Denny Hamlin admits that he never cared about 24 Hours of Le Mans

Growing up, Denny Hamlin’s dream was NASACXAR and NASCAR only.

Denny Hamlin admits that he never cared about 24 Hours of Le Mans

Denny Hamlin (Via IMAGO)

The 24 Hours Le Mans is one of the most prestigious races in motorsports. The 2023 edition of the event was won by the Ferrari HyperCar team. NASCAR joined hands with Hendrick Motorsports to enter the event in a Chevy Next-Gen car. The team, led by NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and F1 Champion Jenson Button, earned the respect of the cup garage.

While discussing NASCAR’s entry, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin admitted that racing in the iconic event was never on his bucket list. Hamlin grew up in Virginia and dreamed only of racing in NASCAR, as his junior years were around Karting and dirt races. He said that Le Mans never caught his attention.

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“Never once has it come up on my bucket list of things that I care to do. It’s not what I was born aspiring to do. I understand that it’s a huge race. I get it. I’ve never been super into Le Mans just simply because I grew up in Virginia on go-karts on a dirt oval, and all I cared about was NASCAR racing. So, no, it’s not on my list. I would love to attend. I think it’d be cool to attend,” Hamlin said.

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23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin wants to learn from Le Mans about team management

Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin
Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin, Charlotte May 2022 (Credits: IMAGO)

Hamlin co-owns the NASCAR Cup series team 23XI Racing with NBA legend Michael Jordan and has been investing more of his time into potentially making them a championship contender. Hamlin wants to visit the Le Mans more as a team owner than a racing fan to learn more about the WEC team’s management of sponsors and how they find new offers.

“I’m not going there to watch cars go around the racetrack for 24 hours,” he explained. “I’m going there to see well how a team (is) branding their team apparel. How are they doing with their cars? How does the team look? I’m interested in all those kinds of things,” Hamlin said.

“What kind of pre-race parties are there for the event? Anything that we can learn as a race team. Hospitality, how are they treating their sponsors versus what we do?” Hamlin added.

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