Does Denny Hamlin ever get in a NASCAR Cup Series car again?

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Spped

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After this, I say it's 50/50 at best if he comes back to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2026. Put me down as one of the people who believed that, if Denny Hamlin won the title, he might retire. I'm just not sure how you recover from this. I'm not even a Denny Hamlin fan and felt heartbroken for him when it happened. I can't even begin to imagine how he feels. I really don't see how he gets back in a NASCAR Cup Series car again.

People have retired from sports for far less than this. I know I would and would probably try my best to never look back.
 
HoneyBadger said:
I'd walk away tonight if I was him.
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That's how I am. If it was me I just walk away and try not to look back. I don't even know if I could be involved in the sport anymore. Not only could I see him going the Carl Edwards route and walk away, but I could see him either selling or just being a silent owner of 23XI racing with no true involvement. I could genuinely see him just leave the sport entirely.

Maybe do some other racing, like sports car racing or some local short track racing, but never be involved with NASCAR again.

I feel for Denny. He has the feel like the universe is against him racing wise at this point. He is now truly cemented as this generations Mark Martin.
 
Spped said:
That's how I am. If it was me I just walk away and try not to look back. I don't even know if I could be involved in the sport anymore. Not only could I see him going the Carl Edwards route and walk away, but I could see him either selling or just being a silent owner of 23XI racing with no true involvement. I could genuinely see him just leave the sport entirely.

Maybe do some other racing, like sports car racing or some local short track racing, but never be involved with NASCAR again.

I feel for Denny. He has the feel like the universe is against him racing wise at this point. He is now truly cemented as this generations Mark Martin.
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He’s too involved in nascar, even outside of racing, for him to just walk away completely from the sport
 
chances14 said:
He’s too involved in nascar, even outside of racing, for him to just walk away completely from the sport
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At one point Tony Stewart was heavily involved in NASCAR. Now you may see him make an appearance every now and then, but he's essentially out of the sport. He's too busy at this point with his NHRA Top Fuel dragster wife Leah Pruett, being a top fuel racer himself now and TSR.

It would be easy for Denny Hamlin to walk away, if he chooses. He doesn't need the money, he doesn't owe Joe Gibbs or his team anything (he's given everything). At his age, and with his dad's health, I could easily see him just wanting to focus on time with family and his dad. He could easily give up an day to day responsibilities for 23XI racing, even becoming uninvolved if he wanted (just having his name on the team) or even selling his part of the team. There would be plenty of takers.

I'm not saying I see that. I could see him walking away from the racing side but staying involved in the business side. But I could also see him being so utterly destroyed by this that he just can't be involved in NASCAR is any form or fashion.
 
I mean I think he’s too far involved with 23XI to walk away completely and the sun will come up tomorrow. But damn, I don’t know how he could race Cup again. I said in the race thread that if it were me, I’d take a long vacation somewhere by myself and question everything career wise. I have no idea how he gets geared up to try it again and at the level he’s been at in less than what 3 months?
 
Jorge De Guzman said:
I mean I think he’s too far involved with 23XI to walk away completely and the sun will come up tomorrow. But damn, I don’t know how he could race Cup again. I said in the race thread that if it were me, I’d take a long vacation somewhere by myself and question everything career wise. I have no idea how he gets geared up to try it again and at the level he’s been at in less than what 3 months?
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NASCAR did the same **** to Carl Edwards in 2016 and he finally walked away.
 
HoneyBadger said:
NASCAR did the same **** to Carl Edwards in 2016 and he finally walked away.
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And considering Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards were teammates for awhile, I could see Carl being one of the first calls Denny makes to talk it over.

I will say, if I was betting, I don't doubt Denny will stay involved in the sport from the team ownership side. But I really don't believe you'll see him in a Cup car next year. Maybe in a couple years he might do the Daytona 500 and a part time schedule, like Jimmie Johnson. But I just don't see him being a full time Cup driver after this. Something like this tends to just break you, he's going to need significant time to even remotely get over this. Denny put so much into this year, I don't think he'll have the willpower to start over and try again next year.
 
JBone88 said:
I think he’ll race next year.

Mentally, I think he’s done. I can’t see him being the same driver again after today.
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Yeah I could see him running one more season just to do a retirement tour.

He knows NASCAR is going to ensure he never wins one. Just like Carl Edwards and Mark Martin.
 
Spped said:
After this, I say it's 50/50 at best if he comes back to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2026. Put me down as one of the people who believed that, if Denny Hamlin won the title, he might retire. I'm just not sure how you recover from this. I'm not even a Denny Hamlin fan and felt heartbroken for him when it happened. I can't even begin to imagine how he feels. I really don't see how he gets back in a NASCAR Cup Series car again.

People have retired from sports for far less than this. I know I would and would probably try my best to never look back.
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lol, Damn
 
Spped said:
And considering Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards were teammates for awhile, I could see Carl being one of the first calls Denny makes to talk it over.

