NASCAR’s depletive economic model has eaten away at teams and drivers for years. Consider Stewart-Haas Racing – the two-time championship-winning team had to shutter after a horde of sponsors left last year. Then, after Michael Waltrip Racing faced an earth-shattering penalty in 2013, the team folded within a year after significant losses. Now, Denny Hamlin, who has shown a beacon of hope to challenge NASCAR’s system, is also falling prey to a financial downside.

The 23XI Racing co-owner is waging a legal battle with the sport for its monopolistic practices. Those same practices keep teams heavily reliant on sponsorship money – and Denny Hamlin depended on FedEx for over two decades. Over the past week, however, he has lost that crucial anchor. Now, only a few slivers of hope remain.

Since the No. 11 driver debuted in the NASCAR Cup Series, he had a strong pillar of support. FedEx sponsored Denny Hamlin’s races since 2005, making it the longest-tenured partnership in NASCAR until recently. The driver-sponsor duo has won crown jewel events like the Coca-Cola 600 and the Daytona 500. However, the $70 billion transport company began cutting back its involvement in 2021, going from 30-plus races to 13 over just 3 years.

At the beginning of October, Adam Stern of the Sports Business Journal reported, “FedEx is expected to continue reducing its sponsorship presence with Joe Gibbs Racing after this season and could conclude the longtime deal altogether, according to people familiar with the matter.” This was after reports about FedEx reshuffling its sports marketing portfolio as part of a cost-cutting drive. Per Stern, FedEx was spending “close to $25 million a year just in rights fees to JGR” during the height of their partnership.

Eventually, Hamlin posted a “Thank you, FedEx” video just an hour before the Phoenix race got underway, confirming these rumors. As for Joe Gibbs, his acquaintance with the company began in 1999, when he was the head coach of the Washington Commanders (then Redskins), and FedEx began its long-standing partnership with the NFL franchise, one that came to an end less than a year (February 2024) before Hamlin and JGR’s deal ended, too.

That said, the departure of FedEx opened up new opportunities for other sponsors to occupy the lid of Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 car. The stuttered reduction in involvement allowed Mavis Tires & Brakes, Sport Clips, Interstate Batteries, and Yahoo to serve as the primary sponsor of the No. 11 Toyota on several occasions. However, Hamlin has frequently claimed that he would exit Joe Gibbs Racing with FedEx.

His contract, set to expire at the end of 2025, makes him one of the highest-paid racers in the sport. Ripples are already stirring up that financial pool, considering Hamlin’s courtroom battle. The NASCAR lawsuit recently delivered a blow to 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. For lack of proof of harm for sponsorship loss, a federal judge denied a preliminary injunction motion that would have allowed both teams charters for the next season. As a result, they’ll compete as open teams in 2025.

It’s no secret that running chartered teams is more cost-effective than running open ones. With guaranteed entries and a share of the purse money, charters reduce financial risks and can help offset high operating costs for teams. Considering 23XI and FRM won’t have that in 2025, this court ruling leaves them in a wildly turbulent state. However, soon after both teams filed the lawsuit, Denny Hamlin ensured the proceedings wouldn’t affect his employees.

“As 23XI, we’re prepared for any outcome. I think Michael [Jordan] has stated, and I’ve stated to the team, that we will not let this affect our employees whatsoever in any kind of way, and any financial distress is going to have to fall directly on the owners. It will not fall on our people whatsoever. We will not allow that to happen,” he said on his podcast. Now, with FedEx out of the picture and his JGR contract ending next season, Denny Hamlin could be in a difficult spot. However, with this turbulence, a positive update also appeared.

The judge ordered an expedited discovery to see enough merits in the case and proceed quickly into opening key sealed documents for the two parties to argue in court. NASCAR also lifted the ‘anti-competitive’ clause out of their initial agreement to allow 23XI and FRM to race as open teams next season. While this still is a big financial blow to Hamlin and Michael Jordan’s team, it’s a ray of hope for sure. However, the situation is still hazy, and Denny Hamlin‘s own sponsor loss is leaving him hanging.

One possibility is that he wheels the third car in 23XI for 2025 – but as an open team, 23XI will lack financial assurances, escalating operational challenges and risks. But true to his nature, Denny Hamlin is handling this crippling situation calmly.

Denny Hamlin is finding peace in chaos

A curious encounter unfolded during a press conference at Phoenix Raceway last weekend. Denny Hamlin and Mike Forde, NASCAR’s Managing Director of Racing Communications, were the moderator and the subject. Just a day ago, they were ironically at opposite ends of the courtroom at a lawsuit hearing. Despite the tense situation, Hamlin casually poked fun at Forde in Phoenix: “How much do you want me to get off the stage right now?”

This cool approach was reflected in Hamlin’s take on losing a two-decade-old sponsorship. FedEx has propelled Hamlin to the peaks of his Cup Series career, making him a Hall of Fame caliber driver. So, instead of looking at the darker side of things, where Joe Gibbs Racing lost one of its massive financial anchors, Hamlin chose to thank FedEx. The journey they completed together was one of excellence and perseverance.

“It’s been a fantastic partnership that we’ve had nearly 20 years. They’re the ones that really took a risk on me when I was just running the Xfinity Series about fifth to eighth every week…that risk paid off for many many years and couldn’t be happier to be aligned with FedEx and certainly I got to do lot of great things off the track as well. It’s made my career, it made a lot easier being aligned with someone for that long and we’re gonna continue to represent on and off the racetrack for the time to come.”

It is not a dazzling time to be Denny Hamlin in NASCAR at the moment. Yet, if you truly are him, then riding these turbulent waves should only be a phase soon to be over.