“It’s Been 17 Years..”: Joe Gibbs Delivers Massive Update on Denny Hamlin’s Contract Situation

Heading into the playoffs, Joe Gibbs Racing are facing a nightmare for the second year in a row. Their star driver’s future isn’t secure yet for the coming season. Last year it was Kyle Busch, who eventually ended up leaving Coach Gibbs’ team. And this year, it’s Denny Hamlin.

Hamlin’s future with JGR is still up in the air despite several words of encouragement from both sides so far. In fact, this was also the case with Busch last year, as the longer the wait for a renewal went, the less likely his future at JGR looked. So could Hamlin be also on the same path? Could we see Denny Hamlin race for another team in 2024?

Joe Gibbs doesn’t think so.

Joe Gibbs wants Denny Hamlin to wrap up his NASCAR career on his team

In a recent interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Gibbs spoke candidly about where things stand when it comes to Hamlin’s future with his team. The Hall of Famer revealed that not only are they on the verge of announcing something really soon, but his dream is for Hamlin to finish his career in the #11 team.

“My hope is we’re kinda moving forward with all of that. And hopefully, there’s going to be something to announce here real quick. So I think that’s kinda where we are. Things are not done yet, we’re working hard on them, and certainly, all of us want that to happen,” Gibbs said.

“We want Denny here. It’s been 17 years. He’s helped us build our race team along with all those other guys that have helped us over the years from the driver’s standpoint. But we would love for him to be here and go his entire career and retire here.”

“That’s kind of our dream. That’s what we’d like.”

✍🏼 “Hopefully there’s gonna be something to announce here real quick.”

Joe Gibbs provided an update on the ongoing contract talks with @dennyhamlin ahead of the 2023 #NASCARPlayoffs ⬇️

🤞🏼 “We would love for him to […] go his entire career and retire (at @JoeGibbsRacing).” pic.twitter.com/h6Mut5U5Kr

— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) August 29, 2023

Hamlin too aims to finish his driving career at JGR

Not only is Joe Gibbs dreaming of Hamlin finishing his driving career in the #11 team at JGR, Hamlin himself recently claimed that he too would want to see out his career in the team where it all started for him.

“I always look at the landscape, but I’d love being at Joe Gibbs Racing and certainly Joe’s been fantastic to me,” he said. And perhaps to put an end to the parallels between his and his former teammate’s journeys with JGR, Hamlin claimed that he doesn’t see his relationship with Gibbs “ever souring.”

“I think mine and Joe’s relationship will always stay strong,” he added as he claimed it’s at Joe Gibbs Racing, where he wants to finish his career.