Jun 21, 2025; Long Pond, Pennsylvania, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin stands with the Busch Light Pole Award after winning the pole for The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images
July 2, 2025 | 2:37 PM EDT
Denny Hamlin will aim to pick up his fourth win of the season when he lines up for the Grant Park 165 at Chicago Street Course on Sunday. However, the Joe Gibbs Racing star will have to watch from the sidelines as 16 drivers feature in the next round of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge.
After losing to Ty Dillon at Atlanta, Hamlin got knocked out of the first round of the competition. As Dillon prepares to lock horns with NASCAR veteran Brad Keselowski in the next matchup, Hamlin predicts who will win between the two.
Denny Hamlin Sizes Up Ty Dillon’s Chances Against Brad Keselowski in Chicago Showdown
Hamlin was a victim of the infamous “Big One” at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta last weekend. He could not finish the race after the wreck and was handed a P31. He was paired up with Dillon in the In-Season Challenge opener.
The Kaulig Racing driver kept his cool amid the chaos and steered his No.10 Chevrolet to an P8 finish. Although Dillon couldn’t resist taking a jab at Hamlin after the race, Hamlin still backs him to win his next bracket duel against Keselowski.
Speaking on “Actions Detrimental With Denny Hamlin”, the 44-year-old said, “So now these racetracks are getting a little more predictable. Yeah, it’s a road course, unpredictable, blah blah blah. Like we haven’t even had a dry race at Chicago yet, but again, I think these are a little more predictable.”
“Ty Dillon vs Keselowski; this is gonna be a closer matchup than what is people were thinking. Um, I’m gonna ride with Ty on this.”
Kevin Harvick Reacts to Dillon’s Jab at Hamlin
While Hamlin chose not to respond to Dillon’s taunting remarks, NASCAR veteran Kevin Harvick weighed in on the situation.
“Ty Dillon has run pretty respectable this year,” Harvick said. It’s not like he’s just floundering around, like he has in the past several years. He’s legitimately run well this year,” Harvick explained. “I think, when you look at this bracket thing, it’s intriguing, it’s fun. This is fun.”
He also reacted to some of the other brackets in Chicago. Harvick added:
“When you look through that bracket now, there’s not too many favorites in there. I mean, you’ve got Chase Elliott, obviously, in there. The most intriguing match up to me this week is Ty Gibbs against AJ Allmendinger at the road course.”
“You know, a lot of the favorites got knocked out right off the bat, so this thing is going to get mixed up again here this weekend.”
