Is This the End of the #11 FedEx Toyota?

By: Tom Luttermoser Image via Joe Gibbs Racing Twitter

Think back to 2005 & Jason Leffler. You think FedEx. That white, purple and orange Chevrolet and the start of one of the longest remaining partnerships in NASCAR. FedEx began their first mutli-year deal with Joe Gibbs Racing. That season went horribly for the #11 FedEx Chevrolet and by the 21st race of the season, Leffler was out and both J.J. Yeley and Terry Labonte would fill in netting the car only a single Top-10 in 26 races. That is until Kansas, where a young rookie would get his first ever Cup Series start. A young driver named Denny Hamlin would finish 32nd followed by 3 Top-10 finishes in his first 7 starts in that very same car.

The following year, that same rookie would win his first ever full time Cup start in that same car at the Bud Shootout followed by sweeping the races at Pocono and it has been smooth sailing in a partnership that Denny would later refer to as "A blessing." Now, almost 20 years later, that partnership has seen only an absolute minimum of variation as we've seen FedEx as the primary sponsor of the #11 and 3x Daytona 500 Champion Denny Hamlin for all but a handful of events.

We have however, seen that partnership shrink a couple races a year in the last couple of seasons. With estimated liabilities in the $12 million a year range way back in 2005, and we can only estimate that pledge at over $20 million at this point. NASCAR is becoming more and more expensive despite driver salaries shrinking and the new "less expensive" Next gen car.

But with the multi-year deal penned in 2019 between JGR and FedEx expiring along with the driver contract for Denny himself, we assumed that FedEx may once again shrink it support of the 11 team though we would not have speculated what has happened as of late.

FedEx announced Tuesday that it would cut $1 Billion more in costs in 2023adding up to $3.7 Billion in cost savings for the fiscal year. That's likely not good news for Hamlin fans. That savings has to come from somewhere, now I'm not a logistics manager, but I would assume that a chunk of that would have to come from advertisement (sponsorship).

"FedEx said Tuesday that its quarterly earnings and sales fell from a year ago and warned of ongoing weakened demand, but said its 'aggressive' cost-cutting measured were softening the blow." - CNBC

We all expected Gordon to retire along with Dupont or Axalta, Johnson with Lowe's or Busch with Mars Candy. But we have seen each of these staples of the sport all but vanish from the racetracks, save for a few vintage hats or T-shirts. So, with the news out of FedEx and the upcoming contract ending... As much as it absolutely pains me to say, we will likely see the exit of yet another iconic sponsor in the sport.