On Sunday, Denny Hamlin could add another feather to his already illustrious career and legacy. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver would start the race at Martinsville from the pole. And if he manages to finish it in that spot as well, he’d be one step closer to naming another record for himself.

Denny Hamlin expecting to feel high horsepower effects on Sunday

Hamlin, a six-time winner at Martinsville (2008, 2009, 2010, 2010, 2015, 2025), is one win away from matching Rusty Wallace’s track record (7 wins) at Martinsville. To achieve that, he has done what he needed to do on Saturday, which was to win the pole. Speaking after winning the pole, he reflected on how good his car was and how he did what he was hoping to do on the track.

“I was hoping to get somewhere in that top eight for qualifying. But just, really concentrated on hitting my marks, doing what I needed to do. They did a great job with the adjustments, and certainly that’s going to be a great place to start,” he claimed.

Following this, the reporter asked Hamlin if the new high-horsepower package would change anything at the track.

Last year, NASCAR announced that road courses and oval tracks less than 1.5 miles would get a bump in horsepower packages, from 670 to 750 hp. While this announcement excited fans and purists alike, its results have been less than what was expected. For instance, ahead of last Sunday’s race at Darlington, many drivers, including Denny Hamlin, expected carnage during the race, given the high power, low downforce, and the general nature of the track. But nothing spectacular happened in the race, which made many wonder if the new package led to any significant changes at all.

However, Denny Hamlin was hopeful that the high-horsepower package would lead to some interesting scenes at Martinsville. “It will change some things. I certainly felt like, in practice, that you had to be very sensitive to your inputs. There’s going to be good handling cars, there’s going to be bad. When you get to the back of the bad-handling cars, are you good enough and versatile enough to get around them? That’s really going to be the difference,” he explained.

Should Hamlin manage to capitalize on his pole position to win a seventh, record-equaling race at Martinsville, he’d edge one step closer to where he thinks he’ll end his career on the win list.

Hamlin has a specific number of win total target for his Cup career

After his win at Las Vegas earlier this season, Denny Hamlin took his win tally to 61 on the all-time winners’ list. He is currently ranked 10th on that list, sitting behind his former teammate Kyle Busch (63 wins).

But with his latest admission on when he wants to call time on his career, Denny Hamlin also weighed in on the number of wins he’ll end up with before he retires.

“I thought that realistically it was… I think … I don’t know … I’m going to fall at 67. That’s where I think it ends more than likely. And then the next year, more than likely 67. That’s just by the numbers. That’s not any, ‘Oh, I feel this, I feel that.’ That’s just where the numbers land, averaging what I average,” he claimed.

Hamlin, currently at 61, having a target of 67, would mean that if he were to retire at the end of 2027, he’d have to win six more races between this season and the next. The last time he won 3 races or more in a year was last year and the year before that as well.

Therefore, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to assume that Denny Hamlin could end up with his desired number of wins for his career at the end of 2027, if not more than that.