Denny Hamlin has had one of the best starts to a season in 2024, winning the Clash at the Coliseum and three of the first 11 points races.
Although he still had good results afterward, Hamlin did not win again the rest of the season and was eliminated after the third round for the third year in a row.
Hamlin, 44, has 54 career Cup victories. He will enter the new season with a new team boss, a change he says has “shocked” him.
CREW CHIEF: Chris Gabehart
TEAM: Joe Gibbs Racing
POINTS: 8th
VICTORY: 3 (Bristol I, Richmond I, Dover).
LED TOWERS: 943
TOP 5: 12
TOP 10: 18
DEPARTURE FROM THE POLE: 4 (Phoenix I, Nashville, Richmond II, Michigan)
WHAT WENT WELL: Won the Clash at the Coliseum and three points races. The three point wins are tied for the most he has won in the last four seasons. Hamlin also had three runner-up finishes this year. The 2024 season marked the fifth time in the last six years that Hamlin has led at least 900 laps in a year.
WHAT WAS NOT: After winning three of the first 11 races of the season, Hamlin did not win again. Had six finishes 30th or worse. Led only 26 rounds in the playoffs.
DENNY HAMLIN SAYS: “Every relationship has an opportunity to flourish. Certainly, I felt like I had a good time with (Chris) Gabehart and we had some good success. I’ve won with every team leader I’ve ever been with. I suspect it’s the same thing. … I think it will be a welcome change for (Chris Gayle) and a welcome change for me to try to go out there and build a new relationship and, obviously, win a lot of races.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2025: Denny Hamlin begins the season with a new crew chief. Chris Gabehart has been named competition director for Joe Gibbs Racing, which has not won a race in the final 18 Cup events of the season. Chris Gayle is Hamlin’s new crew chief after serving in the role with teammate Ty Gibbs. Hamlin, 44, has little chance of winning that elusive Cup title.
