Denny Hamlin recently made a surprising comment about his eventual successor at Joe Gibbs Racing. “I don’t want to leave them in flux. They’ve got a great driver in Brent Crews that’s gonna be ready more than likely by the end of next year.” Hamlin said during a recent race broadcast.

The Joe Gibbs Racing veteran rarely talks about who will replace him. He is expected to drive the No. 11 car for JGR through the 2027 season. His public support for 18-year-old Brent Crews caught everyone’s attention, especially Crews himself. For the teenage prospect, the comments came completely out of nowhere. And his response showed how much the compliment from his childhood hero meant to him.

Brent Crews still has one goal despite Denny Hamlin’s endorsement

“I did not expect him to say that whatsoever, I swear to you, that was wild,” Crews said. “I had a big old smile on my face when he did say it because I had no idea. But, yeah, that was really nice of Denny to say, and I’m very grateful that he’s been watching, and that stuff’s really cool.”

The endorsement means a lot to Crews because he grew up a huge Hamlin fan.

The young Toyota star recently disclosed that Hamlin was his favorite NASCAR driver growing up. While many young racers idolized multiple stars, Crews’ fandom had a unique origin story. He clarified that he loved former NFL star Julio Jones, who wore No. 11. Because of Jones, Crews started cheering for Hamlin, who has driven the No. 11 car for his entire Cup Series career.

Years later, the same driver is now discussing Crews as a potential successor. The endorsement follows one of motorsports’ most remarkable development trajectories. As a younger teenager, he won national titles in karting and dirt-track racing.

In 2023, he became the youngest champion in SCCA Trans-Am TA2 history. Crews won six races in the ARCA Menards Series. He also claimed the 2024 Rookie of the Year title in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour.

He was finally placed in Toyota’s development pipeline due to his quick advancement. When he turned 18 in March 2026, Crews became eligible to run full-time in NASCAR’s national series. He took over the No. 19 Toyota for JGR in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and quickly proved himself against older veterans.

Since then, his reputation has only grown. Through the current season, Brent Crews has scored seven top-five results and ranks 11th in the championship standings. Even with Hamlin hyping him up for a future Cup Series ride, Crews quickly brought the debate back to the present rather than discussing Cup Series opportunities, future contracts, or the possibility of replacing a potential Hall of Famer.

“But at the end of the day, we have a long season left to go and a lot of races left to go, and I still have a ton to learn and a lot of races to go try to win. So until that happens, my eyes and body and mind is all focused on doing my best to win a O’Reilly race,” he said.

Crews understands that performance matters more than praise. For now, his only goal is finding Victory Lane in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.