THE RACER

Denny Hamlin enters his 21 st full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2026 driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing. Over his career, Hamlin has established himself as a perennial contender and he is one of only 11 drivers to earn 60 wins at NASCAR’s highest level.

In addition to his 60 career wins entering 2026, Hamlin has registered 248 top-five finishes (11 th -most all-time) and 376 top-10s (ninth-most all-time). His 48 career pole awards lead all active drivers and have him in a tie for 10 th -most all-time. Hamlin’s 16,319 laps led make him only the 12 th driver in NASCAR history to eclipse 16,000 laps led in the Cup Series. Hamlin, who has driven for Joe Gibbs Racing throughout his career, holds the record for most playoff appearances (19) and has placed in the top five in the final rankings on 10 occasions, including six of the past seven seasons.

Hamlin began his career by dominating various go-kart divisions in Virginia. By age 15, he had claimed 127 feature wins and five championships across three classes. In 1997, he transitioned to mini-stock cars. That year, he became the youngest driver to win the NASCAR Mini Stock track championship at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia in addition to being named NASCAR Mini Stock Rookie of the Year.

Three years later, Hamlin was Rookie of the Year at Southside Speedway in Richmond, Virginia after posting an impressive 11 top-five finishes. Despite enjoying success competing for his family-owned team, Hamlin’s future in the sport was threatened by financial reasons before a chance encounter with team owner Jim Dean led to Hamlin racing for the Dean Motorsports late model program in 2003. The opportunity to race for Dean Motorsports proved to be the break Hamlin needed to showcase his talents.

In 2003, he recorded 25 wins, 33 top-five finishes, and 25 pole awards in only 36 starts. With Hamlin having a breakout season in the late model stock ranks, he was tabbed to help with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Drive for Diversity combine at Hickory Motor Speedway where the organization was searching for up-and-coming prospects. Hamlin, who was there to serve as a test driver and not actually as a candidate, caught the eye of J.D. Gibbs who ultimately made the decision to offer Hamlin a driver development contract with the organization in February 2004.

In August 2004, Hamlin made his NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series debut at Indianapolis Raceway Park. That night, he started seventh and finished 10 th . After making several other Truck Series starts that season, the Virginia native made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Darlington Raceway in November. With qualifying rained out, he was forced to start from the rear of the field. He battled his way through the field to earn an eighth-place finish on the Track Too Tough to Tame.

The next year, Hamlin was promoted to the Xfinity Series full-time driving Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 entry. He ended the season with one top-five finish and 11 top-10s on the way to finishing fifth in the points standings.

Late in 2005, Joe Gibbs Racing gave Hamlin a seven-race audition in the team’s No. 11 car. He did not disappoint, posting a seventh-place qualifying effort in his debut race at Kansas Speedway and three top-10 finishes in seven starts. The highlight of Hamlin’s trial run was his pole-winning performance at Phoenix Raceway in the penultimate race of the season. Those results led to Hamlin being promoted to the Cup Series full-time in 2006.

Only 25 years old at the time, Hamlin broke out immediately in 2006 as he captured the win in the season-opening Busch Clash exhibition race at Daytona International Speedway. In that race, he held off fierce challenges from standout drivers, including Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart. That victory served as a springboard for a Rookie of the Year season for Hamlin where he claimed his first Cup Series win at Pocono Raceway. He followed that up with a second Pocono win a month later and finished third in the overall points standings. In addition to his success in the Cup Series, Hamlin also notched a pair of Xfinity Series wins at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City and Darlington Raceway. He continued his success by capturing six more wins over the next three seasons while qualifying for the NASCAR Playoffs in each season.

2010 proved to be another breakthrough season for Hamlin and his No. 11 team. That year, he won a career-high eight races, including his first Southern 500 victory in May. Hamlin’s stellar season had him in the hunt for the Cup Series championship all the way to the final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway where he ultimately wound up second behind Jimmie Johnson. From 2011-2015, Hamlin added 10 wins at 10 different tracks. He finished inside the top 10 in four out of five seasons. In 2013, Hamlin missed four races because of an injury. That setback marks the only time in his career that Hamlin missed the playoffs.

