Denny Hamlin Confirms Retirement Date With 3-Word Honest Confession at WWTR

“I’m gonna try to just win all I can this window while it is still there.” Denny Hamlin said this at Bristol back in April. Heading into the 2025 Cup Series season’s second Bristol race, his words hold more true than ever. Denny Hamlin just won at World Wide Technology Raceway, setting new milestones in his long career.

After two decades of non-stop stock car racing, Hamlin is approaching legendary status in NASCAR. His latest victory in Gateway put his win total at 59, placing him 11th on the all-time wins list. And this milestone is all that matters for Hamlin to think about his exit plan.

Denny Hamlin finally pins a date

During the 240-lap Enjoy Illinois 300 race, the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran hogged the spotlight. Denny Hamlin started from the pole on a track where he had finished runner-up twice before. He brushed with his usual rivals, including Chase Briscoe and Kyle Larson. By the end of the race, he fended off Briscoe successfully to win his first race in Gateway, boasting his 59 victories at 20 different tracks. What is more, Hamlin became only the seventh driver to win multiple races after 700 career starts. He also ranks fourth all-time with 14 playoff wins. Hamlin has won races in the 10-race playoffs in 10 different seasons.

Hence, although the championship conversation is still alive, Denny Hamlin felt satisfied enough to confess his retirement dates. He signed a contract extension with JGR on July 25th, and journalist Bob Pockrass asked him a question about that in the post-race conference. “When you were talking about, like, having the countdown to 70 to go, it’s just kind of assuming that your net two-year deal will be the last, right?” And Pockrass’s assumption turned true, as Hamlin admitted that this deal would be his final stretch. He slipped a 3-word confession: “Yes, that’s correct.”

What is more, Denny Hamlin has even fixed his goal for his final two-year countdown. And that does not entail a championship, as Hamlin explained, “It’s always been about the number of races…You know Brickyards, right? I haven’t won the freaking Brickyard. And it’s like I’m gonna have two more shots at it, and that’s it to round this thing out. There’s certain races that I do have countdowns for. Championships isn’t one of them…obviously, it’s well-documented. I wanna get the wins, and I feel like that would carry its weight long after. When you compare me to someone that’s got one or two, maybe even three championships and half the wins – I don’t think that person’s better than I am.”

Evidently, Denny Hamlin is passionately trundling down the final stretch of his Cup Series road. We cannot wait to see what magic he conjures in this time period. Stay tuned for more updates! 

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