Denny Hamlin signs multiyear contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing

Denny Hamlin has signed a multiyear contract extension to remain with Joe Gibbs Racing as the driver of the No. 11 Toyota, the team announced Monday.

”Joe Gibbs Racing has been my home for almost 20 years now,” Hamlin said in a press release. ”My relationship with Joe (Gibbs), my team and everyone at JGR means a lot to me. We have accomplished so much together over the years. I‘m excited to finally announce this so we can put all our focus on chasing the championship.”

Hamlin is a 50-time winner in the NASCAR Cup Series, scoring each of those victories in JGR equipment. The Virginia native has made 641 Cup starts, all with Joe Gibbs Racing since his debut at the end of the 2005 Cup season.

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Hamlin enters Sunday‘s race at Kansas Speedway (3 p.m. ET, USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) fifth in the playoff standings following his 25th-place finish at Darlington Raceway in the Round of 16 playoff opener. Hamlin is in search of his first Cup title and has qualified for the Championship 4 in three of the past four seasons.

The 42-year-old driver has two wins this season, claiming the checkered flags at Kansas and Pocono Raceway, solidifying his position in this year‘s postseason grid.

In 2021, Hamlin branched out into team ownership, joining NBA legend Michael Jordan to become co-owners of 23XI Racing. The operation began as a single-car team with the No. 23 Toyota piloted by Bubba Wallace before expanding with a second chartered team to field the No. 45 entry in 2022 with Kurt Busch. Tyler Reddick took over the ride this season. All three drivers have won for the organization, with Wallace winning twice (Talladega-2, 2021; Kansas-2, 2022), Busch once (Kansas-1, 2022) and Reddick once (Circuit of The Americas, 2023).