The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season hasn’t been ideal for veteran Denny Hamlin. The #11 driver is in his 19th full Cup Season, and while his 54 wins are nothing short of impressive, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver is yet to bag a championship. On numerous occasions, he’s come close to it but has failed to finish the job. Many, including Hamlin himself, believed the 2024 season to be the ‘one’ but it rather proved to be disappointing.

Hamlin, in the season, bagged 3 wins and 12 top 5s, but it was only good enough to give him an 8th-place season finish. Which is his worst since 2018. While dealing with the setback, Hamlin’s long-time loyal sponsor FedEx, which has been with the Virginia native since day one, has also left his side. At a time when he would ideally be grieving, Hamlin has left a confusing message on X. This has evoked the inner Sherlock Holmes of fans as they try to decipher it.

What does Denny Hamlin’s message mean?

FedEx, having a $71.94 billion market cap in 2024, has been with Hamlin since his Cup Series debut in 2005 at Kansas Speedway. The veteran, a proud brand ambassador for the company, decided to part ways with FedEx. This comes as FedEx is re-evaluating its investment in NASCAR and started to cut back from the sport since the 2021 season. Earlier sponsoring the #11 team for 32-36 races a year, FedEx went down to 30 in 2021, followed by only being the primary sponsor for Hamlin’s car in 12-point races in 2023 and 13 in 2024. And after the Phoenix race, the last of the duo, the company is not coming back to Hamlin’s corner.

Naturally, it must be disappointing for Denny Hamlin and JGR after all, out of Hamlin’s 54 wins, 47 came in a FedEx car. Hamlin, sharing the news, had said, “Yeah, just can’t thank them enough for 19 years. It’s been such a great relationship. You’d say at the very beginning would you take 19 years in a row with the presence they’ve had? Absolutely. They’ve been part of my racing career, the whole thing in Cup. Really happy to be able to represent them and all their employees.” Even FedEx shouted out to their long-time partner, “What a ride it’s been! Denny and the entire Joe Gibbs team, it’s been an incredible 20 years of racing with the best. #TeamFedEx will always be cheering you on.” 

While a championship would have been a fitting end to the partnership, what’s done is done! However, Hamlin isn’t sobbing over it, rather he’s recently shared a confusing GIF on X. A small snippet from the Wolf of Wall Street movie. It is from a scene where Leonardo DiCaprio, playing Jordan Belfort, gives his iconic ‘I’m not f—in leaving‘ speech in the movie. Here, take a look at Hamlin’s post:

Well, what could it mean? Has Hamlin and JGR roped in another big primary sponsor for 2025? Does Hamlin think 2025 would be ‘the’ year? Your guess is as good as ours. The post has led to fans making some wild and some calculated guesses. But only the #11 driver knows the true reason behind this newfound excitement.

Fans play a guessing game after Denny Hamlin’s post

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Considering the most recent sequence of events, a piece of sponsorship-related news seems most probable. Even after the FedEx exit, Hamlin had hinted at something cooking in that front. He had said, “It’s a work in progress. Certainly, the [Joe] Gibbs team is working really hard. We’ve got some good talks going on, but we’ll see what goes on next year. Obviously, we got some great partners that have been with the team for quite some time now that you’ll see some presence with.” Well, one fan is certain that it is something related to his new sponsor, the fan wrote, “New sponsorship 🙌🏾.”

When more than one person has guessed it to be sponsorship-related, a fan thinks FedEx is making a return. He guessed, “FedEx signed back up for 8-10 races?” Of course, Hamlin and JGR would love that, but it seems unlikely after the company’s exit statement. Where they said, “Fed Ex is pulling back from long-term sports sponsorships in general. This decision aligns with FedEx’s overall refocus.” 

Another probable guess is Hamlin finally tying the knot. Hamlin’s X post had some fans imagine the whole wedding of the JGR driver. A fan wrote, “Maybe a date for the Wedding.” It seems like Hamlin is a firm believer in long-term relationships as he’s been with his girlfriend Jordan Fish since 2009, and the couple also share two children. Maybe it’s about time that they get married. While some fans have their fingers crossed for it to be true, another one has taken a sarcastic route while guessing.

Recently Hamlin had an online banter with SiriusXM NASCAR’s sports analyst, Larry McReynolds. The feud was left on a cliffhanger, with Hamlin getting the last say. A fan believes maybe McReynolds has replied back, rattling the veteran. The fan wrote, “Is this because lil old man (Larry) McReynolds ruffled your feathers?” While there isn’t a public reply by McReynolds yet, maybe he’s said something privately to Hamlin, who knows?

While we all would love more juicy titbits from the banter, a possibility could also be something regarding the lawsuit between 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports, and NASCAR. A fan thinks the court has accepted the team’s request for the preliminary injunction. He wrote, “Injunction appeal approved!” The teams have currently appealed the court’s ruling on denying them the injunction, but nothing on that front is yet conclusive. The 23XI faction would be the first to publicly celebrate if this was the case, as it would mean they get the same rights and race purse share as chartered teams in 2025.

We would probably have to wait and watch what is the actual reason behind Hamlin’s post. What do you think about it? Is it something silly or are we getting some big news? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.