Denny Hamlin has now matched NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon for the best finish ever by a Cup driver making their 700th career start, placing third at Nashville. He is just the 22nd driver to ever reach that impressive milestone.

It was not easy for Hamlin, and not just because of how difficult it was to pass at the concrete oval. The air hose going to his helmet was not functioning as it became disconnected, so it got extremely hot inside the cockpit of that No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. 

“It was hot,” said Hamlin after the race. “I don’t run a cool shirt or anything like that, so that’s three elements that the other drivers had that I didn’t have. So yeah, I got hot.”

Hamlin was running with the visor up just to get some fresh air in his face as he tried to chase down Carson Hocevar and eventual race winner Ryan Blaney.

“Our best strategy at that point was to go long, and you either catch a caution or another caution comes,” explained Hamlin. “We all were going to stay out so the lap times don’t fall off, and then we got fresher tires. We got jumped by the #77 [Hocevar] and then the track just went through a really weird phase there the last 30 laps where everyone had to pin to the bottom. I think there was not enough cars running in the middle, and it threw dust up in that middle and top lane so it was not an option. It was like ice up there. That definitely hurt the passing.”

There was also the possibility that Hamlin wasn’t even going to race today as he and partner Jordan Fish are expecting the birth of their third child and first boy at any moment. Luckily for him, he was able to run the race to completion, winning Stage 1 and led 79 laps in total.

Another weekend of the NASCAR Cup Series season is in the books, with Ryan Blaney having won the 2025 Cracker Barrel 400 on Sunday night.

Away from the results at Nashville Superspeedway, however, it proved another busy night for the race officials, as revealed by NASCAR’s post-race infraction sheet, which details all of the in-race penalties issued at any given event.

READ MORE: Kyle Busch gets major NASCAR boost as multiple stars demoted after Nashville

On Sunday night, a total of 21 penalties were issued for infractions during the race, the most often of which, as usual, referred to ‘pitting before pit road is open’, which results in a tail-end penalty. 14 drivers were found guilty of this infraction, including the likes of Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell.

Elsewhere, however, other infractions also occurred, with Bubba Wallace and Erik Jones both penalized for ‘speeding on pit road’ on lap 43 and lap 68, respectively. Both drivers were hit with a drive-through penalty as a result.

Other penalties handed out during Sunday’s race related to the crew members of several drivers. For example, Alex Bowman and Michael McDowell were given a tail-end penalty for ‘crewmember(s) over the wall too soon’, whilst Brad Keselowski was given the same punishment for having ‘too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area’.

The only other notable penalties were handed out to AJ Allmendinger and the No. 16 team after they made unapproved adjustments to their car post-inspection ahead of practice and qualifying.

As a result, Allmendinger was forced to start Sunday’s race at the rear, and carry out a stop-and-go penalty under green flag conditions, which put him down one lap.

READ MORE: NASCAR announce driver disqualification at Nashville as official statement released

NASCAR Cup Series Nashville infraction sheet

With the above said, here is a full breakdown of all of Sunday’s in-race penalties and when they occurred, with notes from NASCAR included.

READ MORE: NASCAR team chief Roger Penske issues verdict on Austin Cindric’s future

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23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace has backed the idea of increasing the horsepower of stock cars in the NASCAR Cup Series.

This followed NASCAR senior vice president of competition Elton Sawyer’s confirmation to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that the possibility of increasing the horsepower from 670 to 750 is “on the table.” He explained:

“We are working closely with all the stakeholders in the industry, and the collaboration has been better than ever in our sport on all topics. This particular one, [we] had a team owner council meeting last week, came up and we discussed that.

“Working closely, I know John Probst [senior vice president of innovation and racing development] had a conversation with our engine builders to see what we could do, how that would look and what changes would need to be made.”

While speaking to the media ahead of the race at Nashville, Wallace voiced his support of the idea, stating:

“I think [more horsepower would] help out everywhere, honestly.

“These cars are so close now, and some of these tracks that we go to, shifting just deletes the option of passing. We’re having to just operate inside the sandbox that we’re given. It is what it is,” Wallace added.

Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing Toyota

Photo by: David Jensen / Getty Images

“That’s why teams are getting so much more competitive, and that the gap is decreasing, so I think more horsepower kind of brings you back to the old school feel. It just puts it back in the driver’s hands and that’s what we want.”

When asked how much of an increase he would like to see, the 31-year-old driver jokingly responded:

“1,000,” before adding: “More than what we’ve got.

“I think if you go in small increments, it’s just like sticking a band-aid on something. I’m not asking for nine [hundred] but 750 at least or higher, just to see if it’s as easy and somewhat cost-efficient as they’re saying.”

“It should show from there. I think we need a big step. What are we scared of? We’ve been saying it for years that we want more horsepower and we’ve been told they’re waiting for other manufacturers. Well, they ain’t in, so let’s do something.”

Max Verstappen had every reason to leave the Spanish Grand Prix frustrated on Sunday – but beyond the immediate disappointment, the long-term consequences could pose deeper trouble for the 65-time Grand Prix winner.

Red Bull’s strategy backfired when Verstappen’s planned third pit stop was disrupted by an ill-timed caution, allowing his rivals to take advantage with a free stop and turning the race on its head.

On the restart, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc surged past Verstappen, who then found himself locked in a tense duel with Mercedes’ George Russell. The two clashed wheels twice in a bruising battle that capped off a day to forget for the reigning champion.

Verstappen was hit with a 10-second penalty that dropped him to 10th place. McLaren teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris capitalized on the chaos to secure a 1-2 finish.

But the implications may extend beyond a single race. Verstappen was assessed three penalty points in the aftermath, bringing his total to 11 over the past 12 months.

A one-race ban is triggered if a driver accumulates 12 penalty points in a 12-month span.

Verstappen, who won the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix on May 18, declined to discuss the penalty situation after Sunday’s race.

“Does it matter?” he said. “Yeah, OK, that’s great. I prefer to speak about the race, not just one single moment.”

Another penalty point at the next race – the Canadian Grand Prix on June 15 – would result in an automatic suspension for the Austrian Grand Prix on June 29.

Two of Verstappen’s current penalty points, dating back to last year’s race in Austria, are set to expire on June 30.

Russell questioned Verstappen’s driving in the aftermath.

“It’s down to the stewards to decide if it was deliberate or not. Max is such an amazing driver – so many people look up to him – it seems completely unnecessary,” Russell said. “I don’t know what’s going through his mind. It felt deliberate in the moment. It felt surprising.”

Verstappen currently sits third in the Formula 1 standings with 137 points, trailing leader Piastri by 49. Norris is second with 176.

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The latest 2025 NASCAR Cup Series standings are in after Sunday’s race at Nashville, and it’s good news for two-time champion Kyle Busch.

Despite starting down in 24th for the Cracker Barrel 400 and collecting no stage points throughout the race, Busch’s 12th-place finish overall saw him receive a huge boost in his bid for a playoff spot in 2025.

Only 16 drivers can qualify for the postseason, and the 25 points Busch earned by finishing 12th saw him climb four spots, from 19th and outside of the playoff places to 15th and inside them. The two-time champion will hope to remain there for the rest of the season, although a win would lock him in for good.

Elsewhere, after Sunday’s race at Nashville, multiple big-name stars suffered demotions in the standings. In the top 10, for example, Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick and Ross Chastain all dropped one spot, with those drivers now fifth, sixth and ninth overall.

There were also climbers in the top 10 as a result, the most notable of which was Denny Hamlin, moving from sixth to fourth with the 52 points he gained after finishing stages one and two in first and third, and then coming home third overall.

At the very top of the standings, there was no movement this weekend, with William Byron continuing to lead the way ahead of Kyle Larson in second and Christopher Bell in third. Sunday’s race winner, Ryan Blaney, remains seventh overall after his victory.

With that said, let’s take a look at the latest Cup Series standings in full!

READ MORE: NASCAR announce driver disqualification at Nashville as official statement released

NASCAR Cup Series standings after Nashville

* indicates a driver who has qualified for the Cup Series playoffs through winning a regular season race.

READ MORE: NASCAR confirm triple penalty for Cup Series team after Nashville incident

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