A fitting tribute for the perfect weekend. Denny Hamlin couldn’t have asked for more when the checkered flag was waved at Darlington Raceway. As part of the Throwback Weekend, the paint scheme on the veteran racer’s No. 11 Toyota was a replica of Carl Edwards’ iconic 2006-07 Office Depot design from his Roush Fenway days. What better way to celebrate the newly inducted Hall of Famer than by securing consecutive Cup Series wins for the first time since 2012?

Taking a trip down memory lane, Denny Hamlin couldn’t help but reminisce about Edwards’ iconic career before his shocking retirement following the 2016 championship race. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver recalled the sheer competition during their time as teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing, likening it to a historic sports team of the past.

Denny Hamlin recalls Edwards’ time at Joe Gibbs Racing

It was the perfect occasion. NASCAR Hall of Famer Carl Edwards was named the honorary starter for the 2025 Goodyear 400 and was present in the stands to watch his throwback scheme take the checkered flag. With Cup cars adorning iconic liveries paying tribute to the days of old, Denny Hamlin opted to go for a paint scheme that celebrated his former teammate, who earned 28 wins at the sport’s highest level. Revealing his red and white vehicle before the race, the 44-year-old said on Instagram, “Darlington throwback 🤝 Cousin Carl.”

Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards were teammates for two years, during which both the racers finished in the top 10 of the standings. However, their time at JGR was part of a cutthroat era, and Edwards confessed to wanting to have a better relationship with Hamlin as a driver. Edwards said on the Dale Jr. Download earlier this year, “I wanted to talk to Denny more. I wanted to understand how he thought. I just could never… and I probably never tried enough.”

Reflecting on Edwards’ legacy and their relationship, Hamlin said on the Actions Detrimental podcast, “We’ve had some communication after he has retired… You don’t appreciate people until they’re gone. That’s typically the way it works in this sport, right?” Hamlin went on to say, “He was always kind of on an island with his car setups and the things he liked. And he could make that work and it was amazing to see. When you’re in that moment, you just don’t appreciate it like you do in retrospect, years later.”

Despite being teammates on the racetrack, Hamlin wasn’t ever rooting for Carl Edwards to win, and we know this about Hamlin. After Christopher Bell won his second consecutive race in 2025 at COTA, Hamlin said, “There is nobody that I hate seeing win more than my teammate because I know he’s driving the same thing that I’m driving.” Comparing the situation to his time with Edwards at JGR, the Florida native said, “When we had Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards as teammates. It was murderers’ row. Every week, it was like, who is going to carry the torch this week? It was tough, tough competition.”

That lineup oozes NASCAR heritage. 2007 Xfinity Series champion Carl Edwards, Two-time Cup Champion Kyle Busch, 2003 Cup Champion Matt Kenseth, and 3-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin. In retrospect, that is start studded, to say the least. And back then, when they were all going guns blazing, Hamlin likened it to the 1927 New York Yankees Baseball team, nicknamed ‘Murderers’ Row.’

The team consisted of four eventual Hall of Famers: Earle Combs, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Tony Lazzeri. The JGR quartet from 2024 already has two in the HoF, with Kenseth inducted in 2023 and Edwards in 2025. And make no mistake, Busch and Hamlin are bona fide Hall of Famers when they retire. However, as Hamlin said, they probably won’t get their flowers until much later.

Back in 2015, 28-time Cup race winner Carl Edwards won the Bojangles’ Southern 500, which was also the very first iteration of the Throwback Weekend at Darlington Raceway. He finished ahead of Brad Keselowski and teammate Denny Hamlin, securing his second triumph of the year. During his racing days, the Missouri native was underappreciated, simply because he never managed to lift the Bill France Cup. However, multiple runner-up finishes, such as 2008 to Jimmie Johnson and 2011 to Tony Stewart, indicate that he was unlucky not to have a championship under his belt.

In 2023, Edwards was named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers, and earlier this year, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, a fitting accolade for the veteran racer. However, Hamlin believes the same fate of not getting their flowers soon enough awaits seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson as well, saying, “Jimmie is kind of still here, but when he really, truly hangs it up, stops and, like, really 10 years from now, 15 years from now, we’re gonna be in awe of what this guy accomplished.”

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Hamlin sheds light on his ‘evolved’ relationship with Edwards

NASCAR is a sport defined by fine margins, and the competition can be tough, even amongst teammates. That’s a lesson Denny Hamlin has learned over his two-decade-long experience at the highest level. Despite his outspoken nature, the No. 11 driver always maintained a cordial relationship with Carl Edwards when the two competed for Joe Gibbs Racing during the 2015 and 2016 seasons. However, ever since the Missouri native has retired, the relationship between the pair has only become stronger.

Shedding light on the dynamics between the two racers, Hamlin said, “I just told him that it was an honor to carry the scheme because truthfully, me and Carl probably talk more now or have talked more now that he’s out of the sport, we’re no longer teammates. That has been my relationship with most of my teammates, that the relationship grows after they’re gone. Really getting to know Carl. We’re so blessed to have him coming back to the sport in the TV role. Yeah, I’ve just had some great conversations with him.”

Edwards, who is currently serving as an analyst for NASCAR on Prime Video, has returned to the stock car racing world after a brief hiatus. His abrupt retirement in 2016 sparked many conspiracy theories about the reasons behind his decision, with even Denny Hamlin speculating that he was “certain he (Edwards) was going back to Ford.”

While the official explanation remains that the former racer wanted to spend time with family, rumors will continue to circulate for the foreseeable future. It’s refreshing to see two iconic racers getting along so well, especially after one of them has called it a day. Could Edwards make a one-off appearance in a 23XI Racing car one day? It’s not beyond the realm of possibility, and fans will be lining up for tickets to see ‘Cousin Carl’ on the racetrack once again.