Joe Gibbs Racing took a trip down memory lane and shared a throwback image of Denny Hamlin to celebrate his 45th birthday. The Instagram post featured a young Hamlin posing with his fire suit.Hamlin has completed 20 years in the NASCAR Cup Series. He made his debut in 2005, but had his rookie season the following year. Since then, the veteran driver has remained on par with his peers, racking up 60 wins to his name. The feat has him in the top-10 all-time wins list as well.On Tuesday, November 18, JGR called upon fans to celebrate the ace driver, writing:"Please join us in wishing @dennyhamlin a happy birthday 🎂" View this post on Instagram Instagram PostDenny Hamlin has two more years remaining on his contract with JGR. The 2025 title loss soured his taste for racing, and many concluded that this may well be his final year in the Cup Series.However, Hamlin claimed that he would've retired if he'd won the title instead. That said, he admitted that he currently wants 'nothing to do with racing', given how close the title was within reach.Denny Hamlin reveals 'good conversations' with Carl Edwards after title lossDenny Hamlin seemingly reached out to Carl Edwards following his devastating defeat at Phoenix. Edwards had faced a similar misfortune during his 2016 title bid, where he crashed out during a late-race restart and allowed Jimmie Johnson to grab his seventh Cup title.The one-race championship format has claimed yet another victim in Denny Hamlin, but the No. 11 driver has found a comforting perspective. In a recent episode of Actions Detrimental, Hamlin said:“I had some good conversations with him (Carl Edwards) and where I feel like he has helped me here lately... would be understanding the bigger picture of racing is just a very small part of your life and you’re going to find a lot of gratification outside of that,” he said. “Every time he talks now, I’m very tuned in to what he says, because I respect him so much."I admire him so much. He said some very kind words to me after the race, and it’s made me feel as though I’ve accomplished what I wanted to accomplish in the sport. Everything else from here on is icing on the cake." (31:08 onwards)Denny Hamlin entered the finale with six wins and a pole start. He had a dominant 208-lap lead, but was let down by a late-race strategy for a four-tire call, when most of the field went for just two tires. One among them was Kyle Larson, who leapfrogged to the front and finished ahead of Hamlin.In the same episode of Actions Detrimental, Hamlin shared how drivers like himself, Larson, and William Byron all prefer a full-season points format, while 'mediocre' drivers always go for a one-race championship.