At 43-years-old, and fresh off signing a contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing, Denny Hamlin seems locked-in with Joe Gibbs Racing but a part of him still wants to drive his own cars at the NASCAR Cup Series level someday.
The admission was made on the Happy Hours with Kevin Harvick podcast this week, where Hamlin discussed the emergence of 23XI Racing as a legitimate contender and what it would take for him to drive his own equipment.
“I think it would take a few years because you’ve got to have a pit crew, too. The pit crew is such a big part of the results nowadays,” Hamlin said. “The only advantage to that now, though, is that the cars are so similar. I’m very confident in the speed of the cars. The 23XI is just as fast as Joe Gibbs Racing is, but there’s so many other elements that play into the result that would take a few years to get. You got to have the right person on the top of the pit box. You got to have the right engineers. You’d have to put that team together, and it certainly would take a few years.
“There’s a few hesitations I have. One is that I want to end my career with Joe Gibbs Racing because I want to be loyal to the person that gave me my start, but yes, there is a part of me that wants to drive for 23XI, absolutely. I think, without doubt, I’ll say that I’ll certainly be racing at 23XI in at least a race at some point in my career.”
To wit, especially off his current contract, Hamlin doesn’t see himself finishing his full-time career at anywhere other than Joe Gibbs Racing but that leaves the door open for a part-time role in some capacity.
The 2024 season is his 19th at the highest level of the discipline, all driving the JGR No. 11, where he has 52 wins, including three in the Daytona 500, but is still seeking his first championship.
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.