Denny Hamlin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Denny Hamlin
Hamlin at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2024
Born	James Dennis Alan Hamlin (1980-11-18) November 18, 1980 (age 44) Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	154 lb (70 kg)
Achievements	2024 NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Champion (Owner) 2016, 2019, 2020 Daytona 500 Winner 2015 Sprint All-Star Race Winner 2010, 2017, 2021 Southern 500 Winner 2022 Coca-Cola 600 Winner 2008, 2014, 2017 Can-Am Duels Winner 2006, 2014, 2016, 2024 Busch Light Clash Winner 7 Wins at Pocono Raceway (Most all time) 4 Wins at Kansas Speedway (Most all time) Winner of the 1st and 2nd closest Daytona 500s ever (2016-0.010s, 2020-0.014s) Winner of the closest Xfinity Series finish at Michigan International Speedway (0.012s) First rookie to qualify for Chase for the Nextel Cup (2006)
Awards	2006 Nextel Cup Series Rookie of the Year Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023)
NASCAR Cup Series career
686 races run over 20 years
Car no., team	No. 11 (Joe Gibbs Racing)
2024 position	8th
Best finish	2nd (2010)
First race	2005 Banquet 400 (Kansas)
Last race	2020 FanShield 500 (Phoenix)
First win	2006 Pocono 500 (Pocono)
Last win	2024 Würth 400 (Dover)
Wins Top tens Poles 54 358 43
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
164 races run over 19 years
2023 position	77th
Best finish	4th (2006)
First race	2004 BI-LO 200 (Darlington)
Last race	2023 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 (Darlington)
First win	2006 Telcel-Motorola 200 (Mexico City)
Last win	2023 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 (Darlington)
Wins Top tens Poles 18 101 21
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series career
16 races run over 9 years
2013 position	93rd
Best finish	37th (2004)
First race	2004 Power Stroke Diesel 200 (IRP)
Last race	2013 Kroger 200 (Martinsville)
First win	2011 Kroger 200 (Martinsville)
Last win	2012 Kroger 200 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles 2 10 1
Signature
Statistics current as of November 10, 2024.

James Dennis Alan Hamlin (born November 18, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing. He also co-owns and operates 23XI Racing with basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan.

As a driver, Hamlin has achieved a total of 54 NASCAR Cup Series victories. His notable wins include the Coca-Cola 600 in 2022, the Southern 500 in 2010, 2017, and 2021, and the Daytona 500 in 2016, 2019, and 2020. He is also the fourth driver in history to win the Daytona 500 in back-to-back seasons, joining the ranks of Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, and Sterling Marlin.

Hamlin holds the record for the most wins in the NASCAR Cup Series without winning a championship. Despite not securing the elusive title, he has consistently been a strong contender throughout his career. With the exception of the 2013 season, Hamlin has competed in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs in every full-time season (18 seasons as of 2024). In 2013, a collision with Joey Logano severely damaged his lower back, sidelining him for a significant portion of the early season. Hamlin's rookie season in 2006 was particularly impressive, as he finished third in the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup standings, marking one of the most remarkable rookie campaigns in modern NASCAR history.

Since 2023, Hamlin has hosted a weekly podcast on Dirty Mo Media titled Actions Detrimental. In the podcast, he shares his extensive knowledge of both the business and racing aspects of the sport alongside his co-host, Jared Allen.

Driving career

Beginnings

Hamlin was born in Tampa, Florida, and lived in Chesterfield, Virginia, for most of his childhood. Hamlin began his racing career in 1988, at age 7, racing go-karts. By 1997 at 15, he won the WKA manufacturers cup. At the age of 16, he was racing mini stocks. In his first stock car race, at Langley Speedway, Hamlin won the pole position and won the race. He then progressed to the Grand Stock division in 1998 and moved on to Late Model Stock Cars in 2000. In 2002, he won ten Late Model races and surpassed that in 2003 with 25 wins, and 30 poles, out of 36 races. In 2004, while competing full-time in Late Model Stock Cars, Hamlin was signed to a driver development contract with Joe Gibbs Racing.

