This is ‘probably, most likely, yeah,’ the last contract that Denny Hamlin will sign.
That was his analysis after inking a two-year extension with Joe Gibbs Racing that runs through the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series season on Friday.
“Who knows, but most likely,” Hamlin added during a Friday announcement at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Hamlin turns 45-years-old in November and is already at an age where most of his peers have tapered off and get replaced by the next generation, but that hasn’t remotely happened to the driver of the No. 11 Camry yet. He leads the Cup Series in wins this season, with four, and is once again in the mix to earn that elusive championship in advance of another playoff run in September.
“I think one of the deciding factors is that I have my body in a good place,” Hamlin said. “My back is not bothering me as much as it was a few years ago. And so, a lot of it is ‘can you physically hold up?’ So, I’ll treat the next two years just like I’d be treating my rookie season or the year after. I’ve never waned from making sure I’m doing my job to the best of my ability and work ethic will never change.”
Hamlin has 58 wins at the highest level, all in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11, three of which have come in the prestigious Daytona 500. Even without the championship, Hamlin has already enjoyed a Hall of Fame career with seemingly very little he needs to prove.
But there are things he wants too.
“I have goals I want to reach in the Cup Series,” Hamlin said. “I have a really strong relationship with Joe (Gibbs, owner) and his family. And obviously, the ability to win. That’s a high factor to be wanting to do this. I think about that on a weekly basis, would I want to do this if I didn’t have the ability to win as much? Probably not, the motivation wouldn’t be there. Certainly, as competitive as I am, I’m motivated if I’m able to win.”
Hamlin wants to get to 60 wins, and he wants to not only reach the top-10 in all-time wins, but tack on enough to that where he can retain that moniker for at least the entirety of his lifetime.
“I’d love to get 60 this year,” Hamlin said. “That would put me in a really good spot over the next couple of years and then get into the 60s where I think that could hold up for quite some time until someone young comes in and moves up the list. It’s going to continue to get harder and harder. The field gets closer and closer, and the wins are going to get more spread out. So, we’re not in the era of three competitive cars and four competitive drivers. Wins are always going to get more spread out now than what they were back in the 1960s and 1970s, in those days. I’d like to firmly get in there, and then make people chase it from that from that point on.”
All of this is to say nothing whatever results he can earn as a co-owner of 23XI Racing with Michael Jordan and Curtis Polk. That will be his ‘retirement,’ whatever that means for a guy has active as Hamlin.
“I think I just need to see what retirement is like, whether I’m bored or not,” Hamlin said. “I just don’t see myself as someone that is able to go from this crazy world and life that I live with all these things to then just shutting it down to zero. So, I think I need to just feel those first few months out.
“Obviously, feel like with 23XI, there’s an opportunity there to be winners of the sport long after I’m done driving. That will take up more time, I’ll give more time to that. But then beyond that, I don’t know. I’ll figure out how much golf I could play and how many fish I can catch.”
And while Hamlin will have that white whale to chase in the championship for as long as he is still pursuing it, Hamlin knows the championship is won in a somewhat less straightforward way as it used o be.
In other words, what will define his longevity and legacy will have little to do with whether or not he eventually hoists the Bill France Cup someday.
“Just more Crown Jewels,” Hamlin said. “I don’t know exactly how many I have now. Seven? So, if I can get (to) eight or nine, I don’t know if that changes much, but it certainly makes me feel a little better. You have to have goals, and those Crown Jewels will be one that you know we go to races like this (Brickyard 400), they’re going to talk about ones that people that have won here at this race track and won Crown Jewel events.
“I want to be high on the Crown Jewel list of winners. If I can get a couple more of those and again put myself well into the 60s (career wins), if not a bigger number, then (pause). if I get nothing else, truly, I’m going to be happy. I’ll be disappointed because you know, setting my goals now accordingly based off how things are going. But truthfully, I would be happy with just calling it and saying this is how many races I won, this is my winning percentage, this is how many Crown Jewels I have.”
