Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Mavis Tire Toyota, poses with the winner sticker on his car in … More
Joe Gibbs Racing has inked a multiyear extension with Denny Hamlin to continue to pilot the No. 11 Toyota for the forseeable future.
“Joe and everyone at JGR are family to me and have done so much for me over the last 20 years,” Hamlin said in a press release. “We’ve had a solid start to this season and we have been able to welcome some great new partners this year, so there are a lot of exciting things happening with our team not only now, but also into the future.”
The three-time Daytona 500 winner is one of the most loved (and hated) drivers in Nascar. He is known for bold opinions off the track with his Actions Detrimental Podcast on Dirty Mo Radio. On the track, Hamlin is an aggressive racer with 58 career Cup Series wins.
“I really appreciate Denny and everything he has meant to our organization,” Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing, said. “It is just really special when you think about everything we’ve experienced over the past 20 years, from that first moment when J.D. (Gibbs) recognized his talent at a test session, until now. It is remarkable in any sport to compete at the level Denny has for this long and we are thrilled he has been able to spend his entire career with us.”
Hamlin’s No. 11 team has undergone a visual change over the past few years, as FedEx slowly stepped away from its full-season sponsorship package. FedEx decreased its sponsorship to have only 13 races last year before fully backing away from its Nascar partnership this year.
But Joe Gibbs Racing has completely rebranded the No. 11 car, inking major deals with new partners, including Progressive, National Debt Relief, ampm, and King’s Hawaiian.
At 44 years old, Hamlin is the veteran face of the Nascar Cup Series. He has been with Joe Gibbs Racing for over 20 years, signing with the team in 2003.
JGR did not say how long the extension is for.
Hamlin also co-owns 23XI Racing with Michael Jordan. The team is in the midst of a complicated anti-trust lawsuit against Nascar right now, and the ownership group is attempting to figure out its path forward if Nascar revokes the team’s charters.