NASCAR career

2004–2006

Hamlin celebrating after winning the 2006 Pennsylvania 500

In 2004, Hamlin competed in five NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races with EJP Racing and had a tenth-place finish in his NASCAR debut at Indianapolis Raceway Park. He later ran his first career ARCA RE/MAX Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, finishing third in the No. 10 Pontiac for Fast Track Racing, owned by Andy Hillenburg. His final start of the year came at Darlington Raceway when he made his Busch Series debut. He started twenty-seventh (rain-out) but finished eighth in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Driven Performance Oil Chevrolet.

Hamlin ran the full season in 2005 after he replaced Mike Bliss in the No. 20 Rockwell Automation-sponsored Chevrolet in the Busch Series. He ended up finishing fifth in the final championship points standings as a rookie in that series, with 11 Top 10's and earnings of $1,064,110. Hamlin also ran his first NASCAR Cup Series races in 2005, making his Cup debut at Kansas Speedway as the driver of the No. 11 FedEx-sponsored Chevrolet. Then, it was announced the he would drive the No. 11 full time for the 2006 season, after Jason Leffler was released, and made seven starts in the Cup series in 2005. He finished the Cup season with three Top 10 finishes in those seven starts and one pole at Phoenix International Raceway.

In 2006, Hamlin ran his first full season in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, and during the year he drove in both the Nextel Cup and Busch Series full-time. In Hamlin's first restrictor-plate race as a Nextel Cup driver, he beat all the previous year's (2005 season) pole winners in the 70-lap 2006 Budweiser Shootout. Hamlin became the first Rookie of the Year candidate to take home the Shootout victory. Hamlin achieved his first career Busch Series victory at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (March 5). On June 11, 2006, Hamlin scored his first career Cup Series win at the Pocono 500, where he also won his second career pole. He achieved his second career win on July 23, 2006, in the Pennsylvania 500 also at Pocono Raceway becoming only the 2nd rookie in Nextel Cup history to sweep both races at a track during the same season (Jimmie Johnson did so at Dover International Speedway in his rookie season in 2002), both from the pole position. In the Cup Series, Hamlin won the Raybestos Rookie of the Year award and finished third in the final Cup standings, scoring the highest points finish for a rookie in the modern era of NASCAR, and the highest since James Hylton in 1966. Hamlin thus became the first-ever rookie to make the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup, which he finished third in points.

2007–2008

Hamlin practicing for the 2007 Ford 400 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway

2008 Nationwide car

Hamlin started the 2007 Cup season by finishing 28th in the Daytona 500. He won his third career Cup race at the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. Following that race, Hamlin finished 43rd in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway after being involved in a wreck early on in the event. This was the first-ever 43rd-place finish in his career.

Hamlin clinched a spot in the Chase for the Cup and was seeded sixth, 50 points behind the leader, but finished 12th overall in the final standings. In the Nationwide Series, Hamlin scored three victories including Darlington, Michigan, and Dover in the No. 20 Rockwell Automation Chevy. He also finished 1st at Milwaukee, but Aric Almirola started the car and ran 60 laps before turning it over to Denny Hamlin. Almirola received the points, purse, and got credit for the win.

In 2008, Hamlin had a near-identical season as before, but moved up to eighth in points, and won early in the season at Martinsville Speedway. He led 381 out of 410 laps in the 2008 Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400, the most dominant effort of a driver since 2000, but cut a tire and finished 24th. He won four races in the Nationwide Series, driving both the No. 18 and No. 20 entries for Gibbs, as well as the No. 32 Dollar General/Hass avocados-sponsored car for Braun Racing.

2009: 4-win season

Hamlin racing at Lowe's Motor Speedway in 2009

In 2009, He continued driving the No. 11 car in The Sprint Cup Series and also shared the No. 20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Nationwide Series. On August 3, 2009, Hamlin secured his fifth career Cup win at Pocono. Before the final restart, he confidently declared, "I'm going to win this race." True to his word, he surged from sixth to first, breaking a 50-race winless streak. This victory marked his third at Pocono and was especially emotional, as it came just days after the passing of his grandmother, Thelma Clark.

Hamlin dominated once again at Richmond, finally securing a win at his home track. On October 25, 2009, he held off Jimmie Johnson to win the TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. He concluded the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season with a victory at the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway starting from the 38th position and led 70 laps. This capped off his year with an impressive 5th place finish in the overall standings, achieving 4 wins, 15 top-5 finishes, and 20 top-10 finishes.

