Denny Hamlin claims he nearly became Dale Earnhardt Jr’s teammate at DEI

Denny Hamlin currently has a podcast that Dale Earnhardt Jr produces.

Denny Hamlin claims he nearly became Dale Earnhardt Jr’s teammate at DEI

Denny Hamlin (Credits: IMAGO) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Credits: IMAGO)

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin has come forth, claiming he was once close to becoming Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s teammate at the team built by the legendary Dale Earnhardt, DEI. Dale Jr. drove the No:8 Chevy full-time from 2000 to 2007 and produced some of the best performances of his career.

While talking to The Athletics’ Jeff Gluck, Hamlin pointed out that he was close to joining the team and had talks with Dake Jr. about joining the team while he had no other offers from Cup teams. He added conversation he had was with just the two times Xfinity Serie champion, and he didn’t have any with the team executives.

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“I don’t know how close it really was, but I was close enough with Dale Jr. to have those conversations about moving to (Dale Earnhardt Inc.). I didn’t even have conversations with executives; it was just him. So, I never really was close to any other deals as far as any other teams,” Hamlin said (H&T: Sportnaut)

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Hamlin debuted his full-time Cup series with JGR in 2006 when the team fielded Chevy cars, before moving to Toyota in 2009. This means the talks occurred before that season, probably in 2004 or 2005 when he was slowly establishing himself on the national scene.

Even if Hamlin had signed a deal, he wouldn’t have been teammates with Dale Jr. for long. The JRM co-owner ditched the team for Hendrick Motor Sports following issues with his stepmother Terresa Earnhardt. DEI didn’t last long, as the group merged with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2009 and ended its operation the next season.

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Denny Hamlin gives insight into how he now talks with teams regarding new contracts

Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin (Credits: @Joegibsracing/Twitter)

Hamlin then pointed out that, contrary to the past, he now has professionals working for him on negotiations and contract extensions. So, he now won’t have the kind of quasi-contract talks, as often he is given a contract he can reject or accept by his representation.

“Now, as a driver who has representation, if something comes to me, it’s pretty much, ‘It’s here if you want to do it.’ Like, it’s not ‘Hey, letting you know this is what’s going on, it’s getting close.’ I pretty much know it’s either a done deal or not, and then I have the choice to do it,” Hamlin said.

The 23XI Racing co-owner added that he contemplated the potential DEI move for a little while in the past. He said, “So my thought in my brain at the time was, ‘Man, I could go over to DEI and be teammates with Dale Jr.?’ I really contemplated that for a little while.”

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