“They bank on your decline”: 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin reveals brutal reality of NASCAR team ownership

Denny Hamlin disclosed the brutal reality of owning a NASCAR team to Dale Earnhardt Jr. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who also co-owns 23XI Racing with Michael Jordan, shared the juncture in a driver's life when the boss unfortunately banks on their 'decline.'

Hamlin has co-owned 23XI since its inception in 2020. The Huntersville, North Carolina-based outfit fields Tyler Reddick in the #45 Toyota, Bubba Wallace in the #23, and rookie Riley Herbst in the #35.

Hamlin scored his 56th win at Darlington Raceway and is 11th on the all-time Cup Series wins list. However, being 44 years old, speculations have been running wild about his retirement from the high-octane motorsport.

That being said, the JGR ace shared how he plans to phase out his retirement, emphasizing that he doesn't intend to race once he's crossed his prime.

"There’s certain things that are different. I do have a race team. Even if I phased out and ran some there, that would be a cool goal of mine. Just whatever it is. Five races, 25, whatever it might be...but I want to be competitive when I do it. I don’t want to do it when I’m already passed my prime of winning," Hamlin told Dale Jr (1:48.35).

However, Denny Hamlin highlighted that such a scenario may not necessarily work. Being a team owner, the #11 Toyota driver is well-versed in the business side of running a Cup organization. Thus, he pointed out the situation where it wouldn't make 'sense' for the owner to continue working with the driver.

"However that timing works, that’s how I would like for it to work, but you don’t always get to decide. That’s the thing is sometimes, the people that employ you, they’ve got a business to run and sometimes it just doesn’t make sense for them anymore. They bank on your decline, not necessarily what you’re doing," Denny Hamlin said.

Hamlin joined JGR's Cup Series stable in 2005 and has been loyal to his boss Joe Gibbs ever since.

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Denny Hamlin gives a solution to NASCAR's horsepower issue

After the 2014 Cup Series season saw NASCAR cars running with a nearly 900-horsepower-producing machine under the hood, a gradual decline has been witnessed in the pinnacle of stock car racing. In 2015, the power was reduced to 750, 550 HP in 2019, and around 650 with the advent of the NextGen platform in 2022.

It's worth mentioning that NASCAR introduced several advancements to aerodynamic profiling, tire fall-off, and more. However, the sanctioning body has yet to make a significant step to curb the horsepower issue.

Hamlin said that reduced horsepower didn't cut the manufacturer's costs, and thus, he saw no point in 'sacrificing' it.

"The engine bills are the same...we've heard that NASCAR says, well, another manufacturer, they're close, they're close. Until that happens, I just think, why not give the people what they want, and then if a new one comes in and says, hey, I can't produce that, I need to produce lower, then let's paper it back to 650. But until then, I don't see the reason in sacrificing," Denny Hamlin said via Kyle Dalton on X.

Denny Hamlin has jumped four places in the Cup Series standings as his two consecutive wins in Martinsville and Darlington have placed him second.