Hamlin kickstarted the 2016 season with a thrilling victory in the Daytona 500 by a mere .01 seconds over Martin Truex Jr. The win was Hamlin’s first in the Great American Race. In 2019, Hamlin nabbed his second Daytona 500 victory as Joe Gibbs Racing drivers finished 1-2-3. A year later, he became the first driver since Sterling Marlin in 1994 and 1995 to win the race in consecutive years. Hamlin’s three Daytona 500 victories are tied for third all-time with NASCAR Hall of Famers Bobby Allison, Jeff Gordon, and Dale Jarrett. Only Richard Petty (seven) and Cale Yarborough (four) have more victories in the Great American Race.

In 2019, Hamlin was paired with crew chief Chris Gabehart for what would be a career renaissance. Coming off a winless campaign in 2018, Hamlin followed up the 2019 Daytona 500 victory with five other wins, including the Bristol Night Race and playoff wins at Kansas Speedway and Phoenix Raceway. The successful season led Hamlin to his second career Championship 4 appearance.

He continued his winning ways in 2020 with seven victories. In addition to the Daytona 500, Hamlin won races at six other tracks, including Darlington Raceway, Dover Motor Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Pocono Raceway, and Talladega Superspeedway to qualify for the Championship 4 once again.

Hamlin led a career-high 1,502 laps and matched his career-best for top-10 finishes (19) in 2021 on the way to a third consecutive Championship 4 appearance. The 2021 season included Hamlin’s third Southern 500 win and a second playoff victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The 2022 and 2023 season saw Hamlin score five total victories, including the 2022 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the 2023 Bristol Night Race. Sandwiched between those two trips to victory lane was Hamlin’s 50 th career Cup Series win coming at Pocono Raceway in July. His Pocono victory was also his seventh at the track, setting the record at the 2.5-mile tri-oval. Both seasons concluded with fifth-place finishes in the final standings. Hamlin scored a victory in the Busch Clash exhibition race at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to begin 2024. His season started off extremely strong with three point-paying wins in the first 11 races. Overall, he finished the year eighth in the final standings.

In 2025, Hamlin led the Cup Series with six wins, including his first victory at Martinsville in a decade. He added on victories throughout the summer and secured his place in the Championship 4 with playoff wins at World Wide Technology Raceway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The win at Las Vegas was extra special for the Virginia native as it made him the 11 th driver in NASCAR history to achieve 60 Cup Series wins. In the end, Hamlin turned in a dominant performance in the championship race after winning the pole and leading 208 of 319 laps before ultimately finishing sixth in the race and second in the championship standings.

In addition to his role as the driver of the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing, Hamlin also co-owns 23XI Racing with NBA legend Michael Jordan. The team was announced in September 2020 and debuted with Bubba Wallace driving the No. 23 Toyota in 2021. Wallace scored the team’s first victory in October 2021 at Talladega Superspeedway. 23XI Racing expanded to a two-car operation in 2022 with Kurt Busch driving the No. 45 car. Busch and Wallace both earned a victory in 2022. With Busch sidelined because of an injury, the team added Tyler Reddick as the driver of the No. 45 Toyota in 2023. Reddick won twice in 2023 and three times in 2024 in a season that saw him earn the organization’s first regular season championship and Championship 4 appearance. Last year, 23XI Racing expanded to a three-car operation and Bubba Wallace secured the team’s first crown jewel victory with his win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Away from the track, Hamlin has three children (Taylor, Molly, and Jameson). Despite his busy schedule as both a driver and owner in the sport, he stays active in basketball and golf leagues throughout the year. Hamlin is also the host of the ‘Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin’ podcast throughout the NASCAR season.