Tag: Denny Hamlin

FedEx won’t return as sponsor for Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing in 2025

FedEx won’t return as a sponsor for Denny Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing in 2025, ending a 19-year run on the No. 11 car.

[autotag]Denny Hamlin[/autotag]’s long journey with [autotag]FedEx[/autotag] has concluded at the end of the 2024 NASCAR season. Ahead of the season finale at Phoenix Raceway, Hamlin posted a “thank you” video to FedEx on social media. Then, the driver of the No. 11 car confirmed after the race at Phoenix that FedEx will not return as a sponsor in 2025.

This marks another sponsorship loss for [autotag]Joe Gibbs Racing[/autotag], which saw Mars leave Kyle Busch after the 2022 NASCAR season. FedEx has been with Hamlin for 19 years and has been a steady, full-season sponsor throughout his career. However, the company’s presence on the No. 11 car has dwindled over the last few years, with 2024 being the most noticeable.

Now, FedEx won’t be on Hamlin’s race car moving forward, but it doesn’t mean the relationship between the two sides will come to an end. For now, Joe Gibbs Racing must focus on acquiring more sponsorship for Hamlin and the No. 11 car in 2025. The race at Phoenix marked the end of an era for Hamlin, but it will also be a new beginning for other companies.

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Hamlin says it’s ‘TBD’ if 23XI Racing competes in Cup next season

Denny Hamlin acknowledged for the first time Friday it is “TBD” if 23XI Racing will compete in 2025. The reaction comes a day after 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports were denied their preliminary injunction request. As the only two teams who …

Denny Hamlin acknowledged for the first time Friday it is “TBD” if 23XI Racing will compete in 2025.

The reaction comes a day after 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports were denied their preliminary injunction request. As the only two teams who have not signed the 2025 charter agreement, not only has a lawsuit been brought against NASCAR on antitrust claims, the two organizations want to race as charter teams next season while pursuing litigation.

A charter team is guaranteed a spot in each race and a portion of the prize money; open teams receive significantly less.

“I think it’s all TBD,” Hamlin said of the Nos. 23 and 45 teams running The Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium in February and the season-opening Daytona 500. “There are certain agreements we’re going to have to navigate, so I hope so.”

Although the injunction was denied, as it was determined the teams only complained of speculative harm, 23XI Racing indicated it will appeal the ruling. Additionally, U.S. District Court Judge Frank Whitney said the team could file a renewed motion if circumstances change.

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“We were obviously pleased with the ruling that the judge sees merit in [the] case,” Hamlin said. “He’s going to move forward to expedite it [and] expedite the discovery side of it, which is a reverse from what he had before. Obviously [this could give us] an opportunity to refile once the situation changes, because he knows that things will change over the next few months.

“He understands the complexity of it and obviously understands that the situation is fluid, and we obviously could see some pretty bad harm coming up.”

A two-car team since 2022, the plan is to expand to three full-time entries beginning next season. 23XI Racing is one of the teams that is in the market to buy a charter for sale from Stewart-Haas Racing, which is closing its doors. Gene Haas kept one charter for the rebranded Haas Factory Team, but the other three are headed elsewhere.

NASCAR approves all charter sales, but it is unclear what NASCAR will decide about the charter if 23XI Racing cannot purchase it.

Hamlin also admitted he does not “have any indication of [what happens to] it. I don’t.”

Denny Hamlin gives his verdict on NASCAR’s decisions at Martinsville in 2024

Denny Hamlin gives his verdict on NASCAR’s decisions at Martinsville in 2024. Does Hamlin believe NASCAR made the right decisions?

[autotag]Denny Hamlin[/autotag] might not be fighting for a NASCAR Cup Series driver’s championship, but there is still more to look forward to after Martinsville Speedway. Hamlin has Tyler Reddick, the driver of the No. 45 car at 23XI Racing, fighting for a title at Phoenix Raceway. However, he also could have seen his teammate Christopher Bell battling as well.

NASCAR determined that Bell committed a “safety violation” by riding the wall in the final moments of the Cup Series race at Martinsville, knocking him out of the Championship 4. Hamlin went on his podcast, Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin, and revealed his verdict on NASCAR’s decision to knock out his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate.

