• Associated Press

Mar 31, 2025, 11:40 AM ET

To a familiar mixture of cheers and boos,

Crew chief Chris Gayle, who won in his seventh race since being paired with Hamlin, has been surprised by his new driver’s work ethic. Late into Saturday night before Martinsville, Hamlin was texting Gayle about his car while poring over throttle and braking data from the October 2022 race (the last time he felt dominant at the track).

“As he’s gotten older, he’s had to almost ramp up the amount of work he’s done,” Gayle said. “He may have gotten by earlier without doing that. He’s with us in the simulator at least six to seven hours a week. He does that to be a part of the team. That speaks to where his head’s at at this age.”

Team owner Joe Gibbs said Hamlin spends more time in the simulator than his three teammates — all of whom are at least 14 years younger — and the Hall of Fame football coach wants to keep his veteran leader for the long term.

“The one thing I’ve learned about athletes, the ones that really have it and are special, you better be careful about anything early,” Gibbs said about determining when it’s time to hang it up. “Let them go. So we’re going to ride Denny for as long as we can.”

Hamlin smiled when told Wallace never won again after his 55th victory in March 2004 at Martinsville. Wallace retired from Cup the next season.

“I won’t feel bad to break his 55 record when I do,” Hamlin said, adding that his retirement was “a long way away.”

Rough racing

NASCAR officials are reviewing the controversial Xfinity finish at Martinsville Speedway to determine if drivers will be punished in its midweek penalty report. Sammy Smith admitted he intentionally wrecked Taylor Gray from the lead in Turn 3 on the final lap, causing a multicar crash. Gray earlier had bumped Smith from the lead.

Hamlin was among several who called out the poor driving and sportsmanship, and he planned to address it further in his weekly “Actions Detrimental” podcast.

“I think the sanctioning body needs to get involved a little bit and step in on egregious things,” Hamlin said. “It was just horrible driving by most of the people. It’s just not a good look. You shouldn’t be able to just wipe someone out. We have a black flag for a reason. We should start using it.”

Executive moves

NASCAR named president Steve Phelps as its new commissioner overseeing all aspects of NASCAR, the IMSA sports car series and the 15 tracks owned or operated by NASCAR. Though NASCAR once had a stock car racing commissioner who handled penalty appeals, the sanctioning body is billing Phelps as the first with the expanded responsibilities of the newly created role.

“We are thrilled to name Steve Phelps as NASCAR’s first commissioner,” NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France said in a statement. “His leadership, professionalism and well-earned respect from across the sports industry speak to his unique value for the sport.”

Steve O’Donnell will move from NASCAR’s chief operating officer to replace Phelps as president and handle daily oversight of its three national series and its commercial, media and track operations.