Denny Hamlin features on live TV whilst supporting Ohio State Buckeyes

NASCAR Cup Series star Denny Hamlin was spotted in the crowd on the ESPN broadcast of the College Football Playoff Cotton Bowl matchup between Ohio State and Texas on Friday night. The driver of the #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was seen showing support for the Ohio State Buckeyes, who beat the Texas Longhorns 28-14.

Charlie Wend, a friend of Hamlin's, shared a photo on his Instagram story of the JGR driver among the crowd at the Cotton Bowl, which was held at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas. Hamlin was seen wearing Ohio State gear while helping hold up a Buckeyes flag.

Screenshot via Instagram @cwend

With Friday's win, the Buckeyes advanced to the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship game, which takes place on January 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Ohio State will take on Notre Dame, who advanced to the title game after beating Penn State 27-24 on Thursday night.

Hamlin took to Instagram to share photos from his time at the game as well. The 54-time Cup Series winner shared two humorous photos comparing his feelings from the game's first half to the second.

"First half vs second half," he wrote.

Hamlin is set for his 20th full-time Cup Series season behind the wheel of the #11 machine for JGR. In 2024, the Virginia native picked up three victories, which came at Bristol, Richmond and Dover, respectively. He finished eighth in the points standings and tallied 18 top 10s and 12 top fives.

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Denny Hamlin was "proud" of the #11 team for 2024 season

On the heels of the 2024 season-finale race at the Phoenix Raceway in November, Denny Hamlin took time to reflect on his 19th season behind the wheel of the #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Hamlin expressed his gratitude for his team in a social media post and teased that they will be ready for 2025.

Denny Hamlin shared a photo of himself standing alongside his JGR crew from the Phoenix race and said that he's proud of the work they put in all season. He added:

"So proud of this 11 team. Week in and week out, they make it all happen. We’ll be back next season."

Denny Hamlin also co-owns 23XI Racing with retired NBA legend Michael Jordan. The team fields two full-time NASCAR Cup Series cars, one driven by Tyler Reddick in the #45 car and the other wheeled by Bubba Wallace in the #23 machine.

Reddick secured three victories in 2024, at Talladega, Michigan and Homestead. He made it to the Championship 4 race but finished fourth among the title contenders. Wallace, meanwhile, failed to make the playoffs and win a race, ultimately finishing 18th in the standings. Wallace hasn't won a Cup Series race since September 2022.