At age seven, Denny Hamlin wrote a school essay declaring his wish: “to win the Daytona 500.” 19 years later, he made that dream come true at the 2016 Daytona 500. But the real turning point came during his Late Model days when his family faced financial trouble. Hamlin told owner Jim Dean it was his “last race.” But Dean heard the desperation and offered him a drive in his top equipment that weekend. Hamlin dominated the race, then dominated that season, winning 30 to 35 of 101 races. Joe Gibbs Racing spotted him, and his career exploded. Now, with his retirement confirmed, who could capture the fire he brought to the racing world?

He’s still stacking wins, running at the front, and putting himself in championship conversations every season. But after Michigan, he casually opened the door for what would eventually happen. The surprise, though, wasn’t retirement itself. It was that Denny Hamlin already appears to have his successor in mind. And of all people, it’s a teenager who’s still climbing the ladder.

“I don’t want to leave them in flux, they have a great driver in Brent Crews that’s gonna be ready likely at the end of next year,” Hamlin told Sports on Prime analyst Dale Earnhardt Jr., after winning the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

Do not mistake Hamlin’s comments for frustration or a veteran hinting that he’s tired. Even while reiterating that he still expects to retire from full-time competition in 2027, Denny Hamlin made it clear that his thinking isn’t centered on himself anymore. He doesn’t want Joe Gibbs Racing scrambling after he leaves.

And honestly, NASCAR has seen enough examples of teams getting caught flat-footed after cornerstone drivers move on. When Kevin Harvick departed for Stewart-Haas Racing and Jeff Burton left, the RCR team rapidly spiraled from a consistent NASCAR Cup Series contender into a rebuilding phase. Similarly, following the rapid, consecutive retirements of Jeff Gordon (2015) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2017), along with Kasey Kahne’s departure, Hendrick Motorsports endured its statistically worst slump in modern history.

Denny Hamlin seems determined to avoid creating a similar gap at JGR after he’s gone, which brings us to Brent Crews. Crews is still incredibly young but already carries the kind of reputation that makes people inside garages pay attention. Through the JGR development system, he’s quickly built momentum across grassroots and developmental racing, collecting wins and showing versatility that has put him on “future Cup driver” lists almost everywhere.

But while Hamlin may already see the succession plan clearly, fans weren’t nearly as unified about it.

NASCAR fans aren’t ready to move on yet

One fan summed up the emotional side of Denny Hamlin saying goodbye to NASCAR racing perfectly.

“Selfishly, I wanna see him race as long as he can. Hard to imagine him slowing down anytime soon. But I also understand wanting to spend and enjoy time with his wife and kid. He’s not a young man anymore.”

Hamlin is now in his mid-40s and became a father again in 2025, after the birth of his son, Jameson Drew Hamlin. Denny has also said he wants to leave while he is still competitive, rather than hanging on until reflexes or performance force the decision. So, maybe he’ll retire soon as planned.

Others weren’t buying any timeline at all.

“I have learned to not believe until I see it.”

Fair enough. NASCAR retirements rarely stay retired. Notable examples include Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards, and Tony Stewart. They bid farewell to the sport, only to come out of retirement a few years later.

Another fan focused entirely on Brent Crews: “Spot on. Crews will do another year in O’Reilly with P/T cup in 2027 and take over full-time in 2028.”

Crews has been currently competing full-time in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. Despite missing four of the first six races of the year, because of age restrictions on tracks larger than 1.25 miles, he is currently in 14th place with 5 top-5s to his name. Another year in O’Reilly with a part-time schedule in Cup will rightfully prepare him for a full-time season in 2028. After all, the cup isn’t forgiving, as another fan pointed out.

“Spot on, and what if I told you it’s not about Denny? Depends on Brent Crews’ development. He has yet to make a Cup start and we see even a couple of cup starts prior to a full campaign don’t equal immediate success for Gibbs, Zillisch, Hocevar, or Hill.”

We’ve already seen highly hyped prospects struggle with Cup adjustments. Connor Zilisch entered this season with enormous expectations as the next ‘Jeff Gordon,’ but hasn’t produced immediate results.

So maybe Denny Hamlin’s retirement isn’t actually tied to Hamlin. Maybe it depends entirely on whether/when Brent Crews becomes ready to inherit what comes next.