Denny Hamlin has responded to a quip from a NASCAR Cup Series rival after last weekend’s race at Atlanta.

The veteran racer was knocked out of the In-Season Challenge in the first round by the #32 seed Ty Dillon, who finished eighth in the race to Hamlin’s official 31st, his race ending after just 72 laps thanks to one of a number of wrecks in the race.

Dillon riffed on Hamlin’s infamous ‘I just beat your favorite driver’ taunt after the race, saying “For all you Denny fans out there, I just knocked your favorite driver out.”

The Kaulig Racing driver, whose eighth place at Atlanta was his best finish of the year, clarified later that he’d meant the comment in fun, insisting he’s ‘appreciated’ the Denny Hamlin vs the World gimmick and that he ‘loves’ Hamlin leaning into a heel role.

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Hamlin: Give Ty Dillon his moment

Speaking on his Actions Detrimental podcast this week, Hamlin himself said: “I see people giving Ty Dillon a lot of flak…give him his moment, people. He beat me.

“…He was ahead of me the whole f*cking race. I was 33rd until we crashed. Just let him have his moment. He texted me — he was like, ‘Hey, I was just playing around.’ I loved it.

“If you people think that you are going to hurt my feelings by coming in my mentions and saying, ‘Haha, Ty Dilon beat you,’ like, you’re never going to make fun of me more than I’m going to make fun of myself. You’re not going to offend me. I have really thick skin.

“You open yourself up and when you do that, the moments you fail, they’re going to give it to you. But you’ve got to be a big boy and take it. I am going to take it from Ty Dillon.”

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The characters that NASCAR drivers display today on and off the track are largely dictated by their sponsors. They are expected to walk in a straight line and not act in a way that would be detrimental to the public image of the companies that are backing them financially. But this wasn’t always the case. The shift began during a specific period in the sport’s evolution.

In a recent interview with Shannon Spake on the Spake Up podcast, Kurt Busch narrated an incident from his career that showcased this changeover. During a race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2002, Busch was wrecked by Jimmy Spencer in a way that left him angry. He got out of his car and made a gesture that came off as obscene to the viewers watching the event live on television.

But what he’d intended to do was indicate to the officials to send Spencer to the back of the field for his move. He explained, “In short track racing, there’s a guy on the track that communicates with the flag man on who goes to the back of the pack after somebody wrecks somebody. So, it was pat the rear end. Send them to the rear. And that’s what I was trying to [say].”

The miscommunication landed Busch in trouble with one of his sponsors after his image appeared on the front page of USA Today. He continued, “I’m on the cover patting my rear end, and the CEO goes, ‘What’s all this about?’

“I went, ‘I’m sorry, sir. The emotions, the heat of the moment, the guy flat out wrecked me.’ He goes, ‘Well, we can’t have this imagery on the cover of USA Today. We’re going to send you to media training.’”

Busch wasn’t the calm person he is today back then. He was a young driver who’d just made his way into NASCAR and held a ton of ambition in his heart. And so, he spoke his mind back to the CEO and questioned why they didn’t have a similar conversation when he appeared on the front cover of USA Today after winning at Bristol earlier that year.

He admitted to Spake that it wasn’t the right thing to say. But that was one of the turning points of the sponsor-centric culture that is prevalent today. “That’s where corporate America and the big-time sponsors changed our sport,” he added. Actions like what Busch did would result in a much bigger penalty today.

With hopes for a weekend with finally clear skies, NASCAR is back in the Windy City for the third edition of the Chicago Street Race.

Since the inaugural event two years ago, the Cup and Xfinity series have been affected by inclement weather. After both series’ races were shortened by thunderstorms in 2023, the Cup Series ended 17 laps short of the full distance last year because of rain delays.

Alex Bowman is the defending winner of the Cup race. Shane van Gisbergen returns to Chicago this season as a full-time driver in NASCAR’s premier series after winning the inaugural race in his Cup debut for Trackhouse Racing (he also won last year’s Xfinity race).

Chicago will be the second round of the In-Season Challenge. Here are the matchups (with driver seeding):

—Brad Keselowski (17) vs. Ty Dillon (32)
—Alex Bowman (8) vs. Bubba Wallace (9)
—Chase Elliott (5) vs. John Hunter Nemechek (12)
—Erik Jones (20) vs. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (29)
—Ryan Preece (15) vs. Noah Gragson (31)
—Tyler Reddick (23) vs. Carson Hocevar (26)
—Ty Gibbs (6) vs. AJ Allmendinger (22)
—Chris Buescher (3) vs. Zane Smith (14)

Shane van Gisbergen won in Mexico in the most recent Cup road course race.

