Standing on the Cusp of Returning to JGR, 23XI Co-Owner Denies Succumbing to Kyle Busch Backstab Story

Things have never been the same between Kyle Busch and his former JGR teammate, Denny Hamlin since their brawl during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2010. A dirty battle started between the two NASCAR icons in the last few laps of the Sprint All-Star race when the 23XI co-owner skewed to the right of the track, blocking Kyle Busch from taking the lead. Busch lost control and crashed after blowing one of his tires. The win did not fall into the hands of Denny Hamlin either as he finished fourth.

The 82-year-old NASCAR Cup team owner had tried his best to mitigate the situation but in vain. Kyle Busch left Joe Gibbs‘ team last year and transitioned to Richard Childress Racing. Besides that, Denny Hamlin had signed a 4-year contract with Joe Gibbs Racing, which is about to end this year as well. As much as the number 11 driver wants to renew his deal with JGR, there are other factors that are standing in his way.

The owner Denny Hamlin versus the driver Denny Hamlin

On one hand, Denny Hamlin is a coveted driver in the garage of Joe Gibbs Racing, and on the other, he is the co-owner of Michael Jordan‘s Cup Series team. The duality in the responsibilities is indeed hard to carry out. Denny Hamlin revealed in an episode of his podcast that after he quits racing, being the owner of 23XI Racing is all he wants to do.

Hence, mere money or prospect is not enough to have the Toyota sensation sign yet another contract with Joe Gibbs. He said, “I have to make sure while it’s certainly easy to look into the short-term and say, (they) offer me good money again, let’s keep this single one I’ve got a great thing going, all that.”

“I think that I always have to look out for the financial future of the race team, it’s what I’m gonna do well after I’m done racing,” he admitted.

What exactly is stopping Jordan’s partner from signing another contract? Denny Hamlin stated, “23XI’s alliance with JGR is also ending at the end of the year. 23XI’s manufacture deal is up at the end of this year.” He explained how pressing these two factors were for him before he could assume the role of a driver and join hands with the JGR owner. After all, he is an owner himself.

According to Denny, Joe Gibbs always wants the issues regarding his team addressed as early as possible. Although they are quite late in the season with just one seasonal race to go till the playoffs begin, both Joe and Denny are optimistic about their future together. Perhaps Joe Gibbs is ready to make an exception for his favorite driver.

Watch This Story: After Kyle Busch Debacle, Ex-Daytona 500 Winner Accuses Joe Gibbs in Fresh Sponsorship Conundrum

Not to mention, it is quite an uneasy situation for Gibbs. When M&M revoked their sponsorship for Kyle Busch and the latter quit JGR, Gibbs faced a billion questions from the media about this unforeseen incident.

Toyota fan Denny Hamlin assured the media that he would not repeat what Kyle Busch did

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After what happened between JGR and Kyle Busch, it is only natural for the reporters to speculate on how things will end with Denny Hamlin. Or if they will end at all.

Denny Hamlin said, “I did the best I could to explain to the media how this is different than Kyle because of these factors that I’m talking about.”

He wants to stretch his relationship with Joe Gibbs, but before that; he wants to make sure that he is making the right decisions for his team in the long run. Hamlin exclaimed, “We are with Toyota. They’ve been a great partner of ours. They are responsible for the 47 of the 50 cup wins. They’ve helped us get this race team off the ground. I’ve been very happy with Toyota and actually, I just got myself a brand new Toyota TRD Pro.”

While Denny and Joe Gibbs feel like Kyle had back-stabbed his former team, Busch spoke to the media last year about his resignation from JGR.

The KB Motorsports owner said, “…apparently they’ve got other irons in the fire, maybe other sponsors for other drivers.”

A reporter asked, “Do you think…that they would rather get high on the cheap that pay a champion what he’s worth?”

“Fair assessment,” replied Kyle Busch.

Read More: “Save Us From Ourselves” – Kyle Busch Bluntly Reveals the Reality of NASCAR That He Only Learnt Recently