Denny Hamlin added another milestone to his career on March 15, 2026, with a win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It marked his 61st victory in the NASCAR Cup Series. After the race, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver revealed that he’s aiming to reach 67 career wins before stepping away from the sport. Soon after he opened up about all of it on his Actions Detrimental podcast, his crew chief shared his stance on the situation.

Chris Gayle provides an update on JGR’s future

“His plans might change,” Chris Gayle said on the Sirius XM podcast. “I don’t know what might happen. I know he signed up for a couple of years here. So, man, I hope he hits that number and beyond, specifically because I want to be involved with that and win that many races coming up here.”

Hamlin is one of the more competitive and experienced drivers on the grid right now. He has had a strong start to the season, and although he missed out on the championship by the smallest of margins last year, that doesn’t seem to have let him down.

Yet there is no confirmation that Hamlin will chase his title. But Gayle mentioned that if Hamlin remains competitive for a long time, he will stick with full-time racing.

Over the years, small issues have kept him from winning. Last year finally seemed to be the time when he would win, but a late caution washed away the chances. If he sticks by his word, Denny Hamlin will win six more races and then retire. Now, whether that will include a title or not is the real question.

Considering the Chase format, however, it can be deduced that winning a whopping seven races (including his win at LVMS earlier) would give him extremely good chances of winning the title. But that is a huge estimation. More than half of those wins would have to come in the season’s second half, under the Chase, and he will have to stick within the top 16.

But all said and done, if Hamlin continues to perform like he did last year, he might as well have a chance of clinching the title. Even if he does retire, there is no way that Hamlin will disappear into the shadows.

Can Denny Hamlin follow Jimmie Johnson’s career curve but more successfully?

Shortly after he retired from full-time racing, Jimmie Johnson went on to purchase an ownership stake in Legacy Motor Club. He currently controls the team’s major operations, alongside a few part-time entries every season, especially at Daytona.

Now that Denny Hamlin has discussed his potential retirement, he will probably follow a similar career path. He already co-owns 23XI Racing alongside NBA legend Michael Jordan. Moreover, the team has proven to be extremely successful. They managed to win the first three races of the season with Tyler Reddick and have been rather competitive on the field.

With them forcing NASCAR into a settlement last year in the antitrust lawsuit, it would only seem apparent that Hamlin would shift more of his focus as a team owner rather than as a driver. Understandably, his current duties with JGR can be a little difficult to tackle alongside 23XI’s development. But if he does retire, he will be able to devote his complete focus to the team and perhaps make a few part-time entries like Jimmie Johnson.

Denny Hamlin had earlier mentioned that he targets the Big 3 on the NASCAR field with 23XI. It would be a little awkward to do that while he is driving for one of them. So, this could be the path he follows after he retires from full-time racing. But for the fans, they just want to see him win the Cup title at least once, which could be the case this season if he makes more regular appearances within the top 5.