The longest tenured driver-sponsorship pairing in the NASCAR Cup Series has come to a close.
Denny Hamlin, somewhat surprisingly, revealed on his social media channels that the season finale on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway would be the last for FedEx on the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11.
Hamlin finished 11th on Sunday and closed out his 19th full-time season eighth in the championship standings. This is also the 20th season he’s raced under the FedEx colors dating back to his part-time debut in 2005, a partner that has been with Gibbs since 2004 when they first paired with Jason Leffler.
The brand was once the full-time sponsor but began reducing races in 2021.
“Yeah, just can’t thank them enough for 19 years,” Hamlin said after the race. “It’s been such a great relationship. You’d say at the very beginning would you take 19 years in a row with the presence they’ve had? Absolutely.
“They’ve been part of my racing career, the whole thing in Cup. Really happy to be able to represent them and all their employees.”
Hamlin signed a multi-year extension with Gibbs last year that began this season and much of the delay in getting that deal done was the sponsorship
What’s the status for the 11 car next year after a season where Mavis Discount Tire, Sport Clips, Coca-Cola also split time on the car?
“It’s a work in progress. Certainly, the [Joe] Gibbs team is working really hard, Hamlin replied. “We’ve got some good talks going on, but we’ll see what goes on next year. Obviously, we got some great partners that have been with the team for quite some time now that you’ll see some presence with.”
Hamlin also suggested that his personal relationship with FedEx will likely continue in some fashion.
“I’ll always have a relationship with FedEx and really the executives there,” Hamlin said. “They’ve just been so good to me over the years and my family and this team, so absolutely. I’ll still bleed purple.”