Denny Hamlin copes with championship loss

“I’m hungover from racing. I just need a break to reset.”

Those were some of the comments made by Denny Hamlin just days after a heartbreaking loss in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on November 2. You can’t blame Hamlin, who won a career-best six races in 2025 and led 208 of 319 laps in the season finale, for feeling this way.

“It’s about what you would think of it, as good as it can be,” Hamlin said last week, less than four full days after his disappointing loss. “I’ve been through a lot of different things over the course of my career. I’ve been knocked out or lost championships in different ways. That was definitely the closest we’ve been.

“It’s just a life lesson. Sometimes life isn’t fair, even if you feel like you deserve it. Still, circumstances have to come your way. There’s nothing I could have done behind the wheel to change the outcome. It’s just the way races go, and that’s the format.”

Hamlin, now a grizzly veteran at age 44, had perhaps his best chance to win a championship finish in a manner that reminded Nascar fans of Carl Edwards’ 2016 loss and complete departure from Nascar racing. Hamlin spoke with Edwards the week after Phoenix.

With three laps to go at Phoenix, less than a minute before taking the white flag, William Byron suffered tire trouble and rammed the outside wall entering Turn 3. Hamlin and No. 11 crew chief Chris Gayle pitted for four tires, while Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson grabbed two tires. Larson restarted on the outside lane of the third row, while Hamlin lined up on the inside of row five. Larson surged ahead to take his second championship with a third-place finish in the race, while Hamlin watched the celebration from pit road, earning him a sixth-place finish.

“It was a really good season,” Hamlin said. “We exceeded some of my expectations when it came to race wins [Championship Four was a great accomplishment. It was certainly a year where, even though we had ups and downs in terms of finishes, we never had a lull of performance. We were performing really well throughout the entire season from race one to the very end.”

However, Nascar is finalizing a new playoff format, which should be announced leading into the 2026 season. Before Hamlin’s stunning defeat, the garage had already been debating numerous formats, and the 2025 championship made it clear for many that something has to change.

“Certainly, the bigger the sample size, the better the opportunity that it presents to myself and the [No.] 11 team, considering we’re good at pretty much all racetracks,” said a forward-looking Hamlin. “I’m looking forward to seeing what it is, and I’m sure we can adapt to whatever.”

Hamlin won his 60th career Cup race this year, scoring the emotional victory in mid-October at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, ironically the site of his first Cup start. However, he isn’t sure what his next goals are as he still has two years left on his contract with Joe Gibbs Racing, although he is looking to surpass Kevin Harvick for 10th on the all-time wins list (currently tied).

“I have to take the offseason to reassess what the goals are,” Hamlin said. “That takes time, and I have to be methodical about what that is. I’m still driven to compete, and that’s something I enjoy doing. As I assess what the goals will be from this point, race wins and a win total will be part of that goal.

“I definitely feel like I’m as sharp as ever when it comes to my racing skills. I change it up here and there during each offseason. There are things I’ll fine-tune with the way I approach race tracks. But overall, it’s been good to maintain the speed for so long throughout my career.”

Whatever goal Hamlin sets for himself, he believes “there are a lot of race wins between now and the end.” With Gayle, who moved to the No. 11 team after taking over from Ty Gibbs in his first two full-time seasons as a Cup driver, as his crew chief, it wouldn’t surprise anyone at JGR if Hamlin comes out on top regardless of the new format. Former crew chief Chris Gabehart moved to JGR’s league direction last offseason in a move that was shocking to the Virginia native.

“We were really blessed to have Chris come in and adapt to the [No.] 11 team,” Hamlin said of his crew chief. “We had a certain way we did things to prepare for each week, and he adapted his style accordingly. Throughout the year he just kept adding to it. And so it was great for them to put him with me and that combination has been very successful.”

In addition to a fresh face atop the pit box, the No. 11 team had a very different look on the track. That’s because FedEx – one of the longest-standing driver-sponsor combinations in Nascar history – departed JGR at the end of the 2024 season.

Hamlin entered the 2025 season without a primary sponsor signed and his No. 11 hauler was mostly blank when he entered the Busch Light Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium last February. That was until Progressive signed a multi-year deal to become the new face of the No. 11 team and sponsor Hamlin for 17 races (plus the All-Star Race) this year alone. Progressive’s first race with Hamlin took place in late March at Homestead-Miami Speedway, marking the insurance company’s first return to Nascar in years while also marking the first major Nascar sponsorship program. Hamlin won for the first time in the colors the following week at Martinsville Speedway.

“The relationship has been seamless from the very beginning,” Hamlin said of Progressive. “They’ve had one-off Nascar cars before, but they’ve never had a primary sponsorship with a Nascar Cup Series team. I gave them the on-track performance they hoped to achieve, and the off-track stuff was certainly great. I got to go to Ohio to visit their headquarters to see what they’re all about, and I enjoyed a Guardians game at Progressive Field. It was really fun from my standpoint to get to work with such a big brand again, and to to represent them is something special.

Just days after the championship, Hamlin was back at Joe Gibbs Racing with Progressive for a special program. The 13th annual Keys to Progress – less than a week before Veterans Day – allowed Hamlin to present two veterans – Joseph Campbell and Martavius ​​Woods – with keys to new vehicles. Across the country, 99 veterans received new cars through Progressive’s Keys to Progress giveaway event.

“I’ve done a lot of charity work with sponsors in the past,” Hamlin said of the Keys to Progress program. “We started the year not knowing what the primary sponsor was going to be. Progressive came in, took over right away, and we certainly had a lot of success with them on the track. That led to us being able to build a relationship with them off the track, and help them with certain initiatives. The Keys to Progress is a great program that gives back to veterans, by donating vehicles to veterans. I’m honored to do that and hand those veterans the keys at Joe Gibbs Racing. It’s another way that Progressive continues to give back to the community.”

On the topic of ownership at 23XI Racing, Hamlin reflected on the success of the team he co-owns with NBA legend Michael Jordan. 23XI expanded to three cars in 2025, with Riley Herbst driving the No. 35 car, backed by Monster Energy, and finishing 35th in the championship. Bubba Wallace won a crown jewel race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to qualify for the playoffs, while 2024 regular-season champion Tyler Reddick also made the postseason but failed to win a race for the first time since 2021. In addition, 2025 Craftsman Truck Series champion Corey Heim competed in four races for the team’s part-time fourth entry.

“I thought the expansion itself went really well,” Hamlin said. “We manned that team pretty early. I wish the on-track performance was obviously a little bit better [No.] 35. That program must be intensified and continue to make progress. The other two had good seasons. With two cars finishing in ninth and eleventh place, we are on the cusp. We just have to be a little bit better and the team has to execute the races better. They will be championship contenders for years to come.”

Hamlin would not reveal Heim’s plans for 23XI’s fourth appearance, but said he will have an expanded Cup Series schedule in 2026.

Hamlin plans to take time to process the end of the 2025 season before turning his attention to 2026.