Spending 19 years is a long time in NASCAR. Denny Hamlin spent all of them with Joe Gibbs Racing as one of the sport’s very best. Over the course of his Cup Series career, he has picked up 54 victories, marking him 13th in the all-time wins list. Only one thing has eluded Hamlin’s grasp – a Cup Series championship. But obstacles stand in his way even as he pursues that elusive title.

The end of the 2024 season spelled out groundbreaking changes for the No. 11 Toyota team. Joe Gibbs cut Hamlin’s blooming relationship with crew chief Chris Gabehart – which left Hamlin shocked. Then long-time sponsor FedEx also left the scene, ending a 2-decade-long partnership. Now another crippling setback is on the block – leaving fans wondering about Hamlin’s exit.

Denny Hamlin faces another break-up

FedEx’s departure was a long time coming. The shipping company had backed up Denny Hamlin since 2005, making it the longest partnership in NASCAR. The driver-sponsor duo has won crown jewel events like the Coca-Cola 600 and the Daytona 500. However, since 2021, FedEx started cutting back its sponsored race schedule. It went from 32-36 races a year down to 30. In 2024, the company had Hamlin’s back for just 13 races. This allowed other sponsors to support Hamlin like Mavis Tires did in seven races. Sportsclips, Interstate Batteries, and Yahoo! were also there. However, it seems now even Mavis is getting cold feet.

According to a report by a NASCAR enthusiast on Reddit, there is insider news about this topic. The Reddit post reads, “Just saw some news that Mavis will not be back with Denny this season? Kind of out of nowhere or did I miss an announcement?” No official announcement has been made yet, and Denny Hamlin is officially still working with Mavis Tires. However, the Joe Gibbs Racing website has a glaring hint. The ‘Partners’ page of the site lists all the familiar names – Monster Energy, Bass Pro Shops, Interstate, Yahoo!, Mobil 1, and others. However, Mavis Tires’ logo is missing.

This marks the third setback that Denny Hamlin faced. The second one was losing his partnership with crew chief Chris Gabehart. In their six-year-long journey, the driver-crew chief duo have collected 23 race wins, including two Daytona 500 trophies. So when JGR announced Hamlin would get a new crew chief for 2025, the driver was shocked. “The first few days were a shock, but I’m moving on,” Hamlin said. “There’s nothing I can do to change anything that happened, and JGR is doing what they feel is best for them and I totally understand that.”

However, the latest setback has got fans wondering – is it truly best for Denny Hamlin’s career?

Fans insinuate early retirement

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Well, Joe Gibbs Racing already bid adieu to one driver. Martin Truex Jr., who debuted the same year as Denny Hamlin, hung up his firesuit after 19 years. This made Hamlin the oldest driver in the Cup Series garage. Now facing these three break-ups – FedEx, Gabehart, and now Mavis – is spurring retirement speculation among fans. “A lot of stuff is pointing towards this being hamlin last season as a full time driver. Lost 2 sponsorships, got his CC replaced, etc,” somebody wrote. Another fan went over to JGR’s website to cross-check, and the outcome left them crestfallen. “Isn’t listed on their site unfortunately. Losing Gabehart, FedEx, and Mavis all in one swoop is rough.” One fan dropped an ominous warning that Hamlin may not be able to grasp that elusive Cup Series championship after all. “Hamlin is definitely done after this year.”

Last season, Denny Hamlin‘s sponsorships were rotating wildly. With FedEx’s dwindling presence, Mavis Tires, Interstate, and Yahoo had to scale up. And Hamlin stopped winning after his three-win streak in the first half of 2024. So a fan said these dire announcements came late: “Man if they were going to s—t on him like this last year might as well have been his last season. I don’t know how I’m gonna take this.”

With NACAR’S latest ruling that Cup teams can no longer expand to four charters, fans were questioning whether JGR would have to downsize to three if Hamlin didn’t get enough sponsors. However, a reply to that fan rubbished those claims, saying, “I doubt they will ever downsize. Toyota would probably step in if absolutely necessary to avoid losing a car in their already small cup presence.”

Nevertheless, Mavis’ exit is no less concerning. The No. 11 Toyota is in for a rough ride this year, and hopefully, Denny Hamlin will sit through it.