Denny Hamlin will always be remembered for his purple and orange FedEx sponsor that dominated the NASCAR grid for decades. However, everything changed after last season. FedEx dropped out as Hamlin’s primary sponsor after 19 years, leaving Joe Gibbs Racing rushing to find a replacement. Prior to the Clash at Bowman Gray, Denny Hamlin’s #11 hauler was seen mostly blank, a surprise to all NASCAR fans who felt something was going wrong.

However, National Debt Relief stepped in at the start of the season to sponsor a few races, and now, the #11 has found another sponsor to cover two more races! This sponsor revives the old purple and orange colors, but one question looms large. Is Denny Hamlin going down the Kyle Busch 2022 route? NASCAR insider Eric Estepp dissected Hamlin’s sponsorship situation in his latest episode.

Denny Hamlin’s sponsorship problem has a familiar pattern

Ampm, a West Coast convenience store chain owned by BP America (valued at $87 billion), filled in with that sponsorship, steadying the ship for the #11. They will give $10 million to sponsor Hamlin’s car for two events: Sonoma on July 13 and Las Vegas on October 12. NASCAR influencer Taylor Kitchen recently invoked nostalgia for Denny Hamlin’s iconic FedEx sponsorship on social media following this news. “It’s giving, FedEx,” she wrote on X.

When M&M’s left JGR in 2022, Kyle Busch lost his sponsor, and after JGR couldn’t find a replacement, Busch went with Richard Childress Racing (RCR), where he now has multiple sponsors, but they are vastly different from his JGR days. NASCAR insider, Eric Estepp, highlighted this on his channel. “We don’t know exactly what Denny Hamlin’s contract situation is beyond this year but we do know he’s very successful veteran driver he commands a higher salary than most it’s important to remember that every driver’s contract situation every team’s sponsorship situation is quite a bit different.” 

At JGR, Busch had family-friendly sponsors like M&Ms and Mars, which are more entailed to the brand Joe Gibbs Racing likes to portray. However, after they struggled to find sponsors for him in 2022, he left for Richard Childress Racing, and his sponsors are not so family-friendly anymore. From Rebel’s Bourbon, a liquor brand, to BetMGM, a betting company, Busch has done a 180 on his sponsor choice. Rebel Bourbon even has a Kyle Busch 108 Single Barrel Bourbon, featuring Busch’s signature and the RCR logo. 

Estepp added, “You’ll notice the RCR sponsors are Whiskey, gambling apps, and nicotine. Those kinds of sponsors don’t necessarily fit Joe Gibbs Racing’s vision. Every team has different guiding principles so that’s something to consider as well when looking at Denny Hamlin and his future.” Zone nicotine pouches sponsored Kyle Busch at the 2024 Daytona 500, further highlighting his shift in brand preference.

This adds another layer to the Hamlin sponsor saga. Is JGR unable to find any family-friendly sponsors for Hamlin? Is the NASCAR lawsuit preventing companies from wanting to sponsor someone who is actively suing the sport itself? Well, these are questions to consider as the Denny Hamlin sponsorship situation heats up. But for now, we can reminisce about his purple and orange days as ampm revives a nostalgic scheme for one of the sport’s greatest drivers.

Denny Hamlin‘s FedEx journey began in 2005 with Joe Gibbs Racing, introducing timeless schemes for the #11. The 2006 Pocono-winning black-green Chevy, 2016’s purple-black Daytona 500 Toyota, 2017’s purple-orange Can-Am 500 flame, 2006’s black-orange Rookie of the Year ride, and 2008’s black-red Martinsville victor- the list can go on and on. FedEx powered 47 of his 54 wins, but when 2024 ended, Hamlin bid adieu to those classic designs, now seeking a new long-term partner with a built legacy.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s sponsorship equation is in the dark ages, and it is costing stars like Denny Hamlin. JGR also had a hard time finding replacement sponsors for Matt Kenseth after Dollar General left in 2016. They tried using secondary sponsors, but could not match the 2003 Cup Series Champion’s salary. This ultimately led to Kenseth leaving JGR. Could Denny Hamlin go down a similar route? Time will tell.

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What can Joe Gibbs Racing learn from the Kyle Busch saga?

When Kyle Busch left JGR in 2022, it came as a shock to everyone. The 2x Cup Series Champion with JGR was just three years off of his title-winning 2019 season. However, he could only muster up one win in 2022 and finished outside the top 10 in the driver’s standings for the first time since 2014. It must be said that the Next-Gen car certainly had something to do with that.

In 2023, after moving to RCR and finishing outside the top 10 yet again, Busch said, “With me and this Next Gen car, look at how many times I’ve spun out and crashed, you know what I mean. It’s just stupid compared to what it has been over time.” Busch then went on to have his worst-ever year with RCR in 2024, going winless for the first time in his career. But what if he stayed at JGR? Would he have avoided this career downfall he is experiencing? And did JGR do enough to keep him? Well, Busch didn’t think so.

For over a decade, Busch had M&Ms and Mars sponsoring him, churning out $20 million a year for Joe Gibbs Racing. This helped Busch keep a giant like Kyle Busch in their books, as he commanded a high salary, being a two-time champ. However, ahead of the 2022 season, Mars announced that it would cut ties at the end of the year. JGR went into panic mode, trying to find a sponsor to supplement Busch’s hefty contract.

Busch was also notably in the last year of his contract, so talks of finding a sponsor post renewal kept everyone, including Busch, at ease. In August 2022, Busch told the Athletic, “Just trust me, in time, things will work out. And what happens, happens.” Fast forward to 2024, Busch was one year into his RCR tenure and reflected poorly on JGR’s practices.

“Did JGR try hard enough to sell me? My answer to that is no,” Busch told The Athletic in 2024. However, his gripe was more with JGR’s proposal instead of finding an anchor sponsor. He continued, “[Instead] they offered me a contract to race there and they weren’t going to have sponsorship on the car, but I didn’t feel like that was fair for the 15 years that I was there; I didn’t want Joe [Gibbs] putting his own money into the program.” Busch respects Joe Gibbs a lot, and this was reflected when he decided to leave the team rather than let his owner bear the brunt of the team not being able to find sponsors. So, what can JGR learn from this?

 If JGR is in a pickle like they were in 2022, its best bet would be to start actively looking for an anchor sponsor now. Hamlin’s wages would demand a sponsor of weight, and if JGR wants to keep him, it would require more than a quiet assurance that the future is safe with part-time sponsors. What do you think? Will Hamlin follow in Busch’s path and leave JGR when his contract is up? Let us know in the comments!