Ignoring Father Time: Two 40-Year-Old NASCAR Superstars Continue to Thrive in 2026
Denny Hamlin and Justin Allgaier are trying to prove that just because you reach your 40s, it doesn’t mean you will start regressing. While most stars from the 2010s have since retired, these two have only gotten better into the mid-2020s. Allgaier and Hamlin sit first and second in the standings in their respective series and have not shown signs of slowing down. As the season reaches its halfway point, both the Cup Series and O’Reilly Series superstars are going to be contenders for the title.
Hamlin has been a force in the Cup Series over the past few weeks. The Virginia native is coming off back-to-back wins at Nashville and Michigan and a third-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600. He has an average finish of 8.3, his second-best average finish in the first half of a season in the 2020s. To top it off, the points leader and five-time winner in 2026, Tyler Reddick, drives for Hamlin and co-owner Michael Jordan’s team, 23XI Racing. Hamlin has been competing for a long-awaited championship for over a decade now. To put it in perspective, NASCAR legends Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson retired at the ages of 44 and 45. Hamlin, in his age-45 season, is a top contender for the championship.
Meanwhile, in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, the 40-year-old veteran Allgaier is the clear championship favorite. While he isn’t as old as Hamlin, Allgaier is currently dominating the series. The veteran driver leads second-place driver Jesse Love by 179 points and third-place driver Corey Day by 197 points. Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s star driver has four wins at Nashville, Phoenix, Martinsville, and Darlington. In the 16 races so far in the 2026 O’Reilly season, Allgaier has finished in the top-10 in all but three races. He has also made four starts in the Cup Series in 2026, most of which were driving the 48 Camaro for Hendrick Motorsports, filling in for Alex Bowman. The 2024 O’Reilly Series Champion is on pace to cruise to the chase and be the biggest contender for the 2026 championship.
Allgaier and Hamlin are examples that age is just a number in terms of on-track talent. While most drivers retire by their 40s, these two superstars are in their primes. Their careers have spanned three different car models and the rise of development through iRacing, and yet they’re still competing. This impressive stretch leads fans and experts to wonder: How long will the former O’Reilly series champion and the three-time Daytona 500 Champion be threats before finally settling down?
