“I feel hungover from racing. I just need a break to reset.”
Those were some of Denny Hamlin’s comments just days after a heartbreaking loss in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 2. One cannot blame Hamlin, who won a series-best six races in 2025 and led 208 of 319 laps in the season finale, for feeling this way.
“It’s about what you would think, as good as it could be,” Hamlin said last week, less than four full days after his disappointing loss. “I’ve had a lot of different things that have happened over the course of my career. I’ve been knocked out or lost championships in different kinds of ways. That was certainly the closest we have been.
“It’s just a life lesson. Sometimes, life’s not fair, even though you feel deserving. Still, circumstances have to fall your way. There’s nothing I could have done behind the wheel to change the result. It’s just the way races play out, and that’s the format.”
Hamlin, now a grizzled veteran at 44 years old, had arguably his best chance at winning a championship end in a way that reminded NASCAR fans of Carl Edwards’ 2016 loss and complete departure from NASCAR racing. Hamlin spoke to Edwards the week after Phoenix.
With three laps remaining at Phoenix, less than one minute before taking the white flag, William Byron had a tire issue and clobbered the outside wall entering Turn 3. Hamlin and No. 11 crew chief Chris Gayle pitted for four tires, while Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson took two tires. Larson restarted on the outside lane of the third row, while Hamlin lined up on the inside of row five.
Larson soared ahead to earn his second championship with a third-place finish in the race, as Hamlin watched the celebration from pit road, credited with a sixth-place outing.
“It was a really good season,” Hamlin said. “We exceeded some of my expectations when it came to race wins. Making it to the [Championship] Four was a great accomplishment. It was certainly a year where, even though we had ups and downs in terms of finishes, we never had a lull of performance. We were performing really well throughout the entire season from race one to the very end.”
However, NASCAR is finalizing a new playoff format, which should be announced leading into the 2026 season. Before Hamlin’s stunning defeat, the garage had already been debating numerous formats, and the 2025 championship made it clear for many that something has to change.
“Certainly, the bigger the sample size, the better the opportunity that it presents to myself and the [No.] 11 team, considering we’re good at pretty much all racetracks,” a forward-looking Hamlin said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what it is, and I’m sure we can adapt to whatever.”
Hamlin won his 60th career Cup race this year, scoring the emotional triumph at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in mid-October, ironically the site of his first Cup start. However, he is not sure what his next goals are as he has two years left on his contract with Joe Gibbs Racing, though he wants to surpass Kevin Harvick for 10th on the all-time wins list (currently tied).
“I have to take the offseason to reassess what the goals are,” Hamlin said. “That takes time, and I need to be methodical about what that is. I’m still driven to compete, and that’s something I enjoy doing. As I assess what the goals will be from this point forward, race wins and a win total will be part of that goal.
“I certainly feel as though I’m as sharp as ever when it comes to my race craft. I change it here and there throughout each offseason. There are things I’ll refine with how I approach racetracks. But generally speaking, it’s been good to keep the speed throughout my career for this long.”
No matter what goal Hamlin sets for himself, he believes that “there’s a lot of race wins between now and the end.” With Gayle, who moved over to the No. 11 team after calling the shots for Ty Gibbs in his first two full-time seasons as a Cup driver, as his crew chief, it would not surprise anyone at JGR if Hamlin comes out on top no matter what the new format is.
Former crew chief Chris Gabehart moved to JGR’s competition direction last offseason in a move that was shocking to the Virginia native.
“We were really blessed to have Chris come in and adapt himself to the [No.] 11 team,” Hamlin said of his crew chief. “We had a certain way we did things to prepare for each and every week, and he adapted his style to that. Throughout the year, he just continued to add to that. And so, it was great for them to put him with myself and that combination is very successful.”
Besides a fresh face on top of the pit box, the No. 11 team had a completely different look on the racetrack. That’s because FedEx, one of the longest-tenured driver-sponsor combinations in NASCAR history, departed from JGR at the end of the 2024 season.
Hamlin began the 2025 season without an anchor sponsor signed, and his No. 11 hauler was largely blank entering the Busch Light Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium last February. That was until Progressive inked a multiyear deal to be the new face of the No. 11 team, sponsoring Hamlin for 17 races (plus the All-Star Race) this year alone.
Progressive’s first race with Hamlin came in late March at Homestead-Miami Speedway, bringing the insurance firm back to NASCAR for the first time in years, while marking its first major NASCAR sponsorship program. Hamlin won in the colors for the first time the following week at Martinsville Speedway.
“The relationship has been seamless from the very beginning,” Hamlin said of Progressive. “They’ve had one-offs on NASCAR cars before, but they never had a primary anchor sponsorship with a NASCAR Cup Series team. I gave them the on-track performance they were hoping to get, and certainly the off-track stuff has been great. I got to go to Ohio to visit their headquarters to see what they’re all about, and I enjoyed a Guardians game at Progressive Field. It’s been really fun from my standpoint to jump back in with a big brand like that, and to represent them is something I really do appreciate.”
Just days after the championship, Hamlin was back at Joe Gibbs Racing with Progressive for a special program. The 13th annual Keys to Progress, less than a week before Veterans Day, enabled Hamlin to gift two veterans, Joseph Campbell and Martavius Woods, keys to new vehicles.
“I’ve gotten to do a lot of charitable things with sponsors in the past,” Hamlin said of the Keys to Progress program. “We started the year not knowing what the anchor sponsor was going to be. Progressive came in, took over right away and we certainly had a lot of on-track success with them. That led to building a relationship with them off the racetrack, being able to help them with certain initiatives. The Keys to Progress is a fantastic program that gives back to veterans, donating vehicles to veterans. I’m honored to do that and present those veterans the keys at Joe Gibbs Racing. It’s another way that Progressive continues to give back to the community.”
On the ownership front with 23XI Racing, Hamlin reflected on the success of the team he co-owns with NBA legend Michael Jordan.
23XI expanded to three cars in 2025, with Riley Herbst driving the No. 35 car, backed by Monster Energy, finishing 35th in the championship standings. Bubba Wallace won a crown jewel race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and qualified for the playoffs, while Tyler Reddick, 2024 regular season champion, also made the postseason but failed to win a race for the first time since 2021. Additionally, 2025 Craftsman Truck Series champion Corey Heim competed in four races for the team’s part-time fourth entry.
“I thought the expansion went really well itself,” Hamlin said. “We got that team staffed pretty early on. I wish the on-track performance was obviously a little bit better on the [No.] 35. That program needs to step up and continue to show progress. The other two had good seasons. To have two cars that were ninth and 11th shows we’re right on the cusp. We just need to be a little bit better, and the team needs to execute races better. They’re going to be championship competitors for years to come.”
Hamlin would not announce Heim’s plans for 23XI’s fourth entry, but said he will have an expanded Cup Series schedule in 2026.
Hamlin plans to take time to digest the end of the 2025 season before turning his attention towards 2026.
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