I became a NASCAR fan this season, and when you become a fan you choose a favorite driver.
Naturally, I chose the most hated driver in the entire sport, Denny Hamlin.
Denny drives the 11 car for Joe Gibbs Racing, which is manufactured by Toyota. He’s driven the 11 car for JGR since his rookie season in 2006. In his 18 year Cup Series career he’s achieved nothing short of greatness.
At 43 years old, Hamlin has 54 career Cup Series wins, the 12th most in NASCAR history and second most among active drivers. Along with that, he hasn’t missed the playoffs in any season in which he’s competed fulltime.
You would figure such a successful veteran would be a loved fan favorite, but it’s quite the opposite. No one receives a bigger boo from the crowd or cheer when they crash than Denny Hamlin.
Why is that? It’s because he goes against the grain. No matter the race or position he’s in, he’s going to do everything he can to win and it shows through his aggressive driving style.
He’ll give people the bumper, bang doors or drive cars up the track if that’s the path to victory lane. It’s not like his style is uncommon in racing, but the way he races some of his competitors is.
He’s been involved in contact and hard racing with countless Cup Series competitors, but his racing against the two most popular drivers Chase Elliott, driver of the nine car, and Kyle Larson, driver of the five car, is why he’s hated.
The two drive for Hendrick Motorsports, which is NASCAR royalty and their manufacturer is Chevrolet, making them the ultimate fan favorite. On multiple occasions, driving hard for the win Denny has either used them up for track position and even wrecked them.
It’s not one-sided, though, as both of them have either started a feud or retaliated against Denny, but what I love about him is he doesn’t back down. Rather he is willing to go to the next level and take competition as far as he needs to for the win.
He could’ve easily rolled over to maintain the favor of the fans, but he’s stayed true to his competitive nature and doubled down on his racing style.
Denny doesn’t shy away, but instead he’ll speak his mind to the media and let drivers know how he feels.
Now, everywhere he goes he’s booed and rooted against and cheered when he crashes. He is the butt of NASCAR’s biggest joke, “Denny