"Denny Hamlin goes to 3rd car; Something's wrong at JGR" - Fans react to FedEx reportedly leaving NASCAR

Joe Gibbs Racing is on the verge of losing one of its biggest sponsors, FedEx, at the end of the 2024 season. This move by the iconic logistics giant to dissociate from the #11 team has triggered some interesting fan reactions on social media.

After being together for about two decades, Denny Hamlin's primary sponsor FedEx is now looking at reducing its presence from the team in a bid to aid cost-cutting. The Memphis-based transportation and e-commerce service provider has been reshuffling its portfolio in recent years, especially in the sports marketing department. This is likely due to the reduction in TV ratings and attendance figures in NASCAR in the past few seasons.

While the Chesterfield-based racer and his #11 JGR squad are yet to find another sponsor, fans claim that losing FedEx will have an impact on Denny Hamlin's future in the Cup Series.

The aforementioned news was shared by Sports Business Journal's senior journalist Adam Stern via an X post, captioned:

. @FedEx is expected to continue reducing its sponsorship presence with @JoeGibbsRacing after this season and could conclude the longtime deal altogether, per sources, a move that would end one of the more winning driver-sponsor combos in @NASCAR history.

Here's a look at some reactions from NASCAR fans:

"Hamlin goes to 3rd car on his own team. Inevitable." Wrote a fan.

"Something is bad wrong at JGR." Responded another fan.

"Bad move, Dennis is just getting started." Replied a disappointed fan.

"This is unfortunate." Wrote another fan.

"Hamlin would lose his aura unfortunately" said a fan with concern.

"Literally fedex is what made me a nascar fan and denny fan one of the most iconic sponsors for the past 20 years gotta prepare my last dance 😔" a dejected NASCAR fan commented.

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"There are groups of people or lots of fans that root for my failure" - Denny Hamlin hits back at his critics after Bristol race

Apart from his debut in 2005 and the 2018 season, Denny Hamlin has consistenly won race(s) in every NASCAR Cup Series season so far. Despite this record, the 54x race winner faced backlash from several NASCAR fans throughout the years.

After the race at Bristol Motor Speedway, the Virginia-based racer hit back at his critics in the recent Actions Detrimental podcast, co-hosted by analyst Jared Allen.

"I mean, certainly there are groups of people or lots of fans that root for my failure, right? I know that. I did not, unfortunately, see them in my mentions this week. I was trying to figure out where all my trolls were this week, because I went back a little bit and maybe saw some people that I could have trolled from what you said last week. But I'm going to be the bigger man here and not say anything, nor give you the attention that you're so desperately wanting," Hamlin said (55:55 onwards).

Here's a look at the entire podcast on YouTube:

As of now, Hamlin is sixth in the driver's table with three wins, 10 Top 5s, and 13 Top 10 finishes. He is also one of the top contenders to likely enter the Championship 4 this season.