Surprisingly, not a single NASCAR Cup Series driver who competed in 2025 declared their intention to retire at season’s end.
The conclusion of the 2026 season could feature some major departures, however.
With that in mind, let’s take a quick look at a trio of big-name drivers who could be poised to hang up their helmet in a little less than a year’s time.
1. Denny Hamlin
While Denny Hamlin has on multiple occasions expressed his intentions to compete through the end of the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series season, some of his comments just after the 2025 season ended leave some doubt about whether the veteran driver will actually race two more years.
Sure, Hamlin signed a two-year contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing this past summer to race through 2027. But in the hours and days immediately following his heartbreaking 2025 title loss, Hamlin opened the door to the possibility that he might not even race in 2026.
Since then, Hamlin has expressed his intentions to uphold the terms of his newest contract. But if 2026 turns out to be the year that Hamlin finally captures an elusive first Cup Series championship, hardly anyone will be surprised if he calls it quits a year early. That’s because Hamlin has on more than one occasion expressed a desire to leave the sport on top.
Likewise, if Hamlin comes up agonizingly short of a title for the second year in a row, it seems highly plausible that the then-46-year-old driver would step away. After all, losing the championship in devastating fashion in back-to-back years would probably be enough to push just about anyone into early retirement.
2. Kyle Busch
No elite NASCAR Cup Series driver has endured more misery the last few years than Kyle Busch. Mired in easily the longest losing streak of his overall storied career, Busch hasn’t been to Victory Lane since June 2023.
Along with his extended drought, the two-time Cup Series champion and 63-time Cup Series race winner has missed the playoffs each of the last two seasons.
With 2026 being a contract year for Busch at Richard Childress Racing, where he’s been to Victory Lane a total of three times over three seasons, the 40-year-old is going to have some big decisions to make in the upcoming months.
Does he leave RCR and potentially return to Joe Gibbs Racing, where he captured both championships and all but seven of his wins? Is there a chance he could go back to Hendrick Motorsports — the place where he began his Cup career in 2005? Will he sign a new contract with RCR? Or will he to hang it up and focus his efforts on taking the racing career of his young son, Brexton, to the next level?
The possibilities for Busch post-2026 seem almost endless, with retirement certainly being one of them.
3. Brad Keselowski
Virtually no one, and perhaps not even the man himself, would argue that Brad Keselowski is still in his prime as a NASCAR Cup Series driver.
Yes, seemingly once in a blue moon, the RFK Racing co-owner/driver will contend for a win. But wins themselves have been few and far between for Keselowski since 2020 — his next-to-last season at Team Penske — when he went to Victory Lane four times.
Over the last five seasons, the 2012 Cup Series champion and now-41-year-old driver has triumphed just twice. And only one of those two victories has been since he joined RFK Racing as a driver and co-owner in 2022.
Given that Keselowki — who failed to win a race or make the playoffs in 2025 — took a notable step back in performance versus 2024, it’s hard to imagine him continuing on beyond 2026 unless he starts trending in a positive direction.
Keselowski also seems very committed to doing whatever’s best for RFK Racing as a whole. That might mean bringing in some new blood to be his replacement as driver of the No. 6 Ford at the end of 2026.
