TOYOTA RACING – Denny Hamlin
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
CONCORD, NC (May 23, 2026) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to the media on Saturday prior to the NASCAR Cup Series race from Charlotte Motor Speedway.
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 National Debt Relief Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
What was it like for Kyle to come to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2008, and how did your relationship evolve over the next 15 years?
“I mean, it was eye opening for one. When I signed my deal with Joe Gibbs Racing as development driver, it was kind of, I think it was the first year he going to run full-time with Hendrick in the O’Reilly Series. I just remember that, it was kind of him and Martin (Truex) and just those two guys going back and forth and just he was really, really good, but I didn’t really know until he got in the same equipment that I got in and I could see how fast he was and just generally how good he was. At that point, it was like this is going to be super challenging to be the fastest and the best at your organization. You are going to have a really tough time, as long as this guy’s your teammate. So just at that point when he came over and obviously set the world on fire, it certainly was eye-opening to me. To see kind of how in-depth he was with the race cars quite a bit different style than myself personally. But that was just kind of how he grew up is being super hands-on with the cars and he was very in tune with wanting to be involved with setups and things like that strategy. I was just a feedback kind of person. That was it you were just going to get the driving side of that from me. So it certainly challenged me to evolve and when I came into NASCAR itself, it was like, I come from short tracks. I didn’t come from a mile and a halves and stuff like this. It just was such an important part of my development process to have a teammate like him that was good at stuff like this, that I could learn from. So there’s no question, there was many, many instances where me and Kyle got to switch cars at a test, and at that point when I sat in the cars, I was like, okay, so this is what a winning car feels like. This is just not the direction that I would think, and then vice versa, we go to short tracks, he’d get in and be like, man, it’s a lot different than what I would shoot for, and that combo is what made us more rounded than we ever were as race car drivers, just having that opportunity. I’m just super grateful for the opportunity to work with them as long as I did.”
Are there things that the public doesn’t know that helped make Kyle great?
“Well, I mean, there’s some of it that just some people are just more skilled than others, and he was just far more skilled than 99.9% of the people that did it, and I don’t know how he did some of the stuff that he did behind the wheel. I was teammates and got beat by him more times than I beat him. Just, I don’t know. He was exceptional in what he did. I don’t know what that is. I think he had a really good upbringing and had his brother to kind of push off of. That probably was super helpful. He got to race all kinds of different cars when he was younger, started at a very young age, but there’s still that it factor that can’t be learned and that’s what kind of set them apart from everyone else.”
How would you like to see Kyle be honored going forward?
“I really don’t I don’t know the answer necessarily to that. Everyone pays tribute in different ways. It’s just like everyone grieves in different ways and some people celebrate in different ways. So, it’s very hard to say what is the right thing. You just try to do the, as a person, you try to do the right thing, and honor him yourself and try not to judge anybody else’s celebrations or tributes because they’re celebrating in their own way.”
What can you tell us about the level of intensity that Kyle held?
“It was definitely a level of intensity, but…I don’t know if arrogance is the right word, but he earned it. Like, he backed it up. Like, it was well earned. That’s what I think made him so good is that he could drive in on lap one lap of practice and say, it’s going to stick because I’m going to make it stick. and so that level of confidence is what makes the greats of sports better than everyone else. I never have been that guy that – every weekend we talk about, I got to work my way into this. I’ll see you on Sunday. He just had the swagger, and he had it when he was a rookie and he had it at all times. That’s something that just, uh, doesn’t come by too often and you saw kind of Michael Jordan’s documentary, right? Like his swagger and confidence that, and that just set him apart and allowed him to take himself to another level, and that as teammates, that’s what I saw out of Kyle’s. It’s just the ability to reach a level that it’s hard for me to comprehend or be able to replicate.”
Do you think there are things you are going to pay attention to health wise after this week?
“You’re crazy if you don’t have a certain level of paranoia at this point. I just know my side of things, we really try to prepare as best we can, and for all things that may or may not happen, and to try to not leave any burden to the family or anything like that, but you try to live every day to the fullest. That’s what this reminds us of, right? You try to prepare and all those other things, but at some time, you have to just enjoy the day and the moment that you’re in, because tomorrow’s not given.”
Was your interaction with Dover with Kyle your last interaction?
“It was good. I mean, we had laughs and smiles together. That was really a good opportunity. I wasn’t even aware that we were doing it together. I don’t think it was planned. I think he might have been early to that appearance. Quite unusual, but he was early. I think he was supposed to be before me or after me and instead went on with me for that one. But it was good. We got to talk about old people’s stuff (laughter). There were aches and body pains, things like that, and just they were listening off kind of our accomplishments and stuff, and it was like, Kyle, that just means that we’re old (laughter). That’s it. This many starts and got all these accomplishments. It just means we’ve been around a really, really long time, and so it was really good to have that last interaction with them and see them.”
What were you doing and what was your reaction when you got the news?
“I was at an autograph session and just kind of right in the middle of it. I got a call and I knew I needed to step away and take it for a few minutes and then come back.”
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