Denny Hamlin is on an absolute tear to this point in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.
He’s earned four points-paying wins (including three of them in a row) and showed absolute dominance across the board from driver, team and personnel.
Hamlin, among the clear-cut favorites for the championship, has notably said multiple times that this contract with Joe Gibbs Racing that he signed through 2027 would be the last. But with this run of form and seemingly little-to-no signs of slowing down even amidst some of the biggest personal adversity he’s endured, should Hamlin really step away?
Thomas Dunn and Christopher Hansen evaluate that on this week’s 2-Headed Monster.
You Have to Know When to Hold Them and When to Fold Them
There’s no doubt about the torrid tear that Hamlin is currently on. You’re witnessing one of the best drivers of the modern era continue to elevate his game and reach a scary peak, one that he hadn’t achieved to this point in career with three straight NASCAR Cup Series wins.
The easy answer would be to keep going until the performance starts to fall off, but I’m not so sure that’s the path for Hamlin. Yes, he’s enjoying an exorbitant of success right now, jumping into ninth all time for Cup Series wins by passing the late Kyle Busch with 64. He’s also made up over 100 points on Tyler Reddick in the regular season points standings.
But as the saying goes, father time comes for all, and you just can’t assume that this level of excellence is consistently sustainable.
Outside of one last gasp in 2014 & 2015, times got tougher for Jeff Gordon as he closed his career. Right when 2018 hit, things fell off a cliff for Jimmie Johnson. Richard Petty didn’t win for the final eight years of his career. The point is, what you see now is not what you’re guaranteed to get on a week-to-week basis, let alone a year-to-year basis.
Simultaneously, there’s that lasting accomplishment off in the distance: That elusive Cup Series championship. I believe Hamlin, irrespective of whether he attains that trophy in the next two years, will be at worst a second ballot Hall of Famer.
Sometimes, you just naturally reach that end of the road, and from my perspective, Hamlin seems not necessarily satisfied but content with the body of work that he’s put in as a driver. And when you put together some of the questions being posed to Hamlin in, “Would you retire if you won the championship this year?” it doesn’t become that far-fetched despite his sponsorship/contractual-related dismissals.
It’s not often that this sport lets you go out on your terms, especially while at or toward the top. I’ll always think back to his former JGR teammate in Carl Edwards, where you run into your personal reality in the mirror. And in those cases, you have to know when you’re ready to walk away, and I believe Denny Hamlin is inching ever closer to that conclusion and should be no matter how this next season and a half goes. – Thomas Dunn
If Denny Hamlin Keeps Winning at This Level, Why Stop Now?
A lot has been made about just how dominant Hamlin has been behind the wheel the last few seasons. 2025 was perhaps one of the best seasons of Hamlin’s full-time Cup career, as the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota claimed six victories, his highest win total in a single season since 2020.
Despite those six wins leading all drivers one year ago, the Cup title slipped through Hamlin’s fingertips once again, leaving the Chesterfield, Va., native once again without the biggest prize in NASCAR: the Bill France Cup.
Entering 2026, a lot of us wondered how Hamlin would respond after a tumultuous ending to the 2025 season both on and off the track. He answered the call in 2026 thus far, amassing four wins, currently second to 23XI Racing driver Reddick’s five victories.
With the summer stretch heating up, Hamlin has been as locked in as he ever has, winning the last three consecutive Cup Series races at Nashville Superspeedway, Michigan International Speedway and Pocono Raceway, all from the pole position.
In addition, the regular season championship is also within reach for Hamlin, who has trimmed a 129-point deficit to a mere 19 points following Pocono, thanks to this recent run of success.
The JGR driver continues to deliver week-in and week-out, even at age 45. His victory last weekend at Pocono marked the 20th win for Hamlin since turning 40-years old, a feat in itself. Historically drivers’ performance takes a step back with age. However, with each victory, Hamlin continues to defy Father Time as he enters the twilight of his Cup career.
We’ve seen it with past Cup champions, including seven-time champion Johnson, Martin Truex Jr. and, more recently, the late Kyle Busch, Hamlin’s former teammate at JGR, where the performance drops off and race wins are few and far between.
In Hamlin’s case, he’s still just as sharp as he’s ever been behind the wheel, with his four victories through the first 16 races of the season. Despite rumors floating around that the 2027 Cup Series season will be Hamlin’s final full-time season at the sport’s highest level, why should it be if he keeps winning at the rate he is?
Yes, Hamlin shared post-race at Michigan on the Prime Video broadcast that current NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series driver Brent Crews would be a suitable replacement should Hamlin stick to the plan of retiring after 2027.
With how exceptional his on-track performance has been in 2026, why should Hamlin hang up the helmet after the end of next season? If he’s going to continue to keep winning at this level, competing for race wins and remaining a championship contender for the foreseeable future, Joe Gibbs should do everything in his power to keep Hamlin onboard at JGR.
Despite being 45 years old, we’re witnessing the best version of Hamlin the driver, who continues winning and producing results on a weekly basis, along with putting himself in great position to finally score that elusive Cup Series title that he’s come so close to winning. – Christopher Hansen
Thomas is in his second year covering NASCAR at Frontstretch. A Bay Area NASCAR fan for over 15+ years, he found his love for the sport through Jeff Gordon. He helps manage the 2-Headed Monster Column.
Thomas has enjoyed several trips to Sonoma Raceway in his time and currently covers college athletics in the Bay Area, writing about the California Golden Bears and doing play by play broadcasting.
Thanks for choosing to comment on this article. A name and email address are required to post a comment. The email address is not publicly visible or shared. Please keep in mind that comments are moderated according to our comment policy.