NASCAR: Hamlin to re-sign with Toyota and JGR for 2024

Denny Hamlin, whose contract with Joe Gibbs Racing expires after 2023, will return to the team in 2024, a Toyota official said Wednesday.

Although Denny Hamlin’s contract with Joe Gibbs Racing is set to expire following the conclusion of the 2023 season, there are no intentions from either the No. 11 driver or Toyota Racing Development (TRD) to end the longstanding partnership.

Hamlin, who raced his first full-time Cup Series season with the organization in 2006, ranks second in all-time wins with the team, behind only former teammate Kyle Busch — who now drives for Richard Childress Racing. The 42-year-old Hamlin earned his 50th career victory in the Cup Series last weekend at Pocono Raceway.

“He will be back. There’s no question in our mind, there’s no question in Joe’s [Gibbs] mind,” TRD President David Wilson said during a virtual teleconference with the media Wednesday. “We’re working through some details, and it’s a complicated consideration because now he’s not just a driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, he’s also a team owner, and given that there has to be alignment for Toyota and Denny across both those considerations, just have some stuff that we’re working on, but we’ll get them sorted out.

“We still intend, I know Denny has always wanted to and intends to retire as a driver from Joe Gibbs Racing and continue as a team owner with Toyota. That’s certainly our intent, and we’re working very vigorously to make sure that, in fact, happens.”

Hamlin co-owns 23XI Racing alongside NBA legend Michael Jordan and simultaneously ranks third in driver points (656), behind JGR teammate Martin Truex Jr. (711) and Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron (681).

“Denny plays a huge role in our family, and I think both Tyler [Gibbs] and I have really enjoyed watching his maturation, and not just as a driver, not just as a team owner, obviously, because he’s very new to that, but as a human being and as a person,” Wilson said. “I’m really proud of that because, let’s face it, 15 years ago, it was difficult to have a conversation about the weather with Denny while you were standing on the grid next to him. But he’s come a long way.

“I know he put out his goal of 60 wins in the Cup Series. From my perspective, that is absolutely achievable given his level of talent and his determination.”