Every year, it seems that something will happen to unravel Denny Hamlin’s season. Sometimes it waits until the final few races of the year. However, last year saw Hamlin’s hopes for a championship essentially dashed before the playoffs began. Now, 2025 looks to be a challenging season for the veteran driver. As 33 Days to Daytona remain, what will a potentially tumultuous 2025 year look like for the Joe Gibbs Racing #11 team?
The #11 Team
Driver: Denny Hamlin
Crew Chief: Chris Gayle
Sponsors: Yahoo!, Interstate Batteries, Sports Clips
2024 Statistics: 3 Wins, 12 Top-5s, 18 Top-10s, 3 Poles, 13.9 Average Finish
2025 Season Preview
So Long Gabehart, Hello Gayle
In a surprising announcement in November, Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Chris Gabehart would be promoted to Competition Director and away from the 11 team. Replacing Gabehart would be Ty Gibbs’ crew chief over the past two seasons, Chris Gayle. Perhaps most shocking from this personnel swap is the fact that Denny Hamlin was not part of the decision. Now, Hamlin will have to spark a chemistry with Gayle quickly to maintain championship hopes. Although the pair have 6 Xfinity Series starts together, this will be a new crew chief/driver relationship. With Hamlin at the twilight of his career, will this action prove to be too detrimental for a championship?
Potential Friction Behind the Scenes
With the aforementioned crew chief swap, things behind the scenes at Joe Gibbs Racing may not be all hunky-dory. For an organization to remove the senior driver’s crew chief without giving him a say, that speaks volumes to where Denny Hamlin may lay in JGR’s mind. While there is no definitively reports of friction between driver and team, it would not be surprising if it were true. Remember, Hamlin’s 23XI Racing team is suing NASCAR, something that not every longstanding organization loves. Also, 23XI were bullish on negotiations with Toyota before last season began. This could all be nothing, but something might be there.
Championship Aspirations
Another year, another opportunity to ask “will this year be it” for Denny Hamlin. As per usual arrangement, the tendency is to immediately say “no” and point to countless moments where Hamlin let it slip through his hands. For 2025, this year seems especially daunting. Not only does Hamlin have a new crew chief, but surely his mind will be partially preoccupied with his team’s lawsuit against NASCAR. However, sometimes championship winning teams come from surprising foundations. In a year where everything seems stacked again him, would it not be fitting for Hamlin to reign as Cup champion?
Daytona 500 Outlook
Usually, when the Cup Series heads to a superspeedway, you would assume Denny Hamlin is a favorite. However, Hamlin’s NextGen starts on the drafting tracks have not backed up that narrative. He is still winless, with only 3 Top-10s in 18 superspeedway starts. None of those Top-10s have come at Daytona. In fact, Hamlin’s best Daytona NextGen finish was 17th in the 2023 Daytona 500. For a former 3-time 500 winner, that is rough.
Why has Denny Hamlin lost his mojo on the superspeedways? It comes down to his preferred style of pack racing. Hamlin usually lays in the back for the majority of the race then climbs his way forward. However, the aero-issues (when drivers go full throttle) prevent the type of passing Hamlin usually employs. Simply put, Hamlin has failed to fully adjust to the new style of superspeedway racing. With that said, you can never rule him out at Daytona. The man knows how to get to victory lane, even if he needs a learning adjustment currently. In an adversity laden season, maybe a Daytona 500 win to kick off the season will set the tone for 2025.
Days to Daytona Countdown
40 Days: Team Penske #22; 39 Days: Team Penske #12; 38 Days: Hendrick #24;
37 Days: 23XI Racing #45; 36 Days: Joe Gibbs Racing #20;
35 Days: Hendrick Motorsports #5; 34 Days: Hendrick Motorsports #9