2010: 8-win season and runner-up in points

Hamlin in victory lane after winning the 2010 Air Guard 400

In 2010, Hamlin entered the season with high expectations, and many saw him as a strong contender to unseat Jimmie Johnson as the Sprint Cup Champion. However, on January 22, he tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee while playing basketball. Despite the injury, Hamlin postponed surgery until after the season to focus on competing. On March 27, he announced that he would undergo knee surgery the following Monday to prevent further damage.

On March 29, 2010, Hamlin won the rain-postponed race at Martinsville Speedway in dramatic fashion, finishing ahead of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano and Jeff Gordon. Just two days later, he underwent knee surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left knee. Despite the setback, Hamlin returned to racing on April 19, 2010, just three weeks after the procedure. Starting from 28th at Texas, he worked his way up through the field and, with 13 laps remaining, restarted in 2nd place. Hamlin passed Jeff Burton on the outside and held off Jimmie Johnson to secure his 10th career win and his second victory in three races.

Less than three weeks later, on May 8, Hamlin visited Victory Lane for the third time in 2010 at Darlington Raceway. He had a dominant weekend, winning both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series events. Hamlin became the first driver to sweep both races at Darlington since Mark Martin in 1993. Hamlin began in 8th position at Saturday night's Showtime Southern 500, leading 108 laps to secure the victory. A few races later, he dominated the Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 Presented by Target at Pocono Raceway, leading the most laps and earning his 12th career win, his fourth of the season, and his fourth at Pocono. The following week, Hamlin set a career-high with his fifth win of the season, triumphing at Michigan after starting 7th.

Later in the 2010 season, Hamlin finished 43rd in the Emory Healthcare 500 at Atlanta, dropping five positions in the Chase standings to 10th overall. Despite the setback, the top 10 drivers in the Chase were locked in after Atlanta, ensuring Hamlin's spot in the 2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup. In the first Chase race, Carl Edwards' driver error caused Hamlin to spin with 85 laps remaining. As several cars ahead ran out of fuel, Hamlin narrowly lost to Clint Bowyer.

In the AAA 400 at Dover, Hamlin finished 9th, retaining the points lead by 35 over Jimmie Johnson. The following week at Kansas, Hamlin struggled with a difficult-handling car and finished 12th, which cost him the points lead. Jimmie Johnson, who finished 2nd, took an 8-point advantage. The next week at California, Hamlin managed a top-10 finish but continued to lose ground to Johnson’s No. 48 team. At Charlotte Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin led a lap—his first lead in the Chase—finishing 4th, one spot behind points leader Jimmie Johnson, which cost him 5 points. However, he achieved a significant triumph at Martinsville Speedway, securing his series-leading seventh victory of the season. This victory marked Hamlin's third consecutive win at Martinsville and his fourth overall at the historic track, narrowing the points gap to just 6 behind Jimmie Johnson, who finished 5th.

Next up was the Amp Energy Juice 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Denny Hamlin started in 17th place and worked his way up to finish 9th, two spots behind points leader Jimmie Johnson. This result put Hamlin 8 points further behind in the standings, totaling 14 points. He then won the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, taking the lead in the standings by 33 points over Johnson with two races remaining. At Phoenix, Hamlin started 14th but finished 12th. After the race, he was furious and threw a water bottle in frustration because he had to pit with 14 laps to go due to a fuel shortage. With one race left, Hamlin led Johnson by 15 points and was 46 points ahead of Kevin Harvick. However, in the Final race, he lost the lead to Johnson after spinning out and ultimately finished 14th, ending up 39 points behind Johnson.

2011

Hamlin at Pocono Raceway in 2011

In 2011 Hamlin almost won the Budweiser Shootout, but the victory was taken away from him by Kurt Busch because, at the last second, Hamlin crossed the yellow line, on turn four to the finish line, in his attempt to pass Ryan Newman.

Denny struggled in the first 8 races where his only top 10 was a seventh at Las Vegas. However, when the series got to Richmond, Denny turned on the heat by winning both his charity event and the Nationwide race but would finish 2nd to teammate Kyle Busch. He would go on to finish outside of the top 10 once at Dover finishing in the top 20 and rebounded with finishes of 10th and 3rd at Charlotte and Kansas respectively.

