are considered among the most difficult, and Denny Hamlin proved that in 2022. He showed he knows all the trade secrets with his beautiful drive in Charlotte.

The tale of superspeedways and the difficulties drivers have in navigating these tracks is well known. RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. might be a name most might not be well-versed with – the Winston brand of cigarettes is owned by the company. They began the Winston Million in 1984.

Denny Hamlin completes the Slam

The challenge was to win 3 of the Big Four races in the same season – those are the Daytona 500, the Winston 500 (at Talladega), the Coca-Cola 600 (at Charlotte), and the Southern 500 (at Darlington). Since its inception, only two drivers have attained the feat.

Apart from being known as the Winston Million, these four races also constitute the Grand Slam of NASCAR. Any driver who has won these 4 races at least once in their career is known to have completed the Slam.

Until 2022, only 9 drivers had won the Career Grand Slam. The list of winners contained the most elite of NASCAR’s elite, viz. Jeff Gordon, Bobby Allison, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Jimmie Johnson, and the like.

But there was one driver who remained on the cusp of getting there. He had three of the four, having won in Daytona, Talladega, and Darlington. That man was Denny Hamlin. But finally, Hamlin got the last piece of the puzzle with his win in Charlotte in 2022.

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Hamlin is no doubt one of the greatest drivers of NASCAR, but his win at the 600 only made it sweeter by giving him what he deserved.

Fans believe all this doesn’t matter

Hamlin has had an illustrious career, having completed 18 years in the Cup Series. NASCAR felt the Coca-Cola 600 victory was a jewel that still remained absent in Hamlin’s crown.

But fans were quick to remind them that Hamlin is yet to win the biggest trophy of it all – the one everyone is fighting for.

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The victory in Charlotte would definitely have felt good for the JGR driver, but he will still be looking to find that final piece of the puzzle – the crowning jewel of his racing career. Do you think he can have that swansong in 2023?