NASCAR insiders address potential Denny Hamlin 'mic drop' retirement with 2025 NASCAR championship

Two NASCAR insiders discussed whether Denny Hamlin would call it a career if he won the Cup Series championship this year. On The Teardown podcast, Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic weighed in on Hamlin doing a “mic drop” if he won it all.

“He keeps saying he wants to win his last race,” Gluck said. “He’s hinted before that he would like a mic drop. I’m sure Joe Gibbs wouldn’t love it because they would have to scramble for a driver or whatever it would be. Denny’s talked about he wants to get 60 wins, 61 really. He has 59 now. … I could see it.”

Bianchi also thinks that Hamlin could have a “mic drop” moment this year. “I could totally see it, and I would love it,” he said. “How great would it be? Denny Hamlin finally wins the championship, right? He gets that monkey off his back. He’s on the stage with Steve Phelps, and the NASCAR executives have to hand him the championship. At this point, I hope, I pray to the racing gods he cuts a heel promo of all heel promos and announces his retirement and then be like, ‘I will see you court on Dec. 1, and I’m going to win again.'”

Denny Hamlin has won 59 races in the Cup Series but has not won a title. He got one step closer to reaching that goal on Sunday, winning the Gateway race to advance to the Round of 12 of the playoffs.

Denny Hamlin leads all NASCAR Cup series drivers with five race wins

This could be Hamlin’s best chance of winning the championship, as he leads all drivers with five wins this season. But based on the way the playoffs work, having the most race wins doesn’t guarantee you anything.

During his post-race press conference, Hamlin was asked how he’s been able to maintain his focus with so much going on in his life. “Just knowing that I put a timeline on the end. That to me has been the number one factor. I talked to [Kevin ] Harvick the other day. I was just like, I knew exactly how many races were left. The countdown has begun,” Hamlin said.

“I just don’t want to end knowing, Man, those last 70 races, I didn’t really give it my all. I could have had 70 wins any really buckled down. I’m going to regret one day not having the wins that the work ethic kept me from doing. That would weigh on me well beyond my driving career.”