After his 3rd-place finish at Kansas, he would climb to 11th in points – 1 point out of the coveted 10th as the series goes to his favorite track, Pocono, where he would have tied himself for the most all-time wins at the track if he had placed first. After a disappointing 19th-place finish, he moved on to Michigan, a track at which he posted a 1st and 2nd-place finish in 2010. Before the first practice at Michigan, oil pans unapproved by NASCAR were confiscated from the three JGR teams, including Hamlin.

After showing signs of sheer mediocrity during each practice and qualifying, Hamlin qualified 10th in the field. He showed signs of improvement at the very start of the race, Hamlin quickly slid back in the field and was in the 10th to 15th place range until beginning to improve with about 70 laps to go, deeming the adjustment on his loose racecar "a magic adjustment" On lap 158, with 42 laps to go, a penalty caused by an accident between Juan Pablo Montoya and Andy Lally allowed Hamlin to move to the front of the field by short pitting. Another caution on lap 192 moved the 11 car up to the first position. After a restart, Hamlin surged ahead of the group, with Matt Kenseth right behind him in the closing three laps. After desperately trying to move past Hamlin, Kenseth made a final attempt coming out of turn four on the final lap, causing him to almost hit the wall because of a loose race car. This win vaulted Hamlin from 12th in the standings, where he would have been replaced in the chase by Jeff Gordon if each stayed in their current position, to 9th, where he is guaranteed a spot in the chase. At the end of the season, Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Mike Ford would not return as Hamlin's crew chief in 2012.

2012: New crew chief and 5 win season

Hamlin at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2012

Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Darian Grubb will be Mike Ford's replacement as Hamlin's crew chief for the 2012 season. Grubb previously served as crew chief for Tony Stewart, where he helped Stewart to his third Sprint Cup title in 2011.

Hamlin scored his first win of the year in the second event on the schedule, at Phoenix International Raceway. On April 22, 2012, Hamlin out-dueled Martin Truex Jr. to score his second win in the eighth race of the year, at Kansas Speedway. At the Crown Royal Curtiss Shaver 400 at the Brickyard, Hamlin scored his eleventh pole. He won his third race of the year at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 26 in the Irwin Tools Night Race. A week later, he became the first driver of the year to have back-to-back wins, winning the AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, again out-dueling Truex. Two weeks later, he dominated and won the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway after starting 32nd, deep in the field. This was Joe Gibbs Racing's 100th win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series.

2014: First Championship 4 Appearance

Hamlin at Sonoma Raceway in 2014

Hamlin started the 2014 season strong by winning the pole and leading all three segments of the Sprint Unlimited, eventually winning the race. Hamlin then went on to win the second of the Budweiser Duels. In the Daytona 500, Hamlin started third and led for 16 laps, and was the fan-favorite to win the race and sweep all three Sprint Cup events in Speedweeks, but was unable to overtake Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the last two laps and ended up finishing second.

At Auto Club, Hamlin came down with a sinus infection that affected his vision just hours before the race began. A half-hour before the green flag, Joe Gibbs Racing managed to place Sam Hornish Jr. to take over Hamlin's car for the race. Hornish drove the car to a 17th-place finish. The infection was announced a few days later as a piece of metal that had been lodged in Hamlin's eye. At Talladega, Hamlin won the race as the caution flag waved during the last lap.

At the Brickyard 400, Hamlin finished 3rd. However, his No. 11 car failed post-race inspection. NASCAR impounded the No. 11 car and investigated various pieces on it. 2 days later NASCAR suspended crew chief Darian Grubb and car chief Wesley Sherrill for six races, fined Grubb $125,000, docked Hamlin 75 driver points and Joe Gibbs 75 owner points, and put the No. 11 team members on probation until December 31, 2014. Initially, Joe Gibbs and the team decided to appeal the penalties but they changed their minds. On the penalty, Hamlin said, "We'll just simply move forward and not let this affect our performances." Despite the penalties handed to Hamlin's crew, Hamlin would be locked into the 2014 Chase due to his win at Talladega Superspeedway.

