Any new investment in a sports team more often than not leads to changes, both in processes and personnel. And when many of the contracts on the team are on the verge of expiry, the conversations grow louder. This is what happened last week when it was announced that Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment and Arctos Partners made a significant investment in Joe Gibbs Racing, where two of the oldest drivers in the Cup Series grid, Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin, are on expiring contracts.
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Unsurprisingly, the JGR drivers were asked how their futures will be affected by the new investment, coming a year after Kyle Busch’s 15-year partnership ended with the team.
Martin Truex Jr. on how his future will be affected after the capital infusion
Martin Truex Jr. signed a one-year contract last year for 2023 and has repeatedly maintained he wants to take things one season at a time. Asked about the impact of the new investment on his future, Treux said, “I don’t know that it really makes a huge impact. It is, from what I understand, going to be a great thing for the company going forward and it could only be a positive.”
Last year, Martin Truex Jr. said at Nashville that he would come back for 2023. He didn’t have anything to say about 2024 and said the recent announcement of Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment investing into Joe Gibbs Racing likely won’t impact his decision. pic.twitter.com/i6zxqcEHua
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 24, 2023
Teammate Christopher Bell also believes no major changes are planned so far, saying, “As far as what that means for the drivers moving forward or the company moving forward, I wouldn’t expect any changes but I haven’t been told otherwise.”
Denny Hamlin opens up about new investment in Joe Gibbs Racing
Things get a little complicated in the case of Denny Hamlin though. Apart from the FedEx sponsorship situation, Hamlin also has to negotiate an extension with Toyota for 23XI Racing at an owner level. Stating that the investment is a great deal for JGR as a team with only a positive outlook, Hamlin gave a confident answer when asked whether it impacted his future or contract negotiations with the team, saying, “No, I don’t think it impacts my future.”
Denny Hamlin said Joe Gibbs selling a minority stake to sports-ownership group Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment is good for the organization. As others said, he doesn’t feel it will impact his future. pic.twitter.com/6WTpxeceM9
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 24, 2023
Even with all the variables and complications, purely based on this year’s performances, it seems unlikely Joe Gibbs Racing will make any major changes to the driver lineup going into next year.
