Denny Hamlin says he would’ve “begged Joe” to let him quit NASCAR on one condition

Denny Hamlin has opened up about his future plans in the Cup Series. On the latest episode of Actions Detrimental, Hamlin shared that he would've tried to quit if the trophy was in his hands.

Much of the conversation surrounding Hamlin's title loss was whether he'd end up retiring in frustration, much like Carl Edwards did in 2016. While he has two years remaining on his contract with JGR, the No.11 driver has been hounded by the retirement question since Phoenix.

After all, the 2025 season was his closest title bid in his 20-year career. The last-minute slip-up upended a record-setting season for the 44-year-old. He even claimed that the loss 'drained' so much out of him since he had multiple weeks to prepare.

However, the Virginia native has cleared the air surrounding his retirement talks.

"I would have begged Joe to let me quit, had I won that race," he said, "I would have, because it would have just been the perfect way for me to go out. They're not ready for that yet, and we obviously we set we set a date out now to at least come to when that is, we know what's the lifeline left." "It doesn't make me want to race right now in this moment anymore. They could say 36 races, which they're not. Everyone just get over it. You're gonna get playoffs, but it's still the offseason. Seasons is still so fresh. I want nothing to do with racing," he added.

Denny Hamlin took solace in his Carl Edwards' 2016 title bid and shared that he knew what it took to feel like a champion.

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Denny Hamlin shares his father's reaction to title loss

After making the final four by winning the Las Vegas playoff race, a teary-eyed Denny Hamlin revealed that he hoped to win the title for his ailing father, Dennis Hamlin. Now that the title has slipped out of his grasp, Hamlin was asked about his father's reaction on the same episode of Actions Detrimental.

“He was fine. Very supportive. He didn't like the outcome, but I think he was still okay with the result....he's like, 'I don't know what to say. You had it. You did it. You just don't have the trophy, that's it,'" he replied.

Denny Hamlin entered the season with anew crew chief and sponsor. Despite the uncertainty, Hamlin hit the ground running and won consecutive races at Martinsville and Darlington. He'd go on to win four more races and entered the top-10 all-time wins list. He's currently tied with Kevin Harvick for 60 career Cup Series wins. Harvick, on his part, recognised Hamlin's efforts and named him the Cup Series 'Driver of the Year'.

Hamlin finished the season second in standings, with 14 top-5s, five poles, and more than a thousand laps led.

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Edited by Vignesh Kanna