Denny Hamlin keeps winning despite new role as NASCAR’s most polarizing driver
Denny Hamlin was booed in celebration again.
The Joe Gibbs Racing superstar, a driver whose 52 wins in the Cup Series rank as the 13th most in NASCAR history, heard another heaping of disapproval and contempt when he climbed from his No. 11 Toyota at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday. Victor and villain. Hamlin stopped short of egging the hostile crowd on this time, though. After winning his second consecutive victory at the famed short track — his fourth overall inside the concrete coliseum — Hamlin skipped his catchphrase “I just beat your favorite driver” and simply flashed his index finger in every direction to remind everyone who finished No. 1.
Surely some of his detractors responded with a different finger.
It’s become the surreal norm for Hamlin and shows no signs of quieting even as he continues to rise NASCAR’s all-time win chart. Hamlin has Hall of Famers Lee Petty (54) and Rusty Wallace (55) within reach this season and has closed the gap on Kyle Busch (63) for the most wins by an active driver.
He may already have surpassed Busch as the most hated driver in the garage.
“I don’t mind it. I really don’t because it’s just noise,” Hamlin said before the race. “There were many moments mid-career where there was just claps; that’s just not a needle mover one way or the other. A lot of it comes with success as well. If you are a contender each and every week, you are going to get more noise typically.”
The “noise” seems to be getting louder, and Hamlin knows why. He’s had altercations with two of NASCAR’s most popular drivers, the first coming in 2017 with Chase Elliott and the latest coming last year with Kyle Larson.
Hamlin first drew a
strong negative reaction seven years ago at his hometown track in Martinsville, Virgina, after he wrecked Elliott in a playoff race. It knocked Elliott out of contention for the championship the following week.
Hamlin seemed to reignite those memories last
May when he publicly and loudly called for Elliott to be suspended after Elliott intentionally wrecked him in the Coca-Cola 600. NASCAR did, and fans blamed Hamlin even though the punishment was in line with similar altercations.