Denny Hamlin has implied, if not confirmed, that he will retire from full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition after the 2027 season.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin has been the winningest non-champion in NASCAR Cup Series history for a few years now, and he has perhaps his best chance yet to finally hand that title back to the late Junior Johnson, who never actually competed full-time, this coming November.

But another title the 59-time race winner inherited after the 2024 season, when former JGR teammate Martin Truex Jr. retired from full-time competition? Oldest active full-time driver.

It’s kind of hard to believe, but when you consider the youth movement and look at all the big-name veteran retirements from recent years, it’s true: no full-time driver is older than the 44-year-old Chesterfield, Virginia native, even in a year during which no other full-time driver has missed a race (Hamlin missed one) and yet no other full-time driver has won more than four times (Hamlin has five wins).

As discussed and analyzed at length earlier this week by Beyond the Flag contributor Logan Ploder, Hamlin followed up his fifth and latest win at Gateway on Sunday with his usual routine, riling up the crowd and embracing the boos from the St. Louis fans (and haters).

But what flew under the radar was the fact that Hamlin, who recently signed a contract extension to remain behind the wheel of the No. 11 Toyota through the 2027 season, all but confirmed that the 2027 season will be his last as a full-time driver. He would be 47 years old by the time the 2028 season begins.

Denny Hamlin retirement confirmed?

Joe Gibbs Racing appear to be in a good place for the foreseeable future even without Hamlin in their roster. Chase Briscoe has excelled in his first year behind the wheel of the No. 19 Toyota as Truex’s replacement, and Christopher Bell has become a perennial championship contender since taking over the No. 20 Toyota four years ago.

Ty Gibbs still has work to do, now in his third season since replacing Kyle Busch in the No. 18-turned-No. 54 Toyota, but he has shown flashes of potential and is certainly not the worst “weak link” in the garage, even after missing the playoffs for the second time.

But naturally, replacing Hamlin would be a tall (and important) task, and the closer that day comes, the closer we are to speculation about who the next driver of the No. 11 Toyota (or whatever number is used) might be.

Corey Heim might be Toyota’s top prospect at the moment, but he is also viewed as 23XI Racing’s driver of the future, having signed a development deal with them before the 2025 season.

Additionally, there are some who believe that Joe Gibbs Racing would not sign Heim due to his fractured relationship with Ty Gibbs, so if 23XI Racing put off promoting him, it’s more likely he’d bolt for a rival manufacturer.

Another name recently brought up is Brent Crews. The 17-year-old is a member of Toyota Racing Development’s TD2 driver development program, and with no Hamlin replacement needed prior to 2028, this would give him at least the next two seasons to develop at the lower levels, potentially with full-time rides.

He has already excelled in limited ARCA Menards Series starts, scoring six wins in 17 starts dating back to 2023, including four in nine starts (three in seven with Joe Gibbs Racing) in 2025.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Xfinity Series program isn’t particularly strong at the moment. Brandon Jones is solid veteran presence, but he is not a Cup Series-level talent. Taylor Gray made the playoffs as a rookie but hasn’t won, and rookie William Sawalich didn’t make it to the postseason. Crews has already been linked to a seat there for 2026, though he is not set to turn 18 until March.