The future of the No. 11 Toyota Camry has become much clearer, courtesy of its current driver. Denny Hamlin has appeared to confirm that Brent Crews will be his replacement in the Cup Series.
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Hamlin made the revelation during a stop at the Prime Video desk on Sunday night. He had just won his 63rd career Cup Series race and tied former teammate Kyle Busch.
Host Danielle Trotta asked about how winning a championship would affect Hamlin's plans to retire after the 2027 season, which prompted an intriguing answer.
"Well, I have a commitment to Joe (Gibbs, team owner), no matter what," Hamlin said. "Whether we win this year or not. The end of next year...listen, I told them, just check with me in six months. I don't want to leave them in flux.
"They've got a great driver in Brent Crews that's, you know, gonna be ready more than likely by the end of next year."
Crews is a development driver for Toyota who has quickly risen through the racing ranks while approaching adulthood. He won six ARCA Menards Series races before turning 18, and then he took over the No. 19 Toyota GR Supra in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series this season.
Crews missed four of the first 16 races due to NASCAR's age restrictions, but he has since posted eight top-10 finishes and five top-fives in 12 starts. He is on the cusp of a spot in The Chase despite running fewer races than his fellow championship-hopeful drivers.
This is not the first time that Crews' name has come up in conversations about the No. 11 Cup Series car. The Athletic also reported that the North Carolina prospect would move from the No. 19 Toyota GR Supra to the No. 11 Toyota Camry in 2028.
This August 2025 report from Jordan Bianchi took place less than one month after Hamlin signed what he called his "final contract" with Joe Gibbs Racing.
"Thus begins the process for JGR to begin identifying Hamlin's eventual replacement and then implementing that succession plan," Bianchi wrote.
"The good news for JGR is that it has ample runway and doesn't need to be in a rush. It also helps that Toyota has several promising young drivers in its pipeline — most notably Brent Crews — should it choose to go this route."
Based on Hamlin's post-win comments, Joe Gibbs Racing has gone this route and chosen Crews as the future.