“In the end, I think [NASCAR] made the right call,” Hamlin said. “I don’t like it, but they wanted to avoid us wall-riding on last laps to either gain or defend positions. [Christopher Bell] didn’t have to do it. I think there was probably a little bit of panic in the moment because he just shipped it into Turn 3 to try to get past the [Bubba Wallace] in a panic because the No. 23 has issues or is falling back the last few laps. He sees him, he catches him quickly, he knows he needs his spot.”

“So, he drives in there really deep, washes, gets out of control, gets in the marbles…and then CBell hits the wall. And in a panic situation there, he just guns it and tries to get to the line as quick as he can, where I think he would have been fine if he just glanced off of it and pulled it down. It was not going to be easy to pull down. He would have had to have stopped or come close it, and then accelerate off the corner, but I think it was the continuous wall contact that they deemed inappropriate.”

Bell’s decision to ride the wall ultimately cost him a shot at competing for a Cup Series title, but it didn’t come without other controversy surrounding race manipulation with Chevrolet and Toyota. NASCAR could do the unthinkable and change the Championship 4 if they felt it was necessary, but Hamlin won’t be able to gain from such a decision. He will rely on Reddick to bring him a championship as an owner.

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Practice crash puts Hamlin in ‘must win’ mindset at Martinsville

Denny Hamlin switched to a must-win mentality after crashing in practice Saturday at Martinsville Speedway, knowing he’ll have to come from the rear of the field in the final elimination race of the playoffs. Hamlin spun and significantly damaged …

Denny Hamlin switched to a must-win mentality after crashing in practice Saturday at Martinsville Speedway, knowing he’ll have to come from the rear of the field in the final elimination race of the playoffs.

Hamlin spun and significantly damaged the rear of his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota when the throttle hung going into Turn 3. It happened about halfway through the 45-minute session after he had, at the time, set the quickest lap. He wound up third overall when the session was completed.

The five-time Martinsville winner said his car was doing everything it needed to do before the crash. He was caught off guard when the car didn’t slow down on its 33rd lap.

“We just got unlucky,” Hamlin said.

A piece of rubber was the culprit that led to the hung throttle.

“[They] sent me a picture and there was a large chunk right in the throttle body that was still sitting there when we pulled in here,” Hamlin said. “I’ve had throttles stick before but never hang all the way wide open. But looking at the way the rubber was in there, the throttle had no chance to come backward.”

Hamlin put his reactions to the test trying to keep from going front-end first into the wall, hitting the pedals as hard as possible and whipping the wheel to the left.

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The No. 11 will not make a qualifying attempt for Sunday’s race as the team repairs the car. Once the damaged car was brought back to the garage, crew chief Chris Gabehart and his team took off the body panels before rolling it through the inspection stations to check on chassis measurements.

The team determined it was repairable and will spend Saturday making it race-ready. Hamlin will start at the rear of the field and the team will not have an ideal pit stall selection.

“It’s hard to win these races straight up, and even if you had the pole, it’s hard to win,” Hamlin said. “Our battle is going to be very much uphill. … Certainly, the chances of getting in on points now are done. We just have to figure out a way to win the race.”

The good news is, Hamlin felt the softer tire was an improvement over what was run at Martinsville in the past. Given that, he’s optimistic that, with a good handling car, a driver can make their way through the field if the race goes green long enough.

He enters Sunday’s race 18 points out of a transfer spot.

“That will be the short-term goal — try to find a way to put some cars between us and the leaders to stay on the lead lap,” Hamlin said. “It will be difficult to do that, but we’ll give it our best shot. We’re not going to give up.”

Hamlin, Gabehart channeling experience for Martinsville clock

In the closing minutes of his latest podcast episode, Denny Hamlin was given a statistic that made him hang his head. Sunday, Nov. 3 will mark 3,507 days since he last won at Martinsville Speedway. For that highlight, the calendar would need to be …

In the closing minutes of his latest podcast episode, Denny Hamlin was given a statistic that made him hang his head.

Sunday, Nov. 3 will mark 3,507 days since he last won at Martinsville Speedway. For that highlight, the calendar would need to be flipped back to March 29, 2015. This Sunday, he’ll take the green flag there with his season hanging in the balance.

“Do y’all realize how many races we’ve dominated, and it’s always the fall race?” Hamlin said on Actions Detrimental. “We dominate the fall races. We led a bazillion laps and had a bad pit stop in 2021 [while] leading the race, came out eighth with not many laps to go.

