Joe Gibbs hilariously questions why Denny Hamlin wants to be a NASCAR team owner

Denny Hamlin and Joe Gibbs opted to extend their longtime partnership on Monday, and the patriarch of Joe Gibbs Racing stopped by Hamlin’s Actions Detrimental podcast to celebrate.

Over an hour plus, Hamlin and his car owner shared stories from the No. 11 wheelman’s illustrious career, including Hamlin’s humble beginnings. It was an equally hilarious and informative show, and one that Hamlin won’t soon forget.

“My other favorite story on Denny is, when we first met him, he had a beat up Monte Carlo I think, and that was it,” reminisced Gibbs. “So two years after we signed him, I’m standing in the back of my house, here on the lake. I like my house. I worked 40 years for my house. I see this jet ski come around the back. It lands on the lot next door. I walk over there and it’s Denny.

“I look at him and I go, ‘Denny, what are you doing?’ And he looks at me, looks at the house next door to me, and he goes, ‘I think I just bought this house.’ I go — I got ticked off. This house is twice as big as my house.”

Alas, Gibbs ribbed Hamlin for his latest venture in starting a race team, 23XI Racing. He wondered why Hamlin would ever want to get into the ownership side of the sport, when he already had all the perks of being a driver.

“So anyway, that’s my other part of the story, that tells you I’m in the wrong end of everything. He doesn’t listen to me. I tried to tell him, you’ve got the perfect deal,” stated Gibbs. “You’re driving a race car. You’re going to have fun, and drive a race car for a living. Everybody wants to do that. You make all the money. If we win a purse on the weekend, he gets half. He pays four people to mess around with his motor home or something. I pay 450 people to work on the race car. And the other thing is, they all got great looking girls, the drivers. They’ve got fun, money and girls. So anyways, that’s my deal. You’ve got a good deal.

“I don’t know why you want to be an owner, that’s the only thing I question. And he doesn’t listen to me. I will say that. That’s the one other thing. The man never listens to me.”

Well, when you put it like that, we’re wondering why Denny Hamlin started 23XI Racing, as well. Nevertheless, Hamlin has evolved into one of NASCAR’s best success stories under Joe Gibbs, and he’ll continue wheeling his flagship car moving forward in the NASCAR Cup Series, for years to come.