Denny Hamlin says his new cope with JGR “most probably” his final

Talking to the media in a Saturday press convention at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin revealed that his newest contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing may be his final.

Hamlin signed a two-year deal to proceed driving the No. 11 Toyota via the 2027 season, and whereas he would not say for sure, the 44-year-old indicated that it may very well be his last contract extension with JGR.

“I might say most likely, most seemingly,” mentioned Hamlin. “Who is aware of, however most seemingly.”

Deciding when to hold up the helmet

As for the size of the deal, Hamlin mentioned all of it got here all the way down to what he thought made probably the most sense for himself. He has spent the whole thing of his NASCAR Cup profession with JGR, courting again to the 2005 season.

“For me, it is all I really feel snug with,” mentioned Hamlin. “Three years? Who is aware of what can occur three years from now, so I simply need to ensure that I get them (Joe Gibbs Racing) correct time and ensure I decide to them for not one yr, a number of years. Allow them to attempt to construct proceed to construct this system. No explicit motive apart from, if I used to be 26, I might take 10 years, however I simply I need to ensure that I am nonetheless at my peak type in my last yr. That may very well be tailing off for 3 years, so I do not need that.”

When these two years are up, what’s going to Hamlin think about earlier than deciding if he needs to hold up the helmet or not? Based on the veteran driver, the 2 primary elements shall be the place the crew is at and the way aggressive Hamlin feels he proceed to be behind the wheel.

“All these issues are simply large elements in it, however I simply I would like the flexibility to know I can win my final race,” continued Hamlin. “That is going to be the deciding issue. I am not going to attend till I begin to head downward after which retire. I do not need to undergo an entire yr. I perceive if it simply occurs naturally within the second half of the ultimate yr, then it simply occurs, however I do not need to need to undergo one other season, if I am beginning to tail off the top of subsequent yr, I’ll simply retire. I may retire every time I need to retire, so I believe that I’m simply going to see how issues go.”

What else does Hamlin need out of his profession?

Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Photograph by: Meg Oliphant / Getty Photographs

Regardless of fears of slowing down, Hamlin stays a extremely aggressive driver on monitor, main all drivers with 4 wins this yr. He’s at the moment simply two wins away from cracking the highest ten on the all-time wins listing. So, moreover a championship, what else does Hamlin need out of his Corridor of Fame profession?

“Simply extra crown jewels,” mentioned Hamlin. “I don’t know precisely what number of I’ve now. Seven? So, if I can get (to) eight or 9, I do not know if that modifications a lot, however it definitely makes me really feel a little bit higher. You need to have objectives, and people crown jewels shall be one which we go to races like this (Brickyard 400), they will speak about ones that folks which have gained right here at this race monitor and gained crown jewel occasions. I need to be excessive on the crown jewel listing of winners.”

As for longevity, there are few drivers who can say they’ve raced for a similar crew for 20 straight years. At present, Hamlin is the one driver within the Cup Sequence who can say that. He mentioned the connection with JGR means “so much” to him, crediting them for all the pieces he now has right now.

“They’re those that went out on a limb and employed me after I had nothing,” mentioned Hamlin. “They took an opportunity on me and JD (Gibbs) clearly believed in me fairly a bit. So yeah, you need to pay again that loyalty to the household that gave you that begin and , it will be effectively over 20 years that I will be with them and could not think about racing for another group, a lot much less household.”