Retirement fever seems to have hit Joe Gibbs Racing’s fold. The top-performing NASCAR Cup Series team will bid adieu to one of its stars in a few months. However, it looks like even the other diamond in its crown is trembling and may fall off soon. Did Denny Hamlin give a hint already?

Martin Truex Jr.’s retirement came a few years late after much deliberation. Separated by a few months in age, Denny Hamlin seems slated to follow in his teammate’s footsteps. After all, 22 years of hectic racing could have possibly strained him mentally, as Hamlin himself stated recently.

On the July 9 episode of Actions Detrimental, Denny Hamlin explained in detail how his mental standpoint has amplified as the 54-time Cup winner is yet to clinch a championship trophy. “I definitely believe that in the last couple of years, I have definitely been more selfish on the racetrack than I was early on. Simply because I know I have set a goal for myself, and I know that the sunset clock is ticking… So I’m cranking up that urgency to get there,” emphasizing that his retirement is nearing.

Evidently, this restless mindset is taking a mental toll on the JGR star, as he explained: “It is turned on 24/7, I can’t turn it off. I’m always thinking about what I need to do to win… and it consumes you, right? Sometimes when people around me don’t understand why I’m so tired, it’s because I’m mentally exhausted. Any time I try to relax, I’m like, ‘Uh, I’m exhausted.’” 

This doesn’t just apply to when he’s alone. Hamlin revealed how “thought-provoking” meetings (likely with his No.11 team or for 23XI Racing) make him think, “How can I fix that? And this could get better, and that could get better.” Speaking of 23XI, did you know the idea for the team came from boredom? Yes, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when NASCAR went on a two-month hiatus, Denny Hamlin got a taste of what retirement would feel like, and “that’s what made me start a race team,” he said.

“It’s why I think I will struggle with retirement one day is that I’m constantly stimulated by wanting to get better in so many different aspects,” Denny Hamlin added. So, when Martin Truex Jr. announced his exit, the No.11 driver was surprised. However, he also saluted his teammate for an honorable journey together. But what we saw at Richmond was that MTJ, despite leading 228 of the 400 laps, still couldn’t finish first, thanks to Denny Hamlin’s team clocking in the fastest pit stop, and the driver allegedly jumped the restart. And Truex Jr. was far from happy.

He fumed, “I got beaten out of the pits; [Hamlin] jumped the start and just used me up in Turn 1.” Truex Jr. never miffed Hamlin, though. So, it shows they are true teammates, right? And even though Hamlin may not be ready to leave racing behind just yet, it seems like he is slated to take the same course soon. However, the No.11 driver inked a multi-year deal with JGR last year and admitted that it was too soon to retire. “It (retirement) will happen one day, but my competitive juices are flowing just too much right now to let it go.”

This mental taxation had been around for years and was hiked in Denny Hamlin’s earlier years.

How has Denny Hamlin evolved over the years?

The late J.D. Gibbs discovered the Chesterfield, Virginia, native in the early 2000s. This was when Denny Hamlin was starting out with hardly any family support, but one thing drove him—a fiery motive to race and win. Not to mention, he is the NASCAR Cup driver that fans most love to hate, yet he epitomizes the type of driver they covet: one who worked his way up through sheer talent rather than being handed a high-profile ride due to money.

Thanks to J.D. Gibbs, Hamlin ran 5 Truck races and 1 Xfinity race with their backing in 2004. “I didn’t have anything handed to me. I had to work really, really hard for it,” Hamlin said this week in an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com. “I worked a blue-collar job just like most everyone else has.”

A full-time move to Cup funded by Fortune 500 company FedEx came in 2006. And, since then, apart from his 54 wins in nearly 18 years, Hamlin has entangled himself in several controversies and on-track brawls, but his raging mindset has never faltered. Yet that mindset could be taxing sometimes.

Now known as the black hat of NASCAR, Denny Hamlin has been booed several times by detractors. Yet the stellar Cup driver has honed immunity to that negative energy—a strength he lacked in his yesteryears. Another talent that Hamlin now possesses is how to tackle defeat. In 2013, he ran 18 races without a win, owning only one top-10 finish. Additionally, a lower-back fracture kept him out for four races.

That said, Hamlin compared 2013 to 2010, a year when he fell one spot short of a championship. “One bad race and I would just kind of freak out and it would linger on and on with me for weeks. Now, not that I’m immune to bad finishes, but you just try to find the little positive now versus thinking about the negatives.” But he admitted to his winning fever even back then, echoing his current opinion. “I’m always exhausted, mentally exhausted, having to think about how I can do my best job, but not let the pain bother me inside the car.”

As Denny Hamlin continues to chase his elusive championship title, his career’s mental and physical toll becomes ever more apparent. Whether or not he decides to follow in Martin Truex Jr.’s footsteps and retire soon, his impact on NASCAR is undeniable. Even the ones who boo would miss his presence on the track, not just for his impressive record but for his relentless pursuit of excellence, proving that true champions are forged through perseverance and passion.