The key to success for most individuals in the business world is oftentimes just plain old versatility. The more different hats you can wear—and wear them with aplomb—the more successful you’re likely to become.
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That perfectly describes Denny Hamlin. He was already a great race car driver, but once he became involved in other aspects of the sport to make himself more well-rounded as both a racer and an individual, he took his career and life to the next level.
Two words best describe Hamlin: Cache and swagger
Kyle Petty put it perfectly on this week’s “NASCAR Inside The Race”post-race show after this past Sunday’s win by Hamlin at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“I think Denny became that [so versatile] being with Michael Jordan, being with 23XI [Racing, which he co-owns with Jordan], stepping to a different place, being on a podcast, being as vocal as he has become has elevated him above what his stats are and has enhanced what his stats are,” Petty said. “I don’t think if Denny had continued down the road that he was going that he was going to be the star or the superstar that we want to place him there.
“I think these are enhancements that allow him to be that guy. He was just a driver, just kicking butt and taking names, and he was going to get to 60 [wins], but I don’t believe he had that cache, that swagger that he has now that he has on his podcast, that he has because of Michael Jordan and 23XI that he has as an owner. I think he’s moved into a different realm in the last 10 or 12 races that he’s won.”
Of the active drivers, only two are ahead of Hamlin in the wins category: seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson has 83 wins (but has scaled back to only a handful of races the last few seasons) and Kyle Busch, who has 63 Cup wins—but hasn’t won a race since 2023—a winless streak of 90 races, the longest winning drought of Busch’s career.
“I do believe, honestly in all my heart and soul—and until somebody steps up and proves me wrong—that Denny Hamlin is going to be the last guy that plants his flag at 60 [wins].”
Petty doesn’t think Hamlin is done winning this season
But there’s a caveat to Petty’s statement. “I’m not so sure that 60 is going to be the number that he stops on because I think he’s got more wins left in him,” Petty said.
And indeed, Hamlin has three more races remaining this season to add to his 60-win total. His most successful season was in 2010, when he earned eight wins. He grabbed seven checkered flags in 2020 and six in 2019, as well as the six he has thus far in this season’s first 33 races.
With Talladega this Sunday, Martinsville next Sunday, and the Championship 4 title-winning finale just over two weeks from now in Phoenix, there’s a very good chance that Hamlin could add three more wins to his 2025 scorecard.
Even with all his success, Hamlin has yet to win his first Cup championship. But this season could finally be the time the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran achieves that goal. Petty doesn’t care if Hamlin ever wins a Cup crown—but KP means that in a good way, not a derogatory way.
“I don’t care whether he ever wins a championship,” Petty said of Hamlin. “Nobody ever talks about Junior Johnson and says, ‘Hey, he won all these races [50], but he never won a championship’ [although he earned 132 wins and six Cup championships as a team owner]. You talk about Junior Johnson as a driver and an owner, and that’s what we’re going to talk about Denny Hamlin as a driver and as an owner.”
It now remains to be seen if 2025 is the year Hamlin can finally add the championship trophy to his collection. With JGR and Toyota’s current form, and the No. 11 driver’s form, it will not be surprising if he manages to do so in a few weeks.
