Why Denny Hamlin's 'paranoid ego' will lead to his early retirement

Joe Gibbs Racing probably wouldn't mind if Denny Hamlin asked for a five-year contract extension, but Hamlin's current timeline of retiring after the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series season is a firm one. 

That's because Hamlin, 45, who just earned career win No. 62 at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday, says he wants to feel like he can win his final race, even though he knows retiring at that point could mean he's leaving wins on the table. 

"I want to feel like I do right now in the sense [of] knowing, every Sunday morning, 'Alright, I got a good shot to win today,'" Hamlin said Tuesday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. "I have to feel that. My ego is very paranoid about the downtrend. 

"It's going to come. We don't know when it is. I just want to get ahead of it before it actually does. Sometimes you have to leave some on the table and say, 'I'm not running next year. I could, but I'm not going to.' That's what I want, is to know that I still could do it if I really, really wanted to."

Few drivers and athletes in general find themselves performing as well as Hamlin at his age and at the current stage of his career. In fact, only 10 Cup drivers, including Hamlin, have won a race after their 700th Cup Series start. Sunday's victory moved Hamlin into a tie for third on that list with Jeff Gordon, as Hamlin has six wins after start No. 700. Only Kevin Harvick (seven) and Richard Petty (22) have more. 

Is Denny Hamlin NASCAR's LeBron James?

The most apt comparison for another athlete to Hamlin might be Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, who just completed his 23rd NBA season and did so while still scoring 20.9 points per game and leading L.A. to a first-round playoff series win over the Houston Rockets. 

But Hamlin says there's a major difference between himself and King James. 

"LeBron has teammates," Hamlin said. "He's a piece of the puzzle of the team that can win a championship. I am too, but I'm a bigger piece of the puzzle. I feel as though it'd be difficult for me if I knew I lost some my skillset to really, truly believe I could go out there and win a championship in a 10-race Chase.

"I'm just trying to be a little proactive and stay ahead of the curve before I know the curve is coming."

At the moment, it seems like Hamlin will be very much in contention for wins and even the Cup Series championship during his final season of full-time racing in 2027 — that is, if the future Hall of Famer is truly able to walk away when he's better than he's ever been.