Denny Hamlin makes ‘retirement’ comments after maiden SRX win

Denny Hamlin won the first race of the 2023 SRX season on his debut.

Denny Hamlin makes ‘retirement’ comments after maiden SRX win

Denny Hamlin (Credits: Stafford Motor Speedway)

One of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest drivers Denny Hamlin stunned everyone in his Camping World SRX Series debut at Stafford Speedway. The 42-year-old won the rain-shortened race on his debut after starting from 6th place on the grid. It was challenging for Hamlin as Ryan Newman was close to his back bumper. However, Newman finished the race second and secured solid points before heading into the second race of the season. 

As a full-time driver in the SRX Series, Newman had the highest finish in the race. Denny Hamlin came prepared to win as he took on various roles, from driving the car to working on it himself. He was one of the four drivers to make his SRX debut. The others were Clint Bowyer, Brad Keselowski, and Kevin Harvick. Though Ryan Newman was close to Hamlin, the rain shortened the race, and the 23XI Racing co-owner secured his win on his debut. 

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Denny Hamlin joked about his retirement after securing his win. He tweeted, “1 for 1. Think I’ll retire. Thanks, SRX Racing and Stafford Speedway.” It is safe to say the three-time Daytona 500 winner is over the moon. And he has every right to be, as he won the first race of the 2023 SRX season on his debut. It is interesting to see Hamlin joke about retirement, as it doesn’t seem like it in the near future. 

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Related: Denny Hamlin claims Kyle Busch will not make it to the 2023 Cup Championship four

Denny Hamlin says he had a lot of fun in Stafford

Denny Hamlin (Credits: RacingDayCT.com)
Denny Hamlin (Credits: RacingDayCT.com)

Hamlin spoke to Frontstretch about winning on his SRX debut. He said after his win, “You know, this is a lot of fun. From a driver’s standpoint, knowing that you’re in the same equipment as everyone else, they don’t let you do any changes to these cars that not every car has. It really puts an emphasis — I mean, there’s no spotters or anything, a lot of the contact you saw is that we just couldn’t see the people around us.”

Hamlin added, “Man, this was so much fun. Short track racing, this is the grassroots racing that we hope to showcase.” He had plenty of fun racing at a shorter track, unlike the NASCAR Cup Series. Hamlin also revealed that he had help from the six-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion, Doug Coby. He helped Hamlin with the racing line. 

Before becoming a star in NASCAR, Denny Hamlin was used to driving late models at short tracks. The race at Stafford reminded Hamlin of a specific way back in his hometown, Virginia. He said it resembled the Langley Speedway with the late apex-type racetrack.

Hamlin also got involved when there was damage to the car as they were running out of time. Overall, it was a solid day for the NASCAR star, and he shared images of himself proudly holding his SRX trophy. 

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