Denny Hamlin, NASCAR’s unofficial smack talker, has built a reputation for being unabashedly opinionated. Hamlin was always candid, whether he was pushing for a change to the one-race-win championship formula or criticizing the administrative leadership of neglect. However, he mostly provides some fantastic suggestions on his podcast, ‘Actions Detrimental’.
Recently, NASCAR announced an in-season tournament for five Cup races. Fans were quick to call out the higher-ups for ignoring credit to Hamlin, as it was his idea, proposed a year ago. This signaled a further fueling of the Hamlin-NASCAR rivalry. However, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver recently claimed otherwise.
Denny Hamlin is all about letting go
Hamlin’s on-track rivalries have raked up a lot of interest over the past few years. Most prominently, his face-off with Kyle Larson in Pocono last year sparked off a tradition of booing the No. 11 driver. Denny Hamlin’s equation with Larson came to a head recently. The latter claimed he would not like to finish second to his rival, as he had already done so six times. However, Denny Hamlin brushed off hard feelings as he called it a “friendly rivalry”.
Similarly, as the Hamlin-NASCAR spat also seems to darken as per many, the JGR driver is here with an alternate view. On a recent episode of ‘NASCAR Live’ with Greg Stucker, Hamlin said he has a “great relationship” with the organization. He further expanded: “People think that there’s a budding rivalry between me and NASCAR. I think you’ll be very surprised how much me and executives in NASCAR talk, week in and week out about things that we can do, and how much we work together to grow the sport.”
Denny Hamlin is also well aware of his reputation as a smack talker. He went on to say that, while he has a brash side, he mostly gives sound advise for motorsport.
The decision-makers recognize the 54-time Cup winner’s essential experience. Hamlin continued, “I always conveyed the message, you know.
I am who I am, and 80% of the time, I’ll say things that will benefit our sport and help it flourish. But there will be 20% of the time when you just want to shut your ears and not hear anything.
They all agreed, however, that the 80% was worth it.” However, this is not the first time that Denny Hamlin has raised concerns of a growing spat with the executives.
When the Next Gen car was rolled out in 2022, a horde of problems spilled out as well. The driver safety issues were most significant, and Denny Hamlin himself had first-hand experience. He withdrew from a Darlington Xfinity race due to soreness. Besides him, former 23XI driver Kurt Busch suffered a head injury in a crash that crippled his future runs.
Hence Denny Hamlin stepped up with a bold reason for why the situation, blatantly uttering, “Bad leadership”. When the media asked him what the solution could be, he had promptly answered“,New leadership…I don’t know, just start at the top and work your way down.”
However, even amidst almost declaring war on the leaders, Hamlin clarified that he has no beef with NASCAR president Steve Phelps. “I don’t have any details on it, but I am great friends with Steve Phelps,” Hamlin had clarified at the time.
Hamlin toned down his aggressive stance. But his concerns were taken into consideration, and the Next Gen car improved in terms of safety. Evidently, the higher-ups accept Denny Hamlin’s invaluable insights in the sport.
Be the first to comment