“We’ve always had something keep us from winning there, and me and Chris [Gabehart] just want to win at Martinsville. Like [expletive] all the final four and all that, that’s great, but we just want to win there. That’s such a great racetrack and a track that I take a lot of pride in, and man, I want to win it bad.”

Should the pendulum finally swing in their direction, the elusive victory would put Hamlin in the championship hunt. Sunday will be the duo’s 12th race together at Martinsville Speedway since they paired together in 2019.

“I’ve chosen not to look up how many laps we’ve led at this track without actually getting a win together, but I think it’s probably close to some sort of record for a crew chief,” Gabehart said. “I would love to finally get it done. Winning at Martinsville is a huge event, in my mind, especially as a short tracker, and the fall race being the cutoff race of the playoffs on top of it. It’s a special one. It would be great to get it done, for sure.”

In the last 11 races at Martinsville, Hamlin led 912 laps, won a pole, and finished in the top five six times. In the fall race alone, he’s led 534 laps.

A victory is the easiest way to advance, but Gabehart acknowledged points are not out of the equation. Hamlin is in an 18-point deficit, so the first two stages will set the tone for how the team attacks the final stint.

It’s almost ironic that it comes down to Martinsville once again. A week ago, Hamlin was two laps from winning at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but Ryan Blaney and then Tyler Reddick had other plans. It was one of the most disappointing defeats for the team.

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The finish aside, Homestead was another high and then low moment for the group. There have been plenty of those in the postseason, which started with an engine issue in qualifying at Atlanta Motor Speedway and carried over into the race with an ill-handling car and poor execution. There have been pit road woes, incidents on the track, and results all across the board.

“I was telling someone earlier, it’s pretty wild,” Gabehart said. “I looked at a stat earlier and through the first eight races, I think we have the third-best average finish of anybody in the playoffs and are pretty high up there overall because of the variance of the schedule. But it sure doesn’t feel that way, and where it really doesn’t feel that way is if you look at stage points. We have very little compared to those in the playoffs, which speaks to your point about having to scratch and claw throughout the entire race just to manufacture a finish. Well, those stage points, if you’re upfront all day, you get them.

“So it’s been a grind. But what’s got us here, in my mind, is the experience of the group — the experience of Denny, the experience of myself, the experience of [spotter Chris] Lambert, the trust in one another to know the situation and know that until that last checkered flag drops, the day is not over and I think we’ve been able to preserve a lot because of that. We did catch a break at Talladega that was pivotal to our year, but we’ve also not caught a lot of breaks at places like Talladega, so that happens. I don’t look at that as luck. I look at that as finally our number came up. But it’s a lot throughout this playoff for sure.”

The team needs to be ready for their moment to change the narrative of their playoffs and at Martinsville. Gabehart pointed out they were not ready at Kansas Speedway when they struggled on pit road when capable of winning. The circumstances then dictated not taking more risks than necessary at Bristol Motor Speedway to advance out of the first round. Homestead just didn’t fall their way.

“The key with this level of experience, and this group, is understanding that you need to be there to be able to capitalize on the situation whenever that caution flag falls your way, or whenever you have a fast car, or whenever the car comes down pit road,” Gabehart said. “I think [having that] experience helps a lot.”

Which NASCAR driver has the most wins at Martinsville?

Which NASCAR driver has the most wins at Martinsville Speedway? Check out who tops the list at Martinsville!

NASCAR has a very long history with Martinsville Speedway, and it has produced great moments dating back to the 1949 season. Since that point, the NASCAR Cup Series has competed in a staggering 151 races. However, which NASCAR driver has the most wins at Martinsville? Well, the answer won’t surprise you due to their previous success in the sport.

[autotag]Richard Petty[/autotag] has 15 victories at Martinsville, which makes him the most successful driver at the track in NASCAR history. Petty holds a four-win lead over Darrell Waltrip, as the two drivers are the only ones over single digits. Overall, the seven-time NASCAR champion is unlikely to lose this record anytime soon.

As for the active NASCAR driver with the most wins at Martinsville, Denny Hamlin holds the top spot with five victories. Hamlin is the only active driver with more than three wins, so his spot in the record books will be safe for the upcoming event at Martinsville in 2024.

