When the Nashville festivities started, Denny Hamlin got a thumbs-down from fans. The Joe Gibbs Racing veteran, about to become a father again, got a stream of boos during driver Introductions. Well, he is aware of his villain role in NASCAR ever since Kyle Busch renounced that role, and Hamlin has also said, “I somewhat find it fun.” However, leading a race for the second most laps and getting the fastest lap only to finish third is not something Hamlin would be too fond of.

Denny Hamlin led for 79 laps at the Cracker Barrel 400 and collected the first stage victory. However, the tables turned as a stronger car was out on the field – the No. 12 Team Penske Ford of Ryan Blaney, and his efforts pleased the fans at Nashville, Tennessee.

Ryan Blaney punches his ticket in pomp

The 2023 Cup Series champion qualified in 15th for the Cracker Barrel 400. But don’t bother with the average qualifying spot, as Ryan Blaney displayed solid signs during the race. On Lap 58, Blaney recorded a 30.30-second lap while Chase Briscoe, who was a strong contender, ran a 30.61. He was one of the few drivers in the top 20 who could make passes and drove up to seventh at the end of stage 1. After dodging the smoking crash fest that unfolded to fending off hard charges from rivals like William Byron and Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney came out victorious in the end at Nashville Superspeedway.

And the Team Penske driver did it in style. Ryan Blaney did a spectacular burnout before climbing through the fence to hand his checkered flag to a lucky fan. When the pit lane reporter appreciated his burnout, Blaney was humble. He said, “I didn’t think it was very good. I don’t know, did the crowd like the burnout or not?” This question elicited a thunderous roar of approval from the grandstands, and Blaney proudly said, “Oh, they liked it, so that’s all that matters.” Clearly, Denny Hamlin could not beat the crowd’s favorite driver in Nashville.

On the restart after Stage 1, Ryan Blaney‘s team opted to give him two fresh tires. That strategy proved crucial for the driver to topple Denny Hamlin’s lead and win Stage 2. He reflected on it: “Yeah, it was a good call, we drove up to 7th there. In the first stage, I thought two tires were great; I thought my tires were really good. So that really set us up for the rest of the race. Great job by him [Jonathan Hassler, crew chief] as always, all the 12 boys…the pit crew is great…It’s nice that it’s finally happening, so I’m ready to go celebrate.”

Ryan Blaney is clearly bathing himself in the fans’ cheers. Meanwhile, his rival is also not so worse off.

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Hamlin did the best he could

Well, juggling a NASCAR Cup Series playoff race and welcoming a third baby can be stressful, to say the least. However, we are talking about Denny Hamlin, known for his multitasking powers. He fights with NASCAR in the courtroom, manages a Cup Series race team, and wins races himself – a feat that few people can replicate.

Hamlin and his wife were expecting their third child during the Nashville race, and had to keep Ryan Truex on standby to take Hamlin’s seat. Despite the enormous tension, the JGR driver drove not only smoothly but also brilliantly. He was a force to reckon with in the first stage and looked close to proving his detractors wrong, leading 79 laps and recording the Xfinity fastest lap at 29.66 seconds.

However, certain things got in his way as Denny Hamlin explained: “I was hot. I don’t run a cool shirt or anything like that. That’s three elements other drivers have. Just couldn’t run with the 12 [Ryan Blaney] in the super long run. After 40 laps, I could maintain with them, but after that, he just pulled away and stretched it on us. Our best strategy at that point was to go long…We got jumped by (Hocevar). Then the track went through a really weird phase, the last 30 laps where everyone had it pinned to the bottom. I think there was not enough cars running the middle, so it threw dust into that middle and top lane that was not an option. That definitely hurt the passing.”

The turning point in the race came when William Byron, Ryan Blaney, and Denny Hamlin were fighting for the lead. Byron and Hamlin were ahead of Blaney, side-by-side through every turn. Byron got a great run off turn 3 and took the lead, but Hamlin wasn’t about to yield. The #11 drove to the outside of Byron as Blaney went really low off the track to take advantage of the clean air. This led to Hamlin and Byron getting loose near the outside wall as Blaney rocketed to the lead and eventually the race win.

With Ryan Blaney’s victory, the grandstands were filled with cheers and celebration. Denny Hamlin could not teach them a lesson in Nashville, but let us see how he responds in the upcoming races.