Denny Hamlin is out of contract with Joe Gibbs Racing after the 2023 season and so is his main sponsor, FedEx.
The JGR No. 11 driver is currently in his 18th season with the organization. The veteran driver with 49 Cup wins, including three Daytona 500 wins, is still racing at the top level. He has one win this season and is in eighth place in the Cup standings.
However, at 42 years of age, Hamlin’s career is slowly winding down and his JGR career could come to an end if things don’t go well with FedEx.
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The No. 11 driver has made it clear that he would like to retire at JGR with FedEx. Speaking to Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the popular Dale Jr. Download podcast earlier this year, Hamlin said:
“I think that I would like to retire at Gibbs with FedEx because it’s so unique to have a sponsor that has been part of the sport as long as they have and backed me as long as they have. There’s just no way I could leave them.
“Maybe at that point, then I just run one or two races. I would just like to retire at Gibbs with FedEx. But if things change, then things change, and you’ve got to re-evaluate.”
Fortunately, it seems like Hamlin will have the chance to extend his JGR career beyond this season as FedEx is close to a contract extension with JGR, as reported by Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern.
.@FedEx is close to striking a contract extension with @JoeGibbsRacing to continue sponsoring the team into the 2024 @NASCAR season, per people familiar.
🔲 The precise scope of the agreement is unclear, but FedEx is expected to retain a sizable presence on the No. 11 @Toyota. pic.twitter.com/88ZN1Jhfv9
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) June 3, 2023
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