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‘You got to try to find a way to finish it, and just didn’t’ – Hamlin

Denny Hamlin was where he wanted to be at the end of Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but it wasn’t enough to finish first. Hamlin wound up third in the Straight Talk Wireless 400, losing the lead with two laps to go. He was passed by Ryan …

Denny Hamlin was where he wanted to be at the end of Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but it wasn’t enough to finish first.

Hamlin wound up third in the Straight Talk Wireless 400, losing the lead with two laps to go. He was passed by Ryan Blaney going into Turns 3 and 4, and then by the car he co-owns, driven by Tyler Reddick, on the final lap.

“I’m not really sure,” Hamlin said of what he could have done differently. “I tried to cover all lanes, but just couldn’t quite get off the corner as good as I needed to there on that short run. The short run wasn’t my specialty all day, obviously.

“But either way, controlling the race with two to go, you got to try to find a way to finish it and just didn’t.”

Hamlin took the lead on the final restart of the afternoon with seven laps to go. He restarted on the outside of the second row and drove around Blaney and Reddick going into Turn 1. The initial gap he built over Blaney was erased when the reigning series champion used the bottom lane to pull even with Hamlin off Turn 2 in the final laps.

It was a day the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team needed. Hamlin led 21 laps and earned 14 stage points.

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Chris Gabehart, Hamlin’s crew chief, also chose an alternate strategy to help his driver with track position. Gabehart ran Hamlin long on green flag fuel runs, which put him in the middle of the top 10 when it cycled out, but gave his driver fresh tires to make up the difference on the long runs.

In stage two, the call allowed Hamlin to drive through the field to win the stage. The same strategy was in play again in the final stage when Hamlin did not pit until 39 laps to go. Again, at a deficit, he needed to erase 18s with 25 laps to go to get to the lead.

Hamlin was running sixth with 22 laps to go and into fourth place with 17 laps to go. When the cycle completed, as Reddick was also on the same strategy, Hamlin was running third and was 6s behind. Then came the final caution with 13 laps to go, which moved Hamlin to second place coming to pit road.

He left pit road in the same position, but Reddick stayed out on track to inherit the race lead and set up the final run to the finish.

“Chris gave me everything I needed there to try to race him,” Hamlin said. “Just didn’t get it done.”

A victory not meant to be an aside, Hamlin did close the gap on a transfer spot into the championship race. He entered the weekend in a 27-point deficit, but is now 18 points behind going into the elimination race at Martinsville Speedway (Nov. 3, 2 p.m. ET).

“It’s another opportunity,” he said, “Certainly you’re not out of it until they throw the checkered flag at Martinsville.”

Which NASCAR driver has the most wins at Homestead?

Which NASCAR driver has the most wins at Homestead-Miami Speedway? Check out who tops the list in Miami!

NASCAR doesn’t have a very long history with Homestead-Miami Speedway, but it has produced great moments dating back to the 1999 season. Since that point, the NASCAR Cup Series has competed in 25 races. However, which NASCAR driver has the most wins at Homestead? Well, the answer is a trio of successful competitors in the sport’s history.

[autotag]Tony Stewart[/autotag], [autotag]Greg Biffle[/autotag], and [autotag]Denny Hamlin[/autotag] have three victories at Homestead, which makes them the most successful drivers at the track in NASCAR history. Stewart won the first two Cup Series races at the venue and in 2011 while Biffle won three straight from 2004-2006. Meanwhile, Hamlin has won three times in 2009, 2013, and 2020.

As for the next active NASCAR driver with the most wins at Homestead, Kyle Busch holds the second spot with two victories. Busch is the only driver that can equal Stewart, Biffle, and Hamlin at the next event but several drivers with one victory can join Busch at second overall as an active competitor.

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Hamlin looking to ‘clean it up’ as playoff woes continue

Denny Hamlin earned a top-10 finish on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but the postseason continues to be anything but smooth sailing for his Joe Gibbs Racing team. “Not a clean day,” Hamlin said after finishing eighth. “That certainly sums it …

Denny Hamlin earned a top-10 finish on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but the postseason continues to be anything but smooth sailing for his Joe Gibbs Racing team.

“Not a clean day,” Hamlin said after finishing eighth. “That certainly sums it up. We did the best we could to get the best finish. I thought Chris [Gabehart] did a great job to get some sort of finish.

“Once we lost the track position early, he was doing the best he could to try to get it back through strategy, and then it goes long there, and we fall to the back. Just part of it.”

