SPEEDWAY, Indiana — Denny Hamlin is sticking around.
Joe Gibbs Racing announced on Friday (July 25) that Hamlin has signed a multi-year contract extension to continue driving the No. 11 Toyota for the team.
In a press conference Friday Hamlin confirmed it was a two-year-extension.
The news comes days after Hamlin won his series leading fourth NASCAR Cup Series race of the season in overtime at Dover Motor Speedway.
The win for Hamlin, who will turn 45 in November, was the 58th of his Cup Series career.
Hamlin is the oldest full-time driver in the Cup Series and the winningest Cup driver to not win a championship.
“Joe and everyone at JGR are family to me and have done so much for me over the last 20 years,” said Hamlin 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 announcement came ahead of Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Brickyard is the only Crown Jewel race Hamlin has not won in his career.
Hamlin, in his 20th full-time season, leads all active drivers with seven wins in Crown Jewel races.
“I really appreciate Denny and everything he has meant to our organization,” said team owner Joe Gibbs in the press release. “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.”
Daniel McFadin is a 10-year veteran of the NASCAR media corp. He wrote for NBC Sports from 2015 to October 2020. He currently works full time for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and is lead reporter and an editor for Frontstretch. He is also host of the NASCAR podcast "Dropping the Hammer with Daniel McFadin" presented by Democrat-Gazette.
You can email him at danielmcfadin@gmail.com.