He might race like he’s in the prime of his career but Denny Hamlin is ever-inching towards his final NASCAR Cup Series race. The 43-year-old has never won the championship so far in his career and perhaps that’s what driving him to perform at such a high level even now. But that doesn’t mean he has not thought about life after racing. In a recent interview with The Atletic, the veteran race car driver spoke about what he would focus on after he hangs up his boots.
Advertisement
After he decides to retire, Hamlin will be overseeing operations as the owner of 23XI Racing in the Cup Series. The driver of the #11 car already takes an active role in the team’s functioning and that is only going to increase after retiring from full-time racing.
Maybe if golf only required putting, I'd be a two-sport athlete 🤔 Had a blast celebrating a good cause w/my friends at @FedEx & @McIlroyRory! Cheers to 50 years FedEx and congrats on the Founder's Fund. But next time – let's hit the race track. pic.twitter.com/1GhLfGVWle
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) May 3, 2023
He also has a knack for golfing so he he would looking to improve those skills. Then there are other projects, like his podcast, that will take up some of his time.
“I will just spend more time at 23XI. I’m already very hands-on in that company and in the decisions it makes on competition, business, and whatnot. But I want to be there more. I’m there probably twice a week now at minimum along with all the other meetings I do virtually. So I think I’m going to want a break by then. I’ll work on my golf game. I want to be a scratch golfer one day.” – Denny Hamlin.
23XI Racing has done fairly well so far this season. They have both drivers in the playoff bubble at the moment and one of them has booked his spot in the final 16 with a race win. The team has been steadily getting better every year and the 43-year-old will hope for even more improvement in the following years.
Hamlin on what will make him retire from racing
This is not the first time Hamlin has spoken about retirement from the sport. Earlier this year, he was asked if he had a timeline in mind about when he might hang up his boots. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver doesn’t have that at the moment but knows when he will announce retirement. It’ll be when he stops feeling competitive at the highest level of the sport.
“The moment I feel like I can’t win at every track, I’ll probably get out whenever that might be. But I just feel like I’m still on top of things,” he said. “I can still run fast lap times and practice qualifying in the race. Like, I just feel as though I keep getting better.”
It’s incredible that even after so many years in the sport, the 43-year-old still has the competitive edge. Perhaps in his remaining years, he’ll be able to find that one shot at winning the championship.
