After Denny Hamlin won the FireKeepers Casino 400, his crew unveiled a flag blending the late Kyle Busch’s No. 18 with Busch’s final-era No. 8, a tribute to a teammate whose NASCAR legacy also now ties Hamlin in career Cup wins.
For a moment at the FireKeepers Casino 400, the noise at Michigan International Speedway faded into something quieter and unmistakably personal: a flag unfurled so every fan could see it.
After Denny Hamlin cruised past the finish line on Sunday, a member of his crew brought the flag to his car. Hamlin then started going down the backstretch in the opposite direction, holding the moment in view as the fabric opened up in front of the crowd.
The flag design was built to merge numbers that had defined Kyle Busch’s NASCAR career across different eras. It was a No. 18 meant to bring together the two car identities most recently used by the late Busch—who had raced in a No. 18 Toyota for the longest stretch of his career with Joe Gibbs Racing. winning a pair of Cup Series championships. before moving in recent seasons to a No. 8 Chevrolet with Richard Childress Racing.
The detail mattered. The No. 18 etched onto the flag incorporated both the JGR No. 18 and the RCR No. 8, with the RCR number stylized personally by Busch.
It wasn’t the kind of gesture fans see every weekend. Hamlin and Busch were teammates at Joe Gibbs from 2018 to 2022, and Hamlin made clear this tribute was about respect for a driver he said he looked up to.
Sunday’s win also brought a painful symmetry. Hamlin captured the 63rd victory of his Cup Series career. moving him into a tie for ninth all-time in wins with Busch. Busch. who died on May 21 at age 41 due to complications from pneumonia that progressed into sepsis. had been part of the leaderboard for years. Now, Hamlin’s result placed them side by side in a way that felt both historic and raw.
Hamlin said the planning for the flag began last Monday morning—the day after he won his 62nd race at Nashville. He explained that the tribute came together through coordination that blended teams and car identities.
“I appreciate RCR letting us use the stylized 8 with the Joe Gibbs Racing the 1. It was just a happy balance that I felt good about when it all came out,” Hamlin said. “The NASCAR community has kind of just been through it over the last — certainly the last few weeks. but then just generally in the last six. eight months. It’s been tough. I just wanted to pay my respects to someone that I really did look up to and taught me so much as a teammate. There’s nothing we can say or do that’s going to make his family feel better. but at least during that little time. you can pay him the respects that he deserves.”.
He also acknowledged the sting of the win’s implications with a brief, uneasy humor. Hamlin joked that Busch would have been angry about him moving ahead on the all-time wins leaderboard.
“He would have been pissed today, absolutely,” Hamlin said. “But I would have said to him, you’ll be around here longer. You’ll get me back.”
Hamlin wore a hat with the stylized No. 18 as well, though he indicated it was a one-time use and likely wouldn’t be available for sale to fans.
The tribute echoed beyond Hamlin’s car. Over the last week, Spire Motorsports honored Kyle Busch’s final NASCAR win in the Truck Series—an event that came on May 15 at Dover in the team’s No. 7 Chevrolet.
At Michigan, Hamlin’s performance turned the day into something measurable and emphatic. He finished Sunday with the next closest car more than 11 seconds behind him in the FireKeepers Casino 400.
The sequence of facts—Busch’s death on May 21. the Truck Series nod from Spire Motorsports for his last win on May 15 at Dover. Hamlin’s Sunday margin. and the No. 18 flag built from JGR and RCR identities—creates a picture that’s hard to separate from the emotion behind it: NASCAR didn’t just note Busch’s absence; it placed his numbers back in the spotlight.
Even with the tribute, the season story for Hamlin continued. The 45-year-old driver is having one of his best years, with three victories already. He is closing quickly on Tyler Reddick, the driver of the No. 45 Toyota for 23XI Racing—the team Hamlin co-owns with NBA legend Michael Jordan—at the top of the point standings this season.
NASCAR Denny Hamlin Kyle Busch tribute flag FireKeepers Casino 400 Michigan International Speedway Joe Gibbs Racing Richard Childress Racing Spire Motorsports Dover pneumonia sepsis Cup Series wins point standings 23XI Racing Tyler Reddick
That’s actually pretty cool.
Wait so the flag had like 18 and 8 on it? I saw something about Hamlin winning and then everybody started crying. Honestly NASCAR does these tributes better than the rest of the sports.
Kyle Busch already had a No. 18 right? Why is it also a No. 8? I’m confused like did he switch teams or was that just a tribute thing. Either way Hamlin getting a win while Busch is gone just feels wrong in a weird way.
I don’t know man, I get it’s a tribute but it still feels like marketing too. If Hamlin tied Busch for wins, does that mean Busch would’ve had even more if he didn’t pass? Also the whole Michigan crowd going quiet for a flag is wild, but then they’re cheering again two laps later so idk.