DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Denny Hamlin burst onto the scene a decade ago when he showed up at Daytona International Speedway as a rookie and won the first exhibition race of Speedweeks.

Hamlin beat Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon that night, and an article the next day from a newspaper in a city with deep racing roots opened with “Denny Who Did What?”

It...