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Hamlin fell out of the top 10 during the first round of green flag pit stops in the South Point 400. The No. 11 crew had a slower pit stop than the competition that dropped Hamlin in the running order.

Gabehart kept Hamlin on track to start the second stage, which gave the team the race lead. However, Gabehart wasn’t looking to run away with the race but to regain the lost track position. It didn’t help much as Hamlin quickly dropped through the field on older tires. He finished the stage in 19th position.

“We were off some, but we lost so much track position obviously on pit road,” Hamlin said. “So, we weren’t that great. Certainly not as good as I thought we would be after practice (on Saturday). The team did a really good job just getting the best finish we could.”

Hamlin called the struggles on pit road “not ideal” and that it is hampering their ability to finish well. It was the same story at Kansas Speedway when Hamlin had to fight for an eighth-place finish due to a long day on pit road.

“But everyone is trying as hard as they can,” Hamlin said.

A top-10 finish was the good news for Hamlin, but he is still behind in the battle to transfer to the championship race. Hamlin went from eight points below the cutline to 27 leaving Las Vegas.

“I don’t know where we are at, but certainly, we’re not running quite as strong as we were earlier in the year, and we’re definitely not as clean, execution-wise, as we were,” Hamlin said. “We will just have to clean it up and go to Homestead and try to win it.”

Lawsuit not distracting Hamlin or his team as they chase Cup title

Denny Hamlin believes it’s simple in how he goes about trying to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship despite his organization suing the league. “[You] just need to prepare the best you can and do the best you can on Sunday,” Hamlin said at …

Denny Hamlin believes it’s simple in how he goes about trying to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship despite his organization suing the league.

“[You] just need to prepare the best you can and do the best you can on Sunday,” Hamlin said at Talladega Superspeedway. “It’s more of a question for my team and I would ask them, ‘Has your driver [ever] not been prepared?’ … Never.”

A joint antitrust lawsuit from 23XI Racing, the team Hamlin co-owns with Michael Jordan and Curtis Polk, was filed Wednesday morning in North Carolina. Not only does it take aim at the 2025 Charter Agreement, but alleges NASCAR and the France family have used anti-competitive practices, operate without transparency, have stifled the competition, and control the sport in an unfair way to others.

Hamlin is back behind the wheel of his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at Talladega trying to advance in the Cup Series playoffs. He is 11 points above the cutline.

“I certainly talked about it probably a year or so ago when it came down to this, and I became more comfortable with what the result was – no matter what, whether I win a championship or not, I’m going to make sure I can sleep at night knowing that I gave it my all for my team,” Hamlin continued. “Certainly, there’s been some circumstances over time that I haven’t been able to control, but [I can’t] let those situations affect me. This situation I can control and I give the team the proper preparation and make sure that when I get in the race car on Sunday, they know through my actions on the track that I’m 100 percent in it and focused.”

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Hamlin believes that was shown again this week. Although he already makes sure that any request about the car he drives will supersede everything else, he was walking the Charlotte Roval layout this week “hours before” the moment that’s since dominated the news cycle.

The reactions Hamlin’s heard about the lawsuit have been positive, he said. Jordan Fish, his fiancée, sent him a clip from the movie Moneyball where John Henry, owner of the Boston Red Sox, said, “The first guy through the wall, he always gets bloody.” It’s because there is a threat to the status quo and someone’s livelihood, but that’s a reaction Hamlin doesn’t want to see because the lawsuit should be viewed as an opportunity to promote change in the sport that’s positive for all involved.

Regardless, Hamlin again finds himself at the center of the news cycle, having to operate in chaos, which he’s previously said he does well in. He didn’t deny this is a similar situation to some of those personal and professional incidents in the past.

“I’ve always been one of those that doesn’t want to be consumed with this 24 hours a day — the driving aspect,” Hamlin said. “I would be burnt out if I raced as much as Kyle Larson or Kyle Busch. That’s just not my style of coming out here and competing.

“Make no mistakes, the competitor in me, you don’t think I don’t want to come out here and win this weekend more than any? That’s what I fuel myself on … So, certainly, anyone who knows me personally will tell you that these moments you’ll typically get more out of Denny because I hate to lose and will not justify any excuses to losing…. But this isn’t a responsibility I’m taking all myself. We have a team that handles this now and they’re now speaking upon it and acting upon it. The work’s been done on my standpoint; you just let them do their work and things will work themselves out.”