Hamlin's spot in the 2014 Chase was sealed up after the 2014 Michigan race with his Talladega win. At Bristol, Hamlin appeared to have a perfect car to win but after leading many laps Hamlin wrecked after contact from Kevin Harvick while racing for the lead. Hamlin replied by angrily throwing his HANS device at Harvick's car during a caution period. Some fans wondered if NASCAR should have penalized Hamlin for exiting his car before the safety workers came out (a rule made by NASCAR in the wake of the big tragedy in which Tony Stewart's car ran over and killed Sprint-Car driver Kevin Ward Jr.) but NASCAR did not penalize Hamlin, stating that safety workers first had told Hamlin to get out of the car by radio and then permitted Hamlin to toss his HANS device at Harvick's car. Harvick later apologized for causing the crash via Twitter while Hamlin said his acceptance of Harvick's apology would only depend on how to clean Harvick would compete with him in the future. Despite him and his team's shortcomings throughout the regular season, Hamlin managed to put together a consistent Chase. His results earned him a spot within the final four title contenders heading to the final round, and he was leading the race and the title with twenty laps to go, but a caution came out and Darian Grubb, his crew chief, decided to opt-out of stopping for fresh tires and fuel, which would turn out to be a costly decision. He finished 7th in the race, and 3rd in the championship.

2015

Hamlin led with 11 laps remaining in the 2015 Daytona 500.

Hamlin at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City 300

Hamlin started the season by having to go to the rear in the Budweiser Duels after being penalized during Daytona 500 qualifying.

In the Daytona 500, he came very close for the second year in a row to win the race. He finished 4th and had one of the best cars of Speedweeks. However, at Atlanta, Hamlin finished 38th after being involved in a wreck with 42 laps to go. In Las Vegas, he rebounded from his wreck the previous week and finished 5th. However, at Phoenix, Hamlin did not run well all day leading to a 24th-place finish.

At California, Hamlin had one of the best cars of the race, leading 56 laps, second to Kurt Busch's 61 laps. A bad pit stop and a bad ensuing restart pushed Hamlin down to 13th, but he rebounded to 3rd place with 20 laps to go. Hamlin's chances of winning the race ended when he and his crew were penalized for an uncontrolled tire on their pit stop with 20 laps to go making him go to the tail end of the longest line. He restarted 29th and finished the race 28th.

At Martinsville Speedway, Hamlin stayed up in the top ten nearly all race long. Late in the race, he got penalized for an uncontrolled tire, sending him to the tail end of the field in 31st place. Despite this he formed a tremendous comeback, coming back into the top ten 50 laps later. After a good restart with less than 30 laps to go, Denny Hamlin sealed up his victory, but not before holding off a challenge by rival Brad Keselowski. Hamlin edged Keselowski at the stripe by 0.3 seconds (1 car-length), for his 5th Martinsville victory, leading 91 laps in total. Hamlin, who had feuded with Keselowski during the 2014 Bank of America 500, commended Keselowski for not wrecking him to win the race.

At the spring Bristol race, Hamlin was replaced by Erik Jones after 22 laps due to suffering from neck spasms.

In May, Hamlin won the Sprint All-Star Race after beating Keselowski off pit road during final pit stops. This was not only Hamlin's first All-Star win but also the first JGR and Toyota All-Star win.

After qualifying for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Hamlin won the first race of the Chase at Chicagoland Speedway, which locked him in for the second round of the Chase.

At Talladega in the next round, at the end of the race, his car crashed and caught fire because of being caught up in "The Big One", which eliminated him from the Chase for not having enough points to advance.

2016: First Daytona 500 Win

Hamlin's 2016 Daytona 500 race-winning car

With new crew chief Mike Wheeler replacing Dave Rogers, Hamlin won the Sprint Unlimited. In the Daytona 500, Hamlin made a pass on Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Matt Kenseth for the lead on the final lap. Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. were side by side for the win as they crossed the start-finish line, but Hamlin – who led a race-high 95 laps – prevailed by 0.011 seconds over Truex, making it the closest Daytona 500 finish in history, and bringing owner Joe Gibbs his first Daytona 500 victory since 1993. At Martinsville, he was running well until he wrecked after jumping the curb and slamming into the wall and he would finish 39th. Further wrecks occurred at Kansas and Dover.

