When Denny Hamlin lost what appeared to be a sure first NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix Raceway earlier this month, there was speculation that he could do what Carl Edwards did after he was similarly denied the title at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2016: retire, despite having more years remaining on his Joe Gibbs racing contract.
While it might have seemed like that way at first, that was never really a legitimate option. The reality? Hamlin might actually have retired had he won the championship, as it would have given him the ability to go out on top as a Cup Series champion for the first time in 20 years of trying.
Hamlin is a 60-time race winner and already a surefire future first-ballot Hall of Famer. The three-time Daytona 500 winner recently stated on his Actions Detrimental podcast that he would have "begged Joe [Gibbs] to let me quit]" had he won the Phoenix season finale and thus his first championship.
The admission shows that going out on top is something that he has thought about seriously for quite some time, and it shows that it remains a possibility for 2026 as well.
Denny Hamlin could call it quits from NASCAR a year early
Nobody knows exactly what NASCAR's modified playoff format (if there even winds up being one) will look like for 2026, but Hamlin is listed as one of the early favorites to win the championship regardless.
If he can finally win it in his 21st season as a full-time driver, you can't ignore the elephant in the room: an early retirement absolutely remains on the table.
He is signed through 2027 after agreeing to a two-year contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing during the 2025 season, but retiring a single year early, finally as a Cup Series champion, seems like a completely viable option, possibly even the best way to go out. Hamlin is already the series' oldest driver, having just turned 45 years of age earlier this month.
Additionally, Brent Crews has long been speculated as the driver Joe Gibbs Racing have their eye on to be Hamlin's long-term replacement behind the wheel of the No. 11 Toyota, and the team just signed him to a full-time O'Reilly Auto Parts Series (formerly Xfinity Series) deal for the 2026 season.
Should he impress them in his first season with the team, similar to what Connor Zilisch did with JR Motorsports in 2025 en route to landing his 2026 Cup ride with Trackhouse Racing, perhaps they will be more willing to facilitate the passing of the torch a year early than originally anticipated.
Because, quite frankly, Denny Hamlin returning in 2027 for another 36-race season, three months after winning the 2026 championship, just does not seem like something Denny Hamlin would actually do.
The 2026 season is scheduled to begin with the 68th annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 15. Fox is set to provide live coverage beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET, and Hamlin is set to aim to become only the third driver to win the "Great American Race" for a fourth time.