17 long years have gone by since a young and inexperienced Denny Hamlin stepped into the rings of NASCAR. Joining the game in the colors of Joe Gibbs Racing, the driver has proven himself to be a loyalist and stuck with the same so far. But as we enter the 2023 playoffs, contract talks of an extension keep brewing between the two with no sight of green. Be it NASCAR or any other sport for that matter, until the driver and the team draw ink on legal papers nothing can be taken as guaranteed. In Denny’s case, that is yet to happen.

Nevertheless, the 42 year old appears to have already begun preparing for a spot landing should things not fall into place. Speaking at the Charlotte Convention Center on Thursday, he talked to the press and revealed the backup plan that he had in case he couldn’t strike a deal with Joe Gibbs’ team.

Denny Hamlin’s drastic backup plan that will break things with JGR

Following traditions, NASCAR had organized a media day on Thursday with the 16 drivers who’d made it to the playoffs. As each of them shared their future plans and their thoughts on the season so far, Denny got into a back and forth with reporters about his contract negotiations. Racing teams usually get driver contracts signed and going at the earliest stages possible. The fact that Joe Gibbs hasn’t done that yet with Denny proves the point that there could potentially be a crucial point of contention.

Answering questions from the press, Denny pulled his “team owner” card and said, “I have a race team, I always have options. If you’re just a driver, you’re at the mercy of whoever will hire you. I will hire me. And I should be the highest-paid driver in the deal.”

Denny Hamlin co-owns 23XI Racing with basketball legend Michael Jordan. Getting together in 2020, the two friends began their new venture and have been running a solid ship thus far. So, job security would be the last thing on the driver’s mind. But leaving a team that made him into what he is today will certainly be something hard to do. Interestingly, it is Denny’s ownership stake in 23XI Racing that could be delaying his contract finalization with Joe Gibbs Racing.

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But the idea that 23XI Racing is behind the complication of the Denny-JGR contract keeps making rounds in the racing community. And the unlikely factor that is operating behind the scenes is Toyota. The Japanese carmaker manufactures cars for both Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI currently. As the co-owner of 23XI Racing, Denny Hamlin had contracts in place with Toyota over recent years. But along with his driver contract, an extension on that hangs in the balance as well. So, the racer is caught in business negotiations with Joe Gibbs Racing on one side and Toyota on the other.

The complication of this scenario is that Denny will have to justify his characters as both driver and co-owner. Speaking about the stagnant nature of what’s been going on, he’d expressed last month, “It is a process and obviously, with the relationship with Toyota you know, being in the middle of the triangle here between 23XI myself and Joe Gibbs Racing. You know we have to get a deal done all around before I can do anything permanent.”

One person in the crowd who has got his vision clear though is Joe Gibbs. Speaking to SiriusXM NASCAR radio a couple of days back, he said, “We want Denny here. It’s been 17 years (…). We would love for him to be here and go his entire career and retire here. That’s kind of our dream. That’s what we’d like.” With the owner and driver both constantly expressing their desires to remain together, we can expect positive news to emerge from the camps soon.

As things stand, Denny Hamlin goes into the Darlington Raceway without his future with JGR or Toyota secure. Finding himself in the midst of different issues in recent times, he will be hoping that ‘The Lady in Black’ displays affection for him. The race at Darlington will begin in just a few hours. Watch the Essentially Sports NASCAR page for further updates!

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