Could Joe Gibbs Racing lose one of their long-time drivers in Denny Hamlin after losing Kyle Busch this season?
While it was not only down to one reason but one of the reasons that led to Busch’s departure from JGR was when his longtime sponsor M&M’s decided to end the partnership on the No. 18 Toyota. One thing led to another and a tie that served both parties so well had to be cut.
This gives reason to believe that a similar thing could happen again in the team as Hamlin’s contract with FedEx is reportedly set to expire at the end of the 2023 NASCAR season, as reported by Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Dale Jr. explains his reason to break his promise of not racing with his dad’s No. 03
The partnership will be running its 18th full season together in 2023.
Having recently seen the departure of one veteran from the teams, many fans are already dreading the possibility of losing Hamlin too.
Not this again… https://t.co/Od7t6gcJkg
— Couch Spotter (@couchspotter) November 17, 2022
First M&M’s now FedEx JGR is in bad shape
— Carlo B (@tazyc1) November 17, 2022
Man after this season with Kyle this is gonna be something to watch next year. Aleast Denny has a team he can fall back on https://t.co/sfishaBEHP
— Dylan (@thedyllin) November 17, 2022
Man oh man, us Kyle Busch fans know how this ends. Better buy your 23XI merch now before 2024 gets here.
— Camden Stewart (@Camden_Stewart) November 16, 2022
I’ve seen this scenario before https://t.co/goWMCDD0Ig
— CurlyCurless (@ColinCurless) November 16, 2022
It would be hilarious if all the Hamlin fans that are acting like he’s suddenly Toyota’s best driver after they lost Kyle Busch and downplay Busch’s achievements to perpetuate that got to see their driver get the same treatment https://t.co/t8KTbj3wA6
— Alfa (@AlfaM_37) November 17, 2022
While he has yet to win the Cup Series championship, Hamlin has been one of the consistent drivers over the past few seasons. He has won at least two races in seven of the last eight seasons.
Having gone through the trouble of negotiating and losing Busch, JGR certainly won’t want to repeat the whole process again. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how this will unfold.