Denny Hamlin responds to speculation over NASCAR retirement

Denny Hamlin says he wants to ‘win all I can while this window is still there’ amid speculation about his long-term future in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Making his debut in the Cup Series in 2006, Hamlin has gone on to become one of the most successful stock car drivers of his generation, winning 56 races and achieving a best finish of second in the championship in 2010.

But the Florida native will turn 45 at the end of his 20th full-season campaign in the Cup Series this year, prompting others to question how long he would drag his career.

However, the Joe Gibbs Racing lifetimer has no desire to retire just yet, citing his recent results as proof that he still has what it takes to perform at the highest level in America.

Hamlin won back-to-back races at Martinsville and Darlington in late March/early April and is currently the closest rival to runaway leader William Byron in the championship standings.

“I think [Kevin] Harvick was 48 when he retired. He was still on top of his game as far as I was concerned,” Hamlin said ahead of last weekend’s Bristol race in which he finished second.

“It’s different for everyone. Others you’ve seen get to 43 or 44 and the light switch goes off. You just never know. My drive is still there and obviously, the performance is still there. I’m gonna try to just win all I can [in] this window while it is still there.

“Mark Martin did it when he was 50 and was fantastic. There’s no way I’ll ever make it that far but again, everyone’s body, mind and eyesight are all different and it goes away at different times.”

Speaking further on Dale Earnhardt Jr’s podcast, Hamlin added that it’s important to draw a retirement plan to help JGR find a successor for him, but is not willing to hang up his helmet just yet.

Whenever he decides to step away from active racing duties, Hamlin would like to divert his attention to 23XI Racing, a team he owns with NBA legend Michael Jordan.

“Not right now,” he said when asked about retirement. You always have to plan for it, and you want to give the team proper time to come up with their next plan as well,” Hamlin said.

“Running some at 23XI is something that I’d like to do. Joe Gibbs Racing has been amazing to me over the 20 years that I’ve been with them. Just fantastic, couldn’t be any better. Joe and that whole group has just been amazing.

“But there are certain things that are different. I do have a race team. Even if I phased out and ran some there, that would be a cool goal of mine. Just whatever it is. Five races, 25, whatever it might be.

“It’d be a cool way to phase out instead of just stopping.  I’d have a tough time just stopping. But I want to be competitive when I do it. I don’t want to do it when I’m past my prime of winning. However that timing works, that’s how I would like for it to work, but you don’t always get to decide.”