Denny Hamlin doing his homework to stay on top of NASCAR heading into Coca-Cola 600

Denny Hamlin was so bothered by his middling performance at Dover Motor Speedway 12 years ago that he saw a sports psychologist to restore his faith.

After winning the NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday for his third consecutive victory at the 1-mile track, he spoke with the confidence to conquer any oval in the Cup Series.

“It’s very weird and unique at this point in my career that I’m in this place,” the 45-year-old Hamlin said. “But if we’re going to a track that turns left, I expect to win every single week.”

Next up for the 21-year veteran is the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and the oldest driver on the circuit will be among the favorites for the longest race in NASCAR.

Points leader Tyler Reddick and Chase Elliott are also expected to be strong in the 600-mile event, but their combined total of 21 Cup starts at the track in Concord, North Carolina, is dwarfed by Hamlin’s career total of 34.

“I think my experience is carrying me more now than ever,” the Joe Gibbs Racing driver said.

Coming off his second All-Star Race victory, Hamlin seems primed for a second Coke 600 win at Charlotte, which is one of seven 1.5-mile tracks that play host to a combined 11 races this season.

In the past three races on 1.5-mile speedways, Hamlin has a win ( at Las Vegas Motor Speedway ), a second ( behind Elliott at Texas Motor Speedway ) and a fourth ( Kansas Speedway, where he dominated until a late caution allowed Reddick to snatch an overtime win).

Sunday’s marathon race at Charlotte will be more consequential as a 2026 title predictor. The track’s Oct. 11 race has moved from the road course to the oval for the first time in nine years. Charlotte will be one of four 1.5-mile ovals in the revamped Chase, the 10-race championship run to conclude the season.

Hamlin, whose sterling resume includes 61 wins but no Cup title, will undoubtedly be studying Charlotte all week, hunting for ways to improve his restarts by adapting his driving style. He calls that trait his biggest strength and credits his massive Dover improvement to watching videos of Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex taming the Monster Mile.

“I just watched lap after lap after lap and said, ‘I’m going to copy that, right or wrong,’” Hamlin said. “It started working.”

The No. 11 Toyota driver now shares that knowledge with teammates Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe and Ty Gibbs, who scored his first Cup victory last month at Bristol Motor Speedway and leans regularly on Hamlin’s advice.

“Every Monday when we have our driver meetings, it’s kind of like a master class,” said Heather Gibbs, mother of Ty and co-owner of Joe Gibbs Racing. “Denny has so much wisdom, so much experience. He’s great with giving feedback. He’s still at the top. He definitely hasn’t fallen off. We keep joking, ‘Hey, what about another year?’ To have someone step into the 11 car and win, you’re not going to have that. Denny is kind of a legend in that car. I can’t even imagine thinking of putting someone else in that car.”

Hamlin is signed through the 2027 season and has indicated it’ll be his last.

“I want to finish like this,” he said. “I do not want to go through the regression. My ego will not allow me to be mediocre. So I’m going to have to leave some on the table at some point, right? In order to know that you can win your last race, you’re going to have to go into the next year saying, ‘I’m not doing it, but I could have.’”

Chris Gayle, Hamlin’s crew chief, said his driver’s desire to retire on top makes it easy for the team to avoid tapering off.

“There’s not many (wins) in front of him anymore,” Gayle said. “Every one is probably more and more sweet to him at this point.”

Running the All-Star Race without a warmup act backfired for several drivers.

Instead of the All-Star Open, a race in which top finishers can transfer into the main event while the qualified drivers sit out, the entire 36-car field raced in the first two segments before the 200-lap dash for a $1 million prize.

More than half the field was involved in crashes during the first two segments, eliminating Chase Elliott and Ross Chastain and leaving Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson with damaged cars incapable of contending. Hamlin was among several drivers who lobbied to bring back the All-Star Open.

“I think having the Open is fun,” Heather Gibbs said. “You get major street cred when you race your way out of the Open. It’s rewarding.”

It’s unclear if the All-Star Race will be one and done at Dover. Track president Mike Tatoian has been told the track will be on the 2027 Cup schedule (which will be released in a few months) but possibly return as a points race, which Dover hosted annually from 1969-2025.

Dover has no lights, and Hamlin wants the All-Star Race as a nighttime event.