Chicago weekend schedule

(All Times Eastern)

Saturday, July 5

Garage open

• 8:30 a.m. – midnight — Xfinity Series
• 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. — Cup Series

Track activity

• 10:30 – 11:20 a.m. — Xfinity practice (CW App)
• 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. — Xfinity qualifying (CW App)
• 1 – 1:50 p.m. — Cup practice (truTV, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
• 2 – 3 p.m. — Cup qualifying (truTV, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
• 4:30 p.m. — Xfinity race (50 laps, 110 miles; Stage 1 at Lap 15, Stage 2 at Lap 30; TNT, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Sunday, July 6

Garage open

• 11 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. — Cup Series

Track activity

• 2 p.m. — Cup race (75 laps, 165 miles; Stage 1 at Lap 20, Stage 2 at Lap 45; TNT, MRN SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Weekend weather

Saturday: Mostly sunny with a high of 95 degrees, winds from the south-southwest at 10-20 mph. It’s expected to be 93 degrees with a 3% chance of rain at the start of the Xfinity race.

Sunday: Partly cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms. A high of 83 degrees and winds from the west-northwest at 10-15 mph and a 56% chance of rain. It’s expected to be 82 degrees with a 52% chance of showers at the start of the Cup race.

St. Johns businesses along US 127 are preparing for one of their busiest weekends of the year as Fourth of July travelers head north through mid-Michigan.

• Businesses along US 127 in St. Johns expect more customers during the holiday weekend.
• Phillips Orchard and Cider Mill stays open during holiday weekends to serve travelers.
• US 27 Motorsports sees a boost from the holiday traffic and the weeks leading up to the Fourth of July.

WATCH: St. Johns businesses benefit from Fourth of July travel rush

St. Johns businesses see boost from holiday travelers on US 127

Phillips Orchard and Cider Mill, typically known as an autumn destination, sees significant business during summer holiday weekends too.

“Fourth of July weekend’s coming up and it’s one of our busy travel weekends,” Brian Phillips, orchard co-president said.

Those driving north on US 127 pass directly by these local businesses, creating a noticeable impact on their foot traffic.

“We are normally 10%-15% busier on a travel weekend versus just a regular weekend,” Phillips said.

Just down 127, US 27 Motorsports also benefits from the influx of holiday travelers.

“We’ll likely have a pretty big influx, likely on Saturday, of people traveling through our parts and accessory department,” said Shane Sake, operations director at US 27 Motorsports, said.

Sake told me the boost in business makes opening during the holiday weekend worthwhile. Similarly, Phillips explained that the orchard always remains open during holiday weekends.

“We know people are traveling and need a place to stop, or pick up a little gift or memento of their trip. We try to be here when they wanna stop in,” Phillips said.

Both businesses expressed appreciation for their location along the popular northern route.

“Once you pass us, you’re on the way north and we’re kinda the gateway for that,” Sake said.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — RFK Racing president Steve Newmark will depart the team and join the University of North Carolina Tar Heels athletics program.

Newmark will join Carolina as the executive associate athletic director. He will start Aug. 15. Then, in the summer of 2026, he will become the university’s athletic director.

Carolina touted Newmark for his experience with sponsorships, marketing, team operations and contract negotiations. The university believes he will be a strong fit as they look to “further adapt the Department to needs related to revenue share, NIL and commercial strategy.”

Newmark joined RFK Racing in April 2010 as the senior vice president of business operations. Then, he became the team president in December 2010.

At the start of Newmark’s tenure, the team contended for the title in 2011 and 2012. Then, as veterans Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards left, the team started to decline.

The team had just two wins and two playoff appearances from 2015 to 2021, compared to 33 and 16 in the previous seven season. Despite the struggles, they held on to several key partners – due in no small part to Newmark’s leadership.

When Brad Keselowski bought into the team in 2022, Newmark helped lead the team into a new era with a new name – RFK Racing. RFK has at least one win in each of its three completed seasons. In the previous two, they have multiple wins and at least one playoff appearance. The team even expanded to three full-time cars in 2025 for the first time in eight years.

“It has been a true privilege to learn from and represent Jack Roush and John Henry, and the entire Roush and Fenway organizations. And I firmly believe the RFK team is in a great spot and poised for tremendous success both on and off the track in the years ahead,” Newmark stated.

Newmark also served as a liaison for the teams to NASCAR. In fact, he was instrumental in the creation of the charter system in NASCAR.

The new role with Carolina brings Newmark back to his roots. A native of Chapel Hill, he was a partner at the Charlotte-based law firm Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson before joining RFK. He specialized in sports and entertainment and worked extensively with the Southeastern Conference, Conference USA and the NCAA.  

“Now, it’s time for a new chapter. I am heading back home to Chapel Hill to join one of the most respected and successful programs in college sports. I am thrilled to officially become part of UNC Athletics and look forward to joining Tar Heel Nation as we strive for wins and championships across all sports in the evolving landscape of collegiate athletics,” he said.

Newmark also served on the advisory committee that assisted in hiring eight-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick as Carolina’s head football coach.

Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.

A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.

Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick’s final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen’s stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers’ stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.

Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com

Ryan Blaney has yet to get payback on Carson Hocevar for wrecking him in the February race at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta. Blaney might feel more inclined to get back at Hocevar after a Spire social media person stoked the flames this past weekend.

Blaney and Hocevar went head-to-head in Round 1 of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge this past Saturday, in Atlanta of all places. Hocevar, the No. 26 seed, knocked off the No. 7 seeded Blaney after a 10th-place finish. After the race, Spire decided to troll Blaney on social media.