Denny Hamlin's 2-year contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing could be his last in Cup series

Associated Press

5 days ago

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Denny Hamlin never wanted to drive for a team other than Joe Gibbs Racing.
A two-year contract extension may seal the deal.
On Friday, five days after winning his 58th Cup race, the 44-year-old Hamlin signed what he said would likely be his final contract extension. JGR officials only said the deal was for 'multiple' years, though Hamlin noted he didn't want anything longer than two years.
'Two years is what I was comfortable with,' he said. 'I wanted to make sure I gave them the proper time and make sure I commit to them for not one year but multiple years, to let them try to continue to build the program. I want to make sure I'm still at my peak form in my final year.'
There's no indication Hamlin is slowing down.
He owns a series best four wins this season and has the top points total, 663, outside the Hendrick Motorsports stable. Only Chase Elliott, William Byron and Kyle Larson enter the weekend with more points.
A win in Sunday's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway would allow Hamlin to complete a career sweep of NASCAR's crown jewel races. He's already won three Daytona 500s, three Southern 500s and one Coca-Cola 600.
'Adding another crown jewel would be big and then to have swept them all,' said Hamlin, who will make his 17th career Indy start. 'I mean certainly the names are very, very prestigious on that list, so it would certainly mean a lot to me. It would be just another feather in the cap.'
Hamlin has done just about everything else since his first race in 2005 — except win a series title.
With 706 career starts, all with JGR, he's the longest tenured driver in team history even though he missed one race this year after the birth of his first son and third child. He ranks 11th on the Cup's career victory list. He also owns 244 top-five finishes, 369 top-10s and has won the pole 44 times.
He and NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan even co-own NASCAR's 23XI Racing team, which fields cars for Bubba Wallace, Riley Herbst and Tyler Reddick. Hamlin's team and Front Row Motorsports are locked in a legal battle over antitrust allegations against NASCAR.
'He's very, very high racing IQ,' Reddick said, describing Hamlin. 'I feel like the last couple of years he's done more sharing of that with everybody, with the platforms he uses. For me, he's really helped me understand short track racing. I feel like between him (Hamlin) and Bubba, they helped me better understand what to look for in my car.'
And yet, Hamlin also acknowledged he's not really ready to retire yet and he might not be in two years, either.
Instead, he wants to see how it feels to be out of the driver's seat, knowing comebacks in this sport happen routinely. Should he have second thoughts, he might even return to JGR.
'I really appreciate Denny and everything he has meant to our organization,' Gibbs said in a statement. 'It is just really special when you think about everything we've experienced over the past 20 years, from that first moment when J.D. (Gibbs) recognized his talent at a test session, until now. It is remarkable in any sport to compete at the level Denny has for this long and we are thrilled he has been able to spend his entire career with us.'
But Hamlin's decision also came down to more than sentiment.
'I'd kind of like to see where I'm at two years from now, where the team's at, what's their Plan B, where they are with that and then just how competitive I am, how good do I feel how much and how bad do I want it,' Hamlin said. 'All those things are big, big, big factors in it. But I just want the ability to know I can win my last race. That's the deciding factor.'
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