With so much youth in NASCAR, Denny Hamlin proving age is just a number

In a sport that has progressively gotten younger since its inception, few drivers have been able to consistently win late in their careers.

In 1992, every full-time driver was 28 or older, while the minimum age dipped to 20 or older in 2005, per NBC Sports. Drivers also now retire at a younger age. From 1988 to 1998, as many as four full-time drivers were in their 50s each season. In 2025, there will be no full-time drivers in their 50s and only four drivers in their 40s (Brad Keselowski, Michael McDowell, AJ Allmendinger, Denny Hamlin).

For comparison, 15 full-time drivers are in their 20s, including the series' youngest drivers, Ty Gibbs and Carson Hocevar, who are both 22.

Of the four drivers over 40, Allmendinger is 16th in points with two top 10s, while McDowell is 17th but has yet to finish inside the top 10. Keselowski sits mired in 31st courtesy of a pair of DNFs. On the other hand, Hamlin is second in the standings and has won the last two races at Martinsville and Darlington.

His Darlington win was his 12th since turning 40, joining an elite list of 13 drivers to win at least 12 races in their 40s.

Most of the drivers on the list, such as Geoff Bodine, Harry Gant and Hall of Famers Darrell Waltrip, Richard Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Dale Jarrett, Dale Earnhardt, Bobby Allison and Lee Petty, raced at a time when drivers were much older than they are today and won most of their races after turning 40.

24 of Jarrett's 32 career wins and 42 of Lee Petty's 54 wins came when they were at least 40, so it was not uncommon for that to occur during their careers.

That is not to discredit any of them, especially considering how impressive each of their careers was and what they accomplished. It was not unusual for a driver to win at that age because of how late some started.

In 2005, Hamlin burst onto the scene when Jarrett's career was winding down, and drivers like Harvick and Kenseth were early in their Cup Series driving days. Harvick won 29 races after turning 40, and Kenseth found victory lane 17 times.

With both retired, Hamlin is the only driver on the list still competing and should continue to climb it if he stays at this rate. He is already 11th on the all-time wins list and has won 56 races in a career that has featured seven different crew chiefs atop the pit box.

Hamlin does not show many weaknesses and has arguably the best pit crew in the sport. The youth movement is real compared to years past, but Hamlin does not seem to let that get in his way and slow him down.

Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson (2016) is the oldest driver to win a title since 2015, at 39. Allison was the oldest to win the championship in 1983 when he was 45 years, 11 months and 17 days old.

In recent years, Hamlin has been one of the few exceptions to NASCAR's youth movement and appears as competitive and dangerous as ever.