“I did something…for the first time in my whole career”: Denny Hamlin breaks silence on his unprecedented move to ease his ‘hurting’

Denny Hamlin once admitted to peeing during a race for the first time in his racing career. The unprecedented move happened in the Ambetter Health 400 race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, though the driver seemed to like it.

Hamlin is a veteran NASCAR Cup Series driver who pilots the No. 11 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. The peeing moment was recalled by Dirty Mo Media as the production company looked back at some of the best moments on Hamlin's Actions Detrimental podcast this year.

Per X (formerly Twitter), Hamlin said:

"For the first time, in my whole career, 18 years... 19 years, I was hurting. I was so thirsty. The second half of the race, but I couldn't drink anymore because I'm sitting there in the seat, and I'm like, 'Please just let it go."

After the then 43-year-old driver came to the pits and the crew members worked on the car, the unprecedented moment happened.

"I ain't got to go number two, I got to go number one. But I just... my bladder is just dying. I get to pit road, and they're working on the damage, and I just close my eyes and I'm like... just trying to think of something that will make me go. And then as soon as I hit, I got the first dribble. Boom," Hamlin said.

He concluded:

"It was warm, and then it was cold. I never felt what it felt like to pee in my seat. But I kind of liked it."

Dirty Mo Media, owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., jokingly suggested Hamlin stop peeing during races as a New Year's resolution.

While Hamlin had a hard time inside the car at Atlanta, he also had a tough battle on the track. The No. 11 car spun out from sixth place on lap 53 before crashing into the No. 17 Ford of Chris Buescher on lap 160.

Hamlin eventually finished 23rd in the Ambetter Health 400, with Daniel Suarez winning the race in a three-wide photo finish with Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch.

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Denny Hamlin got real with retirement after 2024 season

With Denny Hamlin entering his 20th full-time Cup Series season next year, retirement is inevitably questioned. However, the driver isn't showing any signs of leaving the sport yet, saying he can still win races every week.

In an episode of the Actions Detrimental podcast, the 54-time Cup race winner stated:

"Only on Mondays when I feel like s**t, I have a bad race, my body hurts, and it's like, uh, man. But every Sunday, I get in that car and I'm like, 'I got a chance to win.' And that's just something that's going to be hard for me to give up." [1:12.06].

He added:

"Surely, one day, there'll be a light switch that flips on and I'm no longer as quick as I was and things like that, but I still feel like I can win it. I feel like I can every week, and that's what drives me."

Denny Hamlin will return to the No. 11 Toyota in February 2025 for the Daytona 500 season-opener. He will compete with Chris Gayle as his new crew chief.