Groovy Hollow Recap
Though he has a contract for 2026, NASCAR Cup Series veteran Denny Hamlin says he “plans” to race next season, pushing aside speculation of a retirement following his crushing championship loss at Phoenix Raceway.
Sunday afternoon, Denny Hamlin looked set for NASCAR immortality under the Arizona sun as the laps wound down and his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 paced the field.
In a season that began with Hamlin losing his long-time Crew Chief, Chris Gabehart, and without a contract or anchor sponsor, Hamlin and his new pit boss, Chris Gayle, set the sport on fire this year, leading all drivers with six wins, including Hamlin’sHamlin’s 60th, and returning the No. 11 to the Championship Four for the first time since 2021.
However, much like the 2021 race, a late caution (and bold pit strategy) resulted in a loss of position to eventual champion Kyle Larson that was too steep to recover from. Though Hamlin had come close before, this time stung even more, as Hamlin was far and away the best car on Sunday.
After the race, fans asked if Hamlin would pull a “Carl,” which refers to NASCAR Hall of Famer and former JGR driver Carl Edwards, who shockingly retired after coming up short of the 2016 NASCAR Cup Series championship.
Though he has a deal for at least the next two seasons, his post-race press conference added fuel to this speculation, with Hamlin saying, “In this moment, I never want to race a car ever again, I mean, my fun meter is pegged.”
But, not even two days after his loss at Phoenix Raceway, Hamlin addressed this speculation during a media availability ahead of Tuesday Night’s NASCAR Awards Banquet.
Despite all the speculation surrounding its future in the sport, Hamlin told the media that he still plans to race for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2026, although it will take some time to fully process Sunday’s season finale.
“I plan to [race], I have a contract to, but at this point, there’s just absolutely no way… I don’t even [want to] think about a race car right now. It just, yeah, I’m gonna need some time on this one.” — Denny Hamlin
Hamlin signed a “Multi-Year Contract Extension” with JGR in July, a contract many assumed to be his final in NASCAR.
As of press time, if Hamlin were to step away from the No. 11, there would be no clear replacement in the JGR pipeline, as many point to phenom Brent Crews as the future driver of the No. 11.
When Edwards walked away from JGR after the 2016 season, the team was left in a similar position, forced to call up Xfinity Series champion Daniel Suarez after just two seasons in NASCAR’s secondary National Series.
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