Denny Hamlin has long looked up to icons like Jimmie Johnson and Joe Gibbs, men who shaped his career both on and off the racetrack. As a young driver, Hamlin dreamt of racing under Gibbs’ banner but patterned his driving mindset after Johnson’s dominance. Johnson, a seven-time Cup Series champion, earned the garage’s respect not by playing any kind of notorious tactics but through perfect execution behind the wheel of his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
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Yet, as time went on, Hamlin seems to have found himself drawn to another figure, one whose journey mirrored his own, Carl Edwards.
Edwards spent 13 years in the NASCAR Cup Series, amassing 28 wins across 445 starts. His career came to an abrupt halt in 2016 after a gut-wrenching finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Running for his first Cup title, Edwards’ hopes were dashed when championship rival Joey Logano hooked him on a late restart, ending his shot at glory, and, ultimately, his racing career.
It was a moment that not only stunned the NASCAR world but also revealed a rare glimpse of Edwards’ internal compass, the drive to walk away while still at the top.
That decision, Hamlin admits, struck a chord. Speaking candidly, he said, “People always ask me all the time now, who do you admire or who do you look up to on and off the racetrack? Another driver. And for the longest time, my answer was Jimmy Johnson. It’s still there.”
But he said, “Carl Edwards is shooting up that list hard just simply because as I’ve gotten to know him through interviews that we’ve had one sit down kind of at Pocono, had production things where we have interactions… I had some good conversations with him.”
Hamlin recalled having good conversations with him, crediting Edwards for helping him see beyond the confines of competition, making him apprehend that racing is just one small part of life, and there’s fulfillment outside of it.
What fascinates the #11 JGR driver most is Edwards’ self-awareness, the courage to recognize that reaching the mountaintop doesn’t always mean staying there.
“(He) fought his entire life to reach the pinnacle and then got to the pinnacle and said, ‘You know what? I don’t think this is what I’m meant to do for forever. I think I’m I think there’s something else that that is more for me out there,’” he continued.
Hamlin admitted he isn’t sure he could ever walk away with that kind of discipline, but he deeply admires it. Even after Hamlin’s heartbreak at Phoenix, when another Cup slipped through his fingers, Edwards reached out with words that resonated. The gesture reminded Hamlin that in the big view, his legacy isn’t bound to a trophy.
He’s already accomplished everything he set out to do, everything from here, as he put it, “is just icing on the cake.”
