Denny Hamlin’s no stranger to Bristol Motor Speedway’s chaos, having clawed his way to a gritty 4th-place finish in last year’s Night Race, navigating traffic with Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, and Bubba Wallace while Kyle Larson led 462 of 500 laps. His No. 11 Toyota stayed clean, showcasing the veteran’s mix of muscle and patience on the high-banked half-mile. But as the 2025 Bristol clash looms as the Round of 16 playoff cutoff, Hamlin is sounding the alarm about the track’s brutal demands on NASCAR’s Next Gen cars and drivers alike.

With five wins in 2025, tying him for the points lead, he’s a title favorite, but Bristol’s unforgiving nature could test even his championship mettle. Now, with elimination on the line, Hamlin warns that Bristol’s punishing demands could expose the very limits of NASCAR’s much-debated Next Gen formula.

Hamlin warns of Bristol’s toll on cars and drivers

Ahead of the 2025 Night Race, Hamlin got real with an interviewer about Bristol’s punishing environment, “It does you know we saw it when Next Gen was first introduced. This was one of the tracks where there was a lot of mechanical failures, mostly in the steering components and some in the suspension components. A lot of it is because you know the car loads up so quickly and so hardly at this track so it’s just um it always has taken its toll and I don’t think I don’t know how many races we’ve run here.”

He’s spot-on, Bristol’s 36-degree banking hammers Next Gen cars with extreme g-forces every corner. The 2022 Night Race was a wake-up call: power steering pumps overheated, sidelining Chase Briscoe, while Martin Truex Jr. and others battled issues. Suspension parts like toe links also crumbled under minor wall taps, with multiple DNFs piling up. The track’s relentless load exposed the Next Gen’s weak spots, and with 500 laps, even small flaws can spiral into race-enders.

He didn’t stop there, “But it always seems like there’s at least one that you know that the track or conditions is taking that toll on a car. But beyond that the driver as well. I mean I mean a thousand corners you gotta run around this place and you just don’t get a whole lot of break on the straightway because they are such short. So or sure it takes its toll on all the above.”

Bristol’s half-mile means roughly 2,000 corners in 500 laps, with short straightaways offering no breather. Dale Earnhardt Jr. once called it “mentally exhausting,” and Hamlin’s point echoes that, drivers face constant wheel work, traffic chaos, and cockpit heat topping 120°F. Past races bear this out: the 2023 dirt race saw over half the field hit with tire or steering woes, and Kurt Busch’s 2016 run ended early from wear.

The stakes are sky-high for Hamlin, sitting atop the points with five wins, including Gateway and Dover. Bristol’s attrition rate, think Larson’s 2020 mechanical DNF, makes it a minefield for the 16 playoff drivers. The track’s short straights amplify sustained g-loads, wearing drivers down and pushing cars to the brink. Hamlin’s seen it all in his 21-year career, and his caution about Bristol’s demands signals a real concern. The Next Gen’s fragility could decide who advances to the Round of 12 and who goes home.

Hamlin’s Bristol warning ties right into why Dale Earnhardt Jr. is rooting for him to finally snag that elusive Cup championship.

Dale Jr. backs Hamlin for a deserved title

On the Dale Jr. Download podcast, Earnhardt didn’t hold back, “If there’s any driver that has never won a NASCAR Cup championship but deserves to do so, it’s Denny Hamlin.” At 44, with his 45th birthday a week after the 2025 season ends, Hamlin’s defying Father Time.

“He’s at that age, at 44 years old, to where anybody with some sense would look at him and go, ‘Alright, when are we going to start to see it, right? When are we going to start to see Father Time catching up with him?’ But it ain’t happening. He’s getting better. He’s an anomaly,” Earnhardt said. Hamlin’s five 2025 wins and 59 career victories back that up, especially in a year where he’s outshone younger stars.

Earnhardt praised Hamlin’s adaptability, “He’s been able to do so with multiple crew chiefs, different race cars, and various generations of cars, yet always managed to succeed.” From the Gen-4 era to the Next Gen, Hamlin’s thrived through changing packages, crew chiefs, and rules, a testament to his mental sharpness. Earnhardt compared him to late-career winners like Harry Gant and Bobby Allison, who won into their 40s by staying sharp.

“I think it’s so impressive and he deserves to win a championship. He deserves to know what that feels like.” Earnhardt added that with Bristol’s demands threatening mechanical chaos, Hamlin’s ability to navigate the track’s toll, on both car and driver, could be his ticket to the Round of 12 and beyond. Earnhardt’s backing underscores why a title would cap Hamlin’s career, especially if he can conquer Bristol’s Next Gen-breaking challenges and cement his legacy in 2025.