Denny Hamlin alludes to NASCAR retirement after championship anguish in Phoenix
Hamlin suffered a heartbreaking loss to Kyle Larson in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix
Denny Hamlin confessed that he has no desire to compete again in NASCAR, following his devastating championship defeat at Phoenix to Kyle Larson.
It looked like 2025 would finally be Hamlin's moment, with the Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) driver dominating 208 laps at Phoenix while Larson managed zero. However, a disastrous final pit stop strategy gave Larson the victory while Hamlin was left as the bridesmaid once more.
Following the race, Hamlin made his feelings crystal clear about what was running through his head, particularly regarding his NASCAR future. His remarks came after the checkered flag, where cameras captured his face, showing his raw emotion.
"In this moment, I never want to race a car ever again. My fun meter is pegged," the 44-year-old declared after the race, per The Athletic's Jeff Gluck.
Hamlin's recent statements follow his acknowledgment that he's uncertain how many more opportunities he'll get to claim a championship. Speaking with NBC Sports, the JGR veteran provided a brutally honest assessment of how much longer he believes he can remain a title contender.
"I'll try. I got a couple more shots at it, but man, if you can't win that one, I don't know which one you can win," Hamlin frankly confessed.
Furthermore, Hamlin acknowledged that he drove as aggressively as possible, but luck simply wasn't on his side, particularly after Byron's wreck, and his strategy of taking four tires rather than two ultimately sealed his championship fate. "Yeah, nothing I can do different," a dejected Hamlin explained to NBC Sports.
"I mean, prepared as good as I could coming into the weekend and my team gave me a fantastic car. Just, just didn't work out. You know, I was just praying that no caution and, you know, had one there, and what can you do? It's just not meant to be."
When it came to the choice of changing all four tires rather than just two, Hamlin stood by crew chief Chris Gayle's strategy, despite the call costing the 44 year old valuable track position.
"We took four tires, and I thought that you're definitely the right call. And just so many cars took two there, and obviously put us back. But the team did a fantastic job. They prepared a championship car, just didn't happen."
With thoughts of his terminally ill father weighing heavily on his mind, Hamlin delivered a heartbreaking six-word response after letting another title opportunity slip away. "I did the best I could," the JGR driver said with evident sorrow.