In NASCAR’s high-speed world, ambition drives every move. In late 2020, Denny Hamlin found himself at a turning point as he was looking to move ahead in his racing career. However, sitting on the crossroads, he looked at his longtime mentor, Joe Gibbs. The Joe Gibbs Racing owner pulled him aside with a sharp warning. “Don’t be a team owner,” Gibbs said, his tone filled with experience. “You’re making a huge mistake.”

Hamlin, in his late 30s and still chasing a Cup title, heard the words but stayed firm. He had a bigger plan, one that went beyond the driver’s seat. Team ownership wasn’t just a side project; it was about building a legacy. Gibbs, a multi-sport Hall of Famer, knew how draining ownership could be. But Hamlin, with 56 career wins and a vision to reshape NASCAR, saw opportunity where others saw risk. In 2021, he joined forces with NBA legend Michael Jordan to start 23XI Racing, a team built from scratch, full of bold goals and real challenges.

The garage buzzed. Some respected Hamlin’s bold move; others called it risky. Owning a team meant balancing racing with managing sponsors, money, and morale. Gibbs’ warning wasn’t casual, it was a preview of the chaos ahead. “He tried to talk me into that, for sure,” Hamlin later recalled on Harvick’s Happy Hour in 2024. But backing down wasn’t in Hamlin’s DNA. He wanted to improve NASCAR, even if it meant defying his mentor.

Five years later, 23XI is thriving, but Hamlin’s hands-on style of ownership draws attention. His drivers feel it, sometimes a bit too much. As he passes through the twilight of his career, the learning curve as an owner is stealing the spotlight. He recently hinted at a future where he might just overwhelm his team with his passion. On the latest episode of his Action Detrimental podcast, Hamlin admitted that he is a bad team owner.

“I’m bad, I realized this weekend watching the race, I’m a bad backseat driver. I told Tyler Reddick this on the way home. I said, ‘Man, you have your hands full with me after I’m done racing,’ because I was trying to tell Tyler, ‘Go here, go there,’ like shade left, shade right on these restarts. And, you know, I’m usually, I don’t know and I don’t care, because I’m in the moment myself driving, but I do it on Fridays and Saturdays when I have a driver that I have an interest in,” he said on the Actions Detrimental podcast.

Notably, Denny Hamlin’s zeal stems from experience; 56 Cup wins don’t lie, but it’s intense. Hamlin’s involvement isn’t limited to race day; he’s in the weeds, analysing moves and strategies. And it’s paying off. In the ongoing season, Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick have pushed enough to keep themselves in contention. After 11 races, they both sit in the Top 10 in points with four Top-10 finishes each.

Despite his self-criticism, Hamlin’s drivers sing his praises. Tyler Reddick, in a 2023 RACER interview, called him “a really hands-on owner.” He said, “Denny has been great. He’s a really hands-on owner. He understands things with his owner’s hat on, and he understands the driver’s side of it, as well.” Reddick values Hamlin’s dual perspective as a driver and owner, a rare combo in modern NASCAR. His insights helped Reddick feel wanted, with Hamlin outlining a clear plan for his role.

It’s not just the Cup Series driver that Hamlin is mentoring. He also mentioned the progress made by Corey Heim this year as he’s already bagged three race wins, but the veteran JGR driver believes he could’ve won all 8 races so far this season. “Corey was doing everything that you would need to do. Man, just gotta give him props, he certainly should’ve won every truck race this year by a lot. But we’ve had some crazy bad luck things happen to him.”

Hamlin’s drivers don’t just tolerate his intensity; they thrive under it. Meanwhile, 23XI Racing is on an upward trajectory. From one win in 2021 to three in 2024, the team’s growth is undeniable. In 2025, they’ve already notched eight top-10s. However, his advice extends beyond 23XI. Recently, he shared wisdom with Kyle Busch, another veteran navigating his 40s, offering tips on staying sharp in a demanding sport.

Denny Hamlin’s advice for Kyle Busch

Denny Hamlin knows what it takes to thrive in NASCAR’s pressure cooker, especially past 40. As the oldest full-time Cup Series driver at 44, with nine wins since turning 40, he’s a blueprint for longevity. When Kyle Busch hit the big 4-0, he praised his former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate. In a candid interview with Bob Pockrass, he said, “Denny has done a great job. He’s 43–44, he’s still winning races, winning them at more than one clip a year, so that’s admirable and something that I wanna do.”

This came at a time when Busch is running on a 67-race-long winless streak. However, when asked, Hamlin didn’t hesitate to share advice. “To me, it is just taking care of your body more,” he told motorsports reporter Bob Pockrass. “My body really changed at 42, to make it where I had to do tons of maintenance. He’s still as good a driver, I think, as he’s ever been in the last ten years. Sometimes you get to a car that doesn’t necessarily like your style, and you have to adapt,” Hamlin said.

Hamlin’s advice is clear: prioritize fitness and flexibility to keep pace with NASCAR’s grueling demands. With Busch eyeing Hamlin’s success, winning multiple races a year at 44, the veteran’s words carry weight. As Hamlin prepares for his post-racing life, his counsel to Busch shows he’s already mentoring the next generation, on and off the track.