Denny Hamlin’s 2025 campaign came within inches of rewriting the arc of his career, only for a late caution at Phoenix to snatch a long-awaited championship from his grasp. In the emotional haze that followed, Hamlin admitted he didn’t want to climb back into a race car anytime soon. The sting was that deep.
Advertisement
Yet a recent stop at Amelia Motor Raceway, the now-silent Virginia kart track where he first chased speed at age eight, seems to have reignited the fire he briefly thought had dimmed.
Long before the heartbreak in Phoenix, though, Hamlin had spoken openly about the grind, the passion, and the coming finish line that flickers in the back of his mind. Back in March, during an appearance on the Digital Social Hour podcast with Sean Kelly, Hamlin discussed his relationship with the sport.
Even after two decades in the Cup Series, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver insisted his love hasn’t faded. It’s the mileage on the schedule, not the thrill of competition, that wears him down. “I mean, this is my 20th year doing this. But I still love it because I can still win,” he said.
Hamlin explained that his retirement clock would only strike midnight the moment he knew he was entering a weekend without the ability to contend. “If I know I can’t win, I’m out.”
That said, retirement isn’t some distant thought he keeps locked away. It hovers over him like a shadow on the backstretch. Hamlin has long been candid about the fear that one morning he’ll wake up and realize the light switch flipped, that he no longer has the skillset needed to outduel drivers half his age.
For now, the results still tell a different story. At 45, he remains a fixture at the front, proving that experience and competitive instinct still outweigh the calendar.
Still, Hamlin recognizes that “father time is undefeated.” Usually, the body stiffens, and reflexes fade. Reaction time stretches by fractions that can decide races. Yet Hamlin insists none of those cracks have formed for him.
From a responsiveness standpoint, he believes he remains as sharp as ever. One of the biggest hurdles that forces veteran drivers out is failing eyesight, but Hamlin’s vision remains “20/10,” the same standard he carried as a kid turning laps on a kart track.
He concedes he might be a step slower than he was a decade ago, but not enough to dull his edge behind the wheel. Even with the antitrust lawsuit trial unfolding around him, a case that could reshape the future of his 23XI Racing operation, Hamlin has his sights set on 2026 because the championship window hasn’t closed.
