Denny Hamlin has been having a fantastic season so far with his points standings and a chance to compete for a championship this year. While his on-track activities seem to be going well, there seems to be confusion brewing behind the scenes with Joe Gibbs Racing.
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The sight of this confusion was all too common last year when Kyle Busch was in the middle of a contract debacle. But could this be happening again? Well, his fans would hope not. But since JGR has yet to sign a contract extension with Denny Hamlin, things seem to be quite fishy at the moment.
As the Hamlin conversation begins to catch wind in the press, former NASCAR driver and Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his co-host Mike Davis, recently had a conversation regarding the matter at hand. The pair speculated what lies ahead in the future for Denny Hamlin in the top flight of American stock car racing.
Dale Earnhardt Jr and his co-host speculate on the contract delay of Denny Hamlin
During the ensuing conversation between the pair, Junior said, “This week is the first weekend I really started seeing quotes and in the media where Denny’s having to say, ‘Hey, man, yeah, here’s, you know, it’s not done. I wish it was done. It shouldn’t be done. It’s taken long. This is late. We should have had it signed sooner.'”
“Don’t you know and he had a couple, you know, vague references to it being delayed and everybody’s like saying all the right things, ‘Hey, I want to retire here.’ Denny, you know Joe Gibbs Racing saying Denny’s definitely going to be racing here next year. And I’m that sounds great and more than likely, ‘Hey, that’s what happens.’ But I’m just damn curious as to what’s your what’s the holdup?”
Why hasn’t Denny Hamlin signed his contract to return to Joe Gibbs racing next year? 🤔
Watch 📺 : https://t.co/hmbZKYtOgB pic.twitter.com/DskfvT854E
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) August 16, 2023
His co-host Mike Davis responded, “Gotta be sponsorships… Look, my theory is usually when these things are delayed or usually these things move at the speed of the sponsorships and all that stuff, not to say that they’re looking for money.”
Davis added, “I don’t I’m not insinuating that but I just know that usually, that’s the other, you know, cog in the wheel, right? But it’s interesting if that’s the case, that would have been the same scenario that Kyle Busch was in.”
“It was they lack the funding right, or they had the sponsorship stuff hold up, and that did not end well. That had Kyle Busch go into another race team. So will Denny leave JGR?”
What is the current situation with Hamlin’s contract at JGR?
Earlier, Hamlin had informed the media that there had been certain things causing delays in his contract extension. Mostly related to finding a deal for him and his team 23XI Racing with Toyota Racing Development before they went forward with the contract signing.
Speaking ahead of the race at Indy road course Hamlin mentioned, “I mean, nothing big has changed. It is a process and obviously, it is the relationship with Toyota. Being in the middle of the triangle here between 23XI, myself, and Joe Gibbs Racing. We have to get a deal done all around…”
Hamlin’s contract situation has many left wondering if this is headed on the same dreaded path as his former teammate Kyle Busch. However, in Busch’s case, it was his sponsor pulling out of the sport. And JGR had failed to find him a new sponsor.
Meanwhile, for Hamlin, his main sponsor, FedEx, has not made any such announcement. So perhaps things will eventually work out towards the end of the season. But if the contract doesn’t come together in the next few weeks, then we all know how this would drag on.