Hamlin ran both the Cup and Xfinity races during the Coca-Cola 600 weekend, winning in the latter and finishing fourth in the main Cup date. At Michigan in June, he suffered a blown tire with 12 laps remaining. He led Tony Stewart late in the Sonoma race before going wide entering the final corner, causing him to briefly withdraw as he braced for contact with Stewart before losing the win; amid accusations that he had intentionally let Stewart win in his final season, Hamlin clarified he had misjudged the corner entry. Despite the miscue, he rebounded in the season's other road race at Watkins Glen after managing his fuel, a process that was aided by two red flags and eight cautions, for his first road course win.

A third win came in the final race of the regular season at Richmond, a race that he started on the pole and won after holding off Truex and Kyle Larson. However, his Chase hopes were impacted when his engine failed with 26 laps remaining at Charlotte, and he would finish the season sixth in points.

2018: First Winless Season

Hamlin battling Bubba Wallace for second at the 2018 Daytona 500

Hamlin started the 2018 season with a third-place finish at the 2018 Daytona 500. Despite being winless throughout the regular season, he made the playoffs by staying consistent with seven top-fives and 14 top-10s. Hamlin was eliminated in the Round of 16 after finishing out of the top-10 at Las Vegas, Richmond, and the Charlotte Roval. He wound up 11th in the final point standings, his first time outside the top ten since the year he missed four races due to injury (2013) and winless for the first time in his career, snapping a 12-season streak of winning at least one race dating back to his first full-time rookie year (2006) when he swept both Pocono races to when he won the July New Hampshire race along with his second Southern 500 (2017). Hamlin's long-time rival, Jimmie Johnson, also did not secure a win in the 2018 season.

2019: Return to the Championship 4 and 2nd Daytona 500

Hamlin before winning the 2019 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race

Hamlin started the 2019 season by breaking a 47-race winless streak with his second Daytona 500 win, first Cup Series win for new crew chief Chris Gabehart, along with dedicating the victory to the late J. D. Gibbs. He scored his second win of the season at Texas. At the spring Dover race, Hamlin was rushed to the infield care center for carbon monoxide poisoning after an accident knocked out his car's right rear crush panel and allowed fumes inside the cabin. Despite this setback, he stayed consistent throughout the regular season, scoring two more wins at Pocono and the Bristol Night Race. Despite a 19th-place finish at the Charlotte Roval, Hamlin collected enough points to advance to the Round of 12. At Martinsville, Hamlin collided with Logano on turn four, squeezing Logano into the outside wall and causing him to lose a tire and spin out two laps later. Hamlin finished fourth while Logano salvaged an eighth-place finish. After the race, Hamlin and Logano had a discussion on the incident before Logano slapped Hamlin's right shoulder, sparking a fight between the two. NASCAR suspended Dave Nichols Jr., the No. 22 team's tire technician, for one race for pulling Hamlin down to the ground during the altercation.

On November 1, Hamlin revealed that he has a torn labrum in his left shoulder and would have it surgically repaired after the 2019 season. Despite this, Hamlin went on a tear during the Playoffs, scoring his fifth victory of the season at Kansas only two weeks prior and ultimately advancing to the Championship 4 for the first time since 2014 with his sixth victory of the year at Phoenix, his second victory at the track since 2012 and the second time in his career that he had won at least six times in a season (having won eight races in 2010). At Homestead, however, Hamlin was a non-factor for the victory and Championship despite starting from the pole as he led only 2 laps, made an unscheduled pit stop to fix overheating issues after gambling with extra nose tape, and only recovered from a lap down to finish the race in 10th-place. He finished the season fourth in points in his first season with Gabehart as crew chief, a 7-spot improvement over the previous season along with six victories after being winless the year prior.

At the Xfinity level, Hamlin also won the Darlington race but was disqualified after his car failed to meet height requirements during post-race inspection. As a result, second-place finisher Cole Custer was declared the official race winner.

2020: Third Championship 4 Appearance and back to back Daytona 500 wins

Hamlin at Daytona in 2020

Hamlin won his third Daytona 500 in 2020 when he beat Ryan Blaney to the finish in overtime by 0.014 seconds, the second-closest finish in the race's history behind Hamlin's 2016 win. The victory was overshadowed by Ryan Newman's wreck coming to the finish that resulted in hospitalization, sparking controversy over Hamlin's post-race burnouts while Newman's health was unknown; Hamlin and Joe Gibbs apologized for the celebrations, the former explaining he had not learned of Newman's status until he was in Victory Lane.