“I definitely prefer Dover as a points race,” he said. “There’s no other track like this on our schedule. It requires such a unique style of driving, far different from any oval, that you can’t lose tracks like this. The fans really are passionate here.”

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Denny Hamlin celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR All-Star auto race at Dover Motor Speedway, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Dover, Del. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

Denny Hamlin celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR All-Star auto race at Dover Motor Speedway, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Dover, Del. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

Denny Hamlin celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR All-Star auto race at Dover Motor Speedway, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Dover, Del. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

NEW YORK (AP) — A gun and notebook that prosecutors say link Luigi Mangione to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson can be used as evidence at his murder trial, a judge ruled Monday, rejecting a defense argument that they were seized illegally.

Judge Gregory Carro’s decision, five months after he held a hearing to examine how police came upon the items, is a major win for prosecutors, enabling them to show jurors a possible murder weapon and motive. That mirrors an earlier ruling in Mangione’s federal case.

But Carro also excluded items officers pulled from Mangione’s backpack before his arrest at a McDonald's restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He said the loaded gun magazine, cellphone, passport, wallet and computer chip resulted from an “improper warrantless search.” He also excluded some statements he made to police before he was handcuffed.

The judge did allow items found as officers inventoried the backpack's contents later at a police station — including a 3D-printed pistol prosecutors say matches the one used to kill Thompson, and a notebook that describes wanting to “wack” a health insurance executive. Carro said such inventory searches are an exception to the U.S. Constitution’s protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. Police obtained a search warrant hours later.

Mangione was arrested on Dec. 9, 2024, five days after Thompson was killed outside a Manhattan hotel. Altoona is about 230 miles (370 kilometers) west of Manhattan.

Mangione, 28, didn't speak as Carro summarized his decision. About two dozen of his supporters, some wearing “Free Luigi” T-shirts, crowded the courtroom's gallery.

Mangione’s state murder trial is set to begin on Sept. 8, and his federal trial, which involves stalking charges, on Oct. 13. The federal judge ruled all of backpack's contents into evidence.

Mangione has pleaded not guilty to all the charges, and could spend his life in prison if convicted in either case.

Mangione’s lawyers argued that the searches were illegal because officers had no warrant when they looked through the backpack.

Prosecutors argued that the initial search at the McDonald's was legal because it was conducted in conjunction with an arrest and because officers followed Altoona police protocols requiring them to check for dangerous items. But Carro said New York law applies, and that officers had eliminated the justification for an immediate safety search by moving the backpack outside Mangione's “grabbable area” as other restaurant customers passed nearby.

Citing body-worn camera video, Carro also ruled out some statements Mangione made when he was effectively in custody but not yet apprised of his right to remain silent.

Mangione told police early on he didn’t want to talk, but officers engaged him for almost 20 minutes before getting him to admit that he had given them a fake name and phony New Jersey driver's license. An NYPD lieutenant testified in December that the shooter had used the same name — Mark Rosario — to buy a bus ticket to New York and stay at a Manhattan hostel.

Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting Thompson from behind on Dec. 4, 2024, as the executive walked to his company’s annual investor conference. Police say “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.

Mangione was not yet under arrest, let alone subject to a judicial search warrant, when officers initially responded to a 911 call about a man who looked like the suspect in Thompson’s killing. They began searching his backpack, but stopped after finding the gun magazine wrapped in a pair of underwear. They also found the notebook, Carro noted, but did not open it or see the writings at that point.

“It’s him, dude. It’s him, 100%,” Altoona Police Officer Stephen Fox said on body-worn camera video before telling his colleague to pause the search and resume at the station. “Let’s just take it back,” he said.

That momentary decision likely preserved the prosecution’s ability to use the gun and notebook as evidence at trial. Carro said evidence logged in the subsequent inventory search, including apparent to-do lists and getaway plans, is admissible.

Prosecutors have quoted extensively from Mangione’s handwritten diary in court filings, noting his praise for Unabomber Ted Kaczynski and his musings about rebelling against “the deadly, greed fueled health insurance cartel.”

Luigi Mangione arrives for a hearing in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, Monday, May 18, 2026. (Jeenah Moon/Pool Photo via AP)

Luigi Mangione appears at a hearing in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, Monday, May 18, 2026. (Jeenah Moon/Pool Photo via AP)

FILE - Luigi Mangione appears in Manhattan Criminal court, Dec. 23, 2024, in New York. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP, file)