Denny Hamlin Slams Critics and Declares Kyle Larson as the ‘Deserving’ 2025 Cup Champion

Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin had one of the biggest heartbreaking moments of his racing career, as he lost the 2025 season finale to Kyle Larson. He was just four laps away from winning the title, when a caution sent the race to overtime. His decision to pit for four tiers instead of two like rest of the grid backfired, giving HMS the opportunity to finish ahead.

Denny Hamlin was the sentimental favorite win the championship coming to the weekend and this factor inspired many in the social media to target Kyle Larson. The credibility of his triumph was questioned, as luck favored a significant role in him winning. Many forgot the fact that, the No:5 team ended up as the points leader, due to their superior consistency.

In the latest episode of the Actions Detrimental podcast, veteran Denny Hamlin explained how he has slowly overcome the heartbreak with the help of fans, rivals and especially Larson, who showed a lot a graciousness. He then addressed the critics and asserted that the 2025 season crowned a deserving champion.

I think that the fans made it a lot easier. I mean, the competitors made it easier. You know, I got to give so much appreciation to Kyle Larson and how gracious he was during all this. Very humble during all this and certainly during the banquet, giving myself and my team the props that we did deserve in that final race.  He did nothing wrong. His team knew that they had to do something to try to win.

Denny Hamlin said via Actions Detrimental.

The veteran pointed out that the No:5 Chevy team deserves the credit for taking advantage of their situation with the right strategy and earn the title, playing the game with the same rules as everyone else. He declared that no one in the racing community should be questioning the credibility as well as deservingness of the Chevy drivers; title win.

You know, they played the game as it was meant to be played. So, we definitely have a deserving champion in the 5 team, they scored more points than anyone else the entire year. There’s, you know, I don’t think anyone should ever question the deservingness of Kyle Larson’s championship because he definitely did.

Denny Hamlin added.

Denny Hamlin reveals his retirement plans amidst rumors

One of the biggest rumors that came out after the loss and blunt comments from Hamlin, was that the No:11 team might have to look for a replacement. But on his podcast, the veteran has confirmed that he will not retire and asserted that JGR needs more time to form a succession plan for him. He also admitted that, if he had won, he would have retired without a second thought.

I would have begged Joe to let me quit had I won that race… But I, they’re not ready for that yet. They have to have time to work on my succession plan, and obviously, we set a date out now to at least, you know, come to when that is. We know what’s the lifeline left. But I would have certainly really, really asked him to let me end on that one had it gone well.

Denny Hamlin said.

The comments from the veteran shows how much confidence he had on himself and his team over their chances of winning the title, as well as how deep the hurt was after the loss. Hamlin still has more years left in his to perform on the elite level and potentially win the championship for the No:11 team, something he as well as Joe Gibbs deserves.

Also Read: Kyle Larson Hilariously Admits He “Stole” the 2025 Cup Title from Denny Hamlin

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