He dominated in wins at Darlington, Homestead, Pocono, and Kansas. At Homestead, he started on the pole and won both stages before winning the race, earning an immaculate 60 points in the standings. At Pocono, he followed up the first race of the doubleheader in which he finished second behind a noticeably slower Harvick with a win in which he stayed out late in the cycle and pitted under green in the first place and kept the lead after the pit. After Kansas, he took the lead in most wins with 5. He and Chris Gabehart were the teams to beat. With his win at Pocono, Hamlin passed Mark Martin for second most wins by any driver that had never won the championship. He would win the YellaWood 500 at Talladega that fall in a photo-finish over Matt DiBenedetto, although the win was mired in controversy as Hamlin went below the yellow-line on the final lap.

2021: Fourth Championship 4 Appearance

Hamlin's race-winning car during the 2021 Cook Out Southern 500

On August 15, 2021, Hamlin clinched a Playoff berth despite having no wins throughout the Regular Season and finishing 23rd at the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard after being spun out by a penalized Chase Briscoe for the lead during a Green-White-Checkered attempt. Since part-time Cup driver A. J. Allmendinger won the race, this allowed Hamlin to clinch the 16th and final Playoff spot even if he were to remain winless. Afterward, Hamlin once again criticized NASCAR's decision to race in the road-course layout of Indy instead of the track's iconic oval.

On September 5, 2021, Hamlin won the Southern 500 at Darlington for the 3rd time in his career and advanced to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs. Three weeks later, Hamlin won his second race of the season at Las Vegas, his first victory at the track, and advanced to the Round of 8 as a result. During the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville in the second to last race of the season, Hamlin was leading with 7 laps to go racing with Alex Bowman when Bowman, was in the chase but got eliminated in the previous round, got into Hamlin's left rear and spun him in turn 3 bringing out a caution. Bowman would win the race with Hamlin finishing 24th but able to advance to the Championship 4. But after the race, Bowman was about to do his burnouts when Hamlin pulled up infront of him as if to prevent him from celebrating before he went to the nose of Bowman's car with the nose of his car and pushed Bowman's car by staying on the gas even giving him the finger before heading to pit road. ..... He made the Championship 4 for the third year in a row and finished 3rd in the final standings, with 2 wins, 19 top fives, 25 top tens, 1,502 laps led, an average finish of 8.4, and zero DNF's.

2023: Second Failure to reach Championship 4 and Second Fueds with Chase Elliott and Ross Chastain

Hamlin's car at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2023

In 2023, Hamlin began the season with a 17th-place finish at the Daytona 500. On March 15, he was docked 25 points and fined $50,000 after admitting on his podcast Actions Detrimental that he had intentionally wrecked Ross Chastain during the closing laps of the Phoenix race.

In April, Hamlin was named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers. He secured a victory at Kansas after a tense battle with Kyle Larson, who hit the outside wall on the final lap, allowing Hamlin to pass for the win. This victory marked Joe Gibbs Racing’s 400th career win. At Charlotte, Hamlin was right-rear hooked into the outside wall by Chase Elliott, leading to Elliott’s one-race suspension.

On July 23, Hamlin earned his second win of the season at Pocono, his seventh career victory at the track, breaking Jeff Gordon’s record. This win was also Hamlin’s 50th career Cup Series victory and marked Toyota's 600th overall win. Additionally, it was the first win for sponsor Mavis Tires & Brakes, who had just started sponsoring him at New Hampshire the previous week.

During the playoffs, Hamlin advanced to the Round of 12 with a victory at Bristol. This win surpassed Junior Johnson’s record for the most wins by a driver without a championship. Hamlin finished the season with 19 top-ten finishes, 14 top-five finishes, and three wins (Kansas, Pocono, and Bristol), placing fifth in the standings for the second consecutive year.

Hamlin returned to the Xfinity Series in 2023 after a two-year hiatus, driving Joe Gibbs Racing's No. 19 car to victory at Darlington in September. He had planned to participate in the race in 2022 but withdrew to recover from a crash in the previous week's Cup Series race at Daytona, ensuring he was ready for the Cup Series playoff opener the next day.

2024: Third Failure to reach Championship 4

Hamlin's car at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2024

In 2024, Hamlin kicked off the season with a win at the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum. At the Daytona 500, he got caught in a wreck with William Byron. Hamlin went off and finished 19th, while Byron went on to win the race. Hamlin secured his first pole of the season at Phoenix, but spun out late while racing Tyler Reddick for the lead in the third stage. He recovered to finish 11th. The following week, he claimed his first win of the season at Bristol, which marked the first spring race on the concrete track since 2020. This race sparked controversy due to significant tire wear, likely caused by a strip of resin applied to the racing groove and cooler temperatures that hindered the track from taking rubber. (However, on August 22, the No. 11 team faced an L2 penalty following an engine inspection violation. Toyota Racing Development admitted that the race-winning engine from Bristol had been rebuilt instead of inspected by NASCAR, resulting in a 75-point penalty for both the driver and team, along with a $100,000 fine for crew chief Chris Gabehart.)

Two weeks later, Hamlin triumphed again at Richmond in an overtime finish, aided by his pit crew’s strong performance. However, controversy surrounded the restart, as Hamlin appeared to accelerate before the restart line alongside Martin Truex Jr. NASCAR deemed the restart clean, and Hamlin was declared the winner. He led 17 laps, continuing his streak of leading at least one lap in all seven races to start the season. A month later, Hamlin won at Dover. During Martinsville practice, Hamlin backed his car into the wall due to a stuck throttle. Despite the repairs, he finished 5th in the race but didn’t accumulate enough points to advance, marking his third consecutive year missing the final four and elimination in the Round of 8 during the playoffs. Hamlin finished eighth in the points standings for the season. At the conclusion of the year, it was announced that FedEx would not return as the sponsor of the No. 11 car in 2025, ending a 20-year partnership with JGR. On November 22, JGR promoted Chris Gabehart to competition director, while Chris Gayle was named the new crew chief for the No. 11 car starting in 2025.

Superstar Racing Experience

On February 1, 2023, the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) announced that Hamlin would compete in the 2023 SRX Series opener at Stafford Motor Speedway on July 13. He went on to win the event, which was shortened by lightning.

Owner career

Further information: 23XI Racing

On September 21, 2020, Denny Hamlin and NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, longtime friends, announced the formation of 23XI Racing, a single-car team for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season. Bubba Wallace would drive the No. 23 car. On October 4, 2021, Wallace secured his first career Cup Series victory at Talladega, making history as the first African-American driver to win a Cup race since Wendell Scott in 1963.

For the 2022 season, the team expanded to a two-car operation with the addition of the No. 45, driven by 2004 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kurt Busch, who brought Monster Energy as a sponsor. On May 16, 2022, Kurt Busch delivered 23XI's second win at Kansas Speedway, leading 116 of 267 laps. Later that year, Wallace won the second Kansas race for the team that fall, driving the No. 45 in place of Busch, who was sidelined with concussion symptoms from a wreck at Pocono. In doing so, Wallace became the first African-American driver to win multiple Cup Series races.

On July 12, 2022, 23XI Racing and Toyota Racing Development (TRD) announced that Tyler Reddick would join the team full-time in 2024. However, following Busch’s announcement on October 16 that he would step away from full-time racing in 2023, it was revealed that Reddick’s contract with Richard Childress Racing would be bought out by 23XI, and he would replace Busch for the 2023 season.

Personal life

Hamlin is the youngest son of Dennis Hamlin and Mary Lou Clark. He was born in Tampa, Florida, at what is now St. Joseph's Women's Hospital, and moved to Virginia when he was two years old.

Hamlin and Jordan Fish have two daughters together. On January 1, 2024, Hamlin and Jordan Fish became engaged.

Hamlin has Ostraconophobia, also known as the fear of shellfish.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Cup Series

Daytona 500

Xfinity Series

Camping World Truck Series

^* Season still in progress
¹ Ineligible for series points

ARCA Re/Max Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Superstar Racing Experience

(key) * – Most laps led. ¹ – Heat 1 winner. ² – Heat 2 winner.

See also

In Spanish: Denny Hamlin para niños