Denny Hamlin is known for his consistency and sheer talent in piloting a racecar to its limit. A driver, who crafted his driving so meticulously that he succeeds where he ventures, be it the NASCAR Cup, O'Reilly Auto Parts, or the Truck Series.

With the Joe Gibbs Racing driver talking about a potential retirement after 2027, who could be the next Denny Hamlin? Dale Earnhardt Jr. spoke about one such driver who reminds him of the three-time Daytona 500 winner and might be on a similar trajectory.

"The one that stands out to me is Corey Heim," Dale Jr. said in the recent "Dale Jr Download" podcast. "I think we kind of all know that 23XI is where he's going to end up, and I think we couldn't be more excited about having Heim become part of the series. Corey is incredible."

Following this, Adam Alexander and Steve Letarte, who joined Dale Jr. in the podcast, praised how good Heim is at this age, and this was when Dale Jr. drew the comparison. "He is a lot like Denny," the NASCAR Hall of Famer emphasized.

Notably, Heim is a development driver for 23XI Racing (a team co-owned by Denny Hamlin) currently, and does not have any full-time seats as yet. He races in the Cup Series for 23XI Racing under part-time obligation, and does the same for Tricon Garage in the Truck Series.

So far, Heim has participated in 123 races across three national series races in NASCAR and picked up 25 wins (all in the Truck Series). Given he is only 23, Heim is regarded as an exceptional talent, and might be the next big thing in the future if given the right team and the right car.

Now, why the comparison with Hamlin? It's because of the Joe Gibbs Racing driver's sheer capability to perform across racing series. The No. 11 Toyota driver has over 900 races in three national series races, where he picked up over 80 wins, establishing himself as one of the best in class.

Denny Hamlin's All-Star Victory at Dover

Last Sunday, Denny Hamlin emerged as the winner of the 2026 NASCAR All-Star race at the Dover Motor Speedway. With this, he won $1 million as he beat his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Chase Briscoe, to the chequered flag by 0.887 seconds.

"I'll be honest, when we started that third stage, this car was very easy to drive," Hamlin told the media after the race. "They nailed the adjustments."

Hailing his No. 11 crew led by chief Chris Gayle, Hamlin added:

"I mean, one thing I’ve noticed about this team over the last couple years with (crew chief) Chris Gayle leading it is that we can be leading and dominating, and he’ll still go make adjustments. He does not just leave things as-is. They constantly make it better, and they nailed it through in the third stage."

Thanks to that victory, Denny Hamlin picked up the second All-Star trophy of his NASCAR career. This was also his fourth win at Dover. The first one came in 2020, followed by another three in 2024, 2025, and 2026, making the track his happy hunting ground.

You can read more on the Daytona Racing Digest!

Written by

Sabyasachi Biswas

Edited by

Yask Kotak