I will say, if I was betting, I don't doubt Denny will stay involved in the sport from the team ownership side. But I really don't believe you'll see him in a Cup car next year. Maybe in a couple years he might do the Daytona 500 and a part time schedule, like Jimmie Johnson. But I just don't see him being a full time Cup driver after this. Something like this tends to just break you, he's going to need significant time to even remotely get over this. Denny put so much into this year, I don't think he'll have the willpower to start over and try again next year.
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Yeah or he could be mentally tough and try to overcome it. Or just quit, like you would.
 
No way Hambone quits. First, he’s a narcissist, and that means he needs constant validation of how right he is on everything. He also lusts for a championship, despite his comments about how it isn’t that important, and won’t define his legacy. BS. Anybody with a house full of HIMSELF on every wall, at every turn, means he will try until he retires.

Secondly, he’s under contract and needs the money.

Third, if he and the Jordan cabal lose the lawsuit in court, he’s in the hook for major $$ with no charter money coming in. He has to race just to keep up his debt payments.
 
The bull**** on this thread actually makes me feel better. Hamlin goes nowhere because he is a competitor. He competed for 3 hours, and lost. Winning and losing is a byproduct of the competitive endeavor......it's the 3 hours he craves....and the outcome is love/hate. He hates this one. He will be fine. Me? I am not so sure. This was a massive kick in the nuts, but I loved every second of it until the end.
 
Revman said:
Hamlin goes nowhere because he is a competitor.
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This is a ridiculous topic.

Outside of competing for a title, Denny's under personal stress from his father's health and the lawsuit. Under those conditions, things can look pretty bleak, and people can say and feel things after a long disappointing day. They can also feel very different after a couple of nights of decent sleep and a few good meals.

I've always thought Denny was a bit of head case but I don't see him walking away.
 
I saw a tweet can’t find it right now where Denny said he didn’t wanna ever sit in a race car again can’t blame him
 
DanicaFreak said:
I saw a tweet can’t find it right now where Denny said he didn’t wanna ever sit in a race car again can’t blame him
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I would. I believe in competition....and that it is different from winning and losing. Much like Edwards....if you quit, you just wanted to win. You are not a competitor. You are entitled. Buck up butter cup, come back and take it next year.
 
I see it as the opposite. If he won yesterday I could see him retiring. Since he did not and still has no championship trophy he will be back next year.
 
The pit stop strategy killed his chance no doubt. If Hamlin overrules his crew chief and takes 2, he may have beaten Larson to the line and hold a championship trophy. But he didn’t, and they got dumped. Drivers depend on their CC’s a lot, but sometimes have to make the tough call.

All my verbose Hambone chatter aside, I do have some pity for him being so close to winning the grand trophy and failing, especially with his Dad’s condition. Will he stop racing? Absolutely not. He is a fierce competitor, an ass for sure, but a competitor. Winning so many races at 44 years old speaks to his skill. He’s under contract and needs the money, so he will be back.

Here’s what I wish would happen. Hamlin takes stock of where he’s at, how he’s handled his racing, his persona and place in the racing series. He decides to take off the black hat, treat fans well whether he wins or loses, stop running his competitors up into the fence, etc. Maybe his karma would turn around.
 
Denny won 6 (6!) races this year and should have won this one (cannot explain 4 tires)

He isn’t falling off so I can see him giving it one or two more years since he wasn’t beaten out or losing like others who have faded. He’s performing peak and can have another shot. That being said the 23XI element does make it a chess game I’m not sure about. But few great competitors just walk away after having a winning season. Some but few.
 
RaceCritter said:
(cannot explain 4 tires)
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4 tires worked for Heim Friday night like he was in god mode. I realize Cup runs very different tires now, and lessons from Truck and X races are no longer as relevant as they used to be. Still, I understood when they did it why it looked like a reasonable choice.
 
I can't wait to see how Denny manages to lose the title in the next format NASCAR picks. I mean he's lost in every other format and this will be the 5th or 6th since he got to Cup, right? He never should have been in the running in the first place so if he was champ, it would have been because of the playoffs and not in spite of it (this time at least).

Dude has literally never raced anything in years outside of Cup and probably wouldn't again if he stepped away. Meanwhile I bet Larson isn't even done racing for the year here in the US (he's already slated to race in Perth Australia Dec 28-30).
 
Just looked in the dictionary and under "heartbreak" was a picture of Denny sitting in his car after the race.
 
Denny won’t retire. This isn’t Carl Edwards’ situation. He will 100% be behind the wheel of the 11 car at Daytona in three months.

However, I don’t think he will be the same driver after this. I can absolutely see a championship loss hangover. Denny is already a mentally streaky driver as it is.

Look at Kevin Harvick post 2020 for precedent. Wasn’t the same driver. Only won 2 more races. Winless seasons in 2 out of his last 3. Retirement.

I doubt Denny has won his last race. But I don’t see him getting close to a championship again.
 
My prediction is that he will be back stronger than ever next year...but I doubt he will put 4 tires on with only 2 laps left in the championship race if he is leading. Learn from your mistakes and get back at it is what makes a championship caliber driver, and team... and Denny and his team are definitely championship caliber.
 
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