Lee Petty’s Grandson Publicly Snubs Kyle Busch With Bold 7-Word Denny Hamlin Declaration

Every time Denny Hamlin celebrates on his car’s roof, he’s not just soaking in the win; he’s also climbing up the ranks of NASCAR legends. This past Sunday at Dover, Hamlin matched Lee Petty with his 54th career win, tying him for 12th on the all-time Cup Series wins list. He’s just one win shy of catching up to Rusty Wallace. And he’s done all this without clinching a single Cup championship yet.

But while Denny Hamlin has been impressive recently, Kyle Busch has achieved and has sat in the top 10 for a while now. Seating in 9th place with 63 wins, he’s had a rough patch this season, but that doesn’t mean a comeback is off the table. Despite this, it seems like Lee Petty’s grandson is all about celebrating Hamlin these days, leaving Kyle Busch out in the cold.

Kyle Petty mentioned that only 12 people have reached the mark of 54 wins or above but ignores Kyle Busch

Kyle Petty recently highlighted an elite club in NASCAR, praising Denny Hamlin for joining the ranks of those who have secured 54 or more wins, like his grandfather, Lee Petty. In his latest YouTube video, Kyle was full of admiration for Hamlin’s milestone.

He said, “Denny Hamlin ties my grandfather Lee Petty at 54 wins. That is huge people that is huge. Only 12 guys in the history of the sport have ever climbed that 54 mountain and Denny Hamlin is one of them. Denny is that guy that came into the sport that had tons of talent and Tons of Speed but that’s all he had: talent and speed. He’s taken that speed, he’s corralled after all these years and he’s taken that talent and he’s become that guy that has that magic bag of tricks. He can start anywhere anytime and make something happen in those last five or six laps of the race.”

Further talking up Denny Hamlin’s latest win, Kyle Petty went all out, saying, “He will go down in history as one of the greatest drivers. His peers as we look at the guys who started at the same time he did Martin Truex the same year. He has 20 more wins than Martin Truex. When we look at guys like Kyle Larson and Joey Lano he has 20 more wins than these guys. He is the class of this generation. Believe me, he’ll be a top 10 guy.”

It’s kind of funny, though, how Kyle Petty skipped mentioning Kyle Busch in his praise fest, even though Busch has also cracked the 54-win barrier, a standout with 63 wins (and still counting). While Richard Petty is the king of wins, Kyle Busch is the lead horse among active drivers, with 63 wins. Before Denny Hamlin can even think about catching up to Busch, he’s got to surpass Kevin Harvick’s 60 and Rusty Wallace’s 55.

Even Hamlin seems shocked to see his name among such legends of the track.

Denny Hamlin says that his name in the top-12 list of the highest number of wins doesn’t seem right

Denny Hamlin said it during his post-race chat, and you could tell he was wrestling with the feeling. “It doesn’t seem right,“ he admittedshaking his head. “If you put all the names on the list in the orders of the wins that they have, I don’t know, I see my name as just an outlier, one that sticks out like it doesn’t really belong there. I’ve been doing it for a long time. You take for granted all the wins that you’ve had. All we think about is the ones that we didn’t win. I’m like, man, I feel like I should have 80 or 90, realistically.”

“But everyone has those stories. It’s my personal goal, in my career I want to get to a number that puts me well inside that top 10 of race winners. I think that will speak for itself and the resume.“ Hamlin is the winningest driver yet to snag a Cup Series championship. But with his eyes set on climbing higher up that top 10 list, who knows how fast he’ll get there!