TRAGIC LOSS: About a minute ago NASCAR Driver in a Car Cr….
I guess the Gabehart, Denny Hamlin change was a big surprise,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said during his podcast (below).
“They seemed really in sync, bonded, in sync. Denny is in a really good position to compete for championships this year.
(2024) Wasn’t one of those years where we felt like he was a contender for the title, but it’s been pretty much every year he’s been one of the guys we thought could have a shot at.
“And so, for them to mash the pause button on that and make a complete change, a shift in a whole different direction was really a surprise.
But I guess the idea is there, the future for Joe Gibbs Racing is the most important thing, and this strengthens that.
In 2024, Hamlin qualified for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, but did not reach the Championship 4 this season and finished eighth in the final drivers standings.
During the 2024 season he won three races and had a dozen Top 5 finishes.
Earnhardt Jr. was not overly positive on the change to Hamlin’s No. 11 team and seemed to wonder about the racing future for the three-time Daytona 500 winner.
Hamlin’s NASCAR Cup Series career began in 2005 and the upcoming season will be his 20th as a full-time driver in the series.
