Denny and Darlington: How Hamlin got his job with Gibbs

Denny Hamlin has his ride with Joe Gibbs Racing because of Darlington Raceway.

J.D. Gibbs, the son of team founder Joe Gibbs, had already discovered Hamlin at a late model test at Hickory Speedway in the 2000s. As Gibbs remembers it, Hamlin might have had some equipment to sell when he and J.D. crossed paths, but it was enough that J.D. wanted to put Hamlin in a stock car and test him.

“Of course, Denny killed it,” Joe Gibbs told RACER.

“It essentially got me my job in the No. 20 car,” Hamlin said. “I remember going there for the very first time: Tony Stewart was there in a Cup Series car, and I was there in the Xfinity Series car, and back then, if you wanted to go somewhere and test, you just went and tested. So, they let me run and I must have pounded the wall off Turn 2, at least the first 20 laps in a row, and destroyed the car. Finally, I got the knack of it and the feeling of it, and after that, I just took to it.”

The chain of events took off quickly from there. J.D. Gibbs committed to keeping an eye on Hamlin, who made five starts in the Craftsman Truck Series that year for Steve Prescott. Hamlin finished 10th in his first career start at Indianapolis and then followed that performance up by finishing 16th at Richmond Raceway, 11th at New Hampshire, 23rd in Las Vegas, and 18th at Texas Motor Speedway.

At some point, J.D. Gibbs went back to his father and the rest of the organization and said, “‘Hey, look, let’s put him at Darlington, one of the toughest racetracks we have, in the Xfinity Series car and see how he does,’” Gibbs recalled. “He finished eighth.”

It was the first time Hamlin had competed at Darlington Raceway. It was also his first start in the Xfinity Series. Hamlin qualified 27th for reasons he recalls as rain-related but quickly drove into the top 10.

But there was something Hamlin didn’t know going into that day. Gibbs and the team sponsor had already decided if Hamlin finished inside the top 10, the ride was his for 2005.

“We did,” Hamlin said. “They took me to Darlington because it was the toughest test for a driver.”

Hamlin tamed Darlington in 2006 with Gibbs’ Rockwell Automation Chevy. Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images

Rockwell Automation sponsored Hamlin in 2005. Although he didn’t win a race, he finished fifth in the championship standings. Before the season even ended, though, Hamlin was a Cup Series driver.

“(That’s) the thing that was kind of wild,” Gibbs said. “He starts in Xfinity for us, and we only went about half the year and he was doing so well (as) we were struggling with our Cup car and FedEx. So, we decided, ‘Hey, what the heck, we’ll put Denny in there for a few races.’ There was somebody else we might put in there. But we put Denny in there, and I think he sat on the pole for the third race, and from that point on, he was gone. He was after it.”

Hamlin’s debut was at Kansas Speedway in October. A week later, he finished eighth at Charlotte Motor Speedway and then eighth again the following week at Martinsville Speedway. In his sixth career start at Phoenix Raceway, the penultimate race of the season, Hamlin won the pole and led 23 laps.

In all, Hamlin ran the final seven races of the 2005 season. His full-time Cup Series career began in 2006 with a sweep at Pocono Raceway, three poles, and finishing third in the championship. He also claimed Rookie of the Year honors.

“It’s rare; that really doesn’t happen that you put a guy in a Cup Series car with that little bit of experience, and he just goes right to the front,” Gibbs said. “That just doesn’t happen.”

Oh, there is another piece of the story that’s worth mentioning. The No. 11 was the number J.D. Gibbs used when he played football, and that was the car that was struggling in 2005 when Hamlin got the chance to get behind the wheel. It’s been his number in the Cup Series ever since.

And it all started at Darlington, which will forever be tied to Joe Gibbs Racing and Hamlin.

“That’s exactly right,” Gibbs said. “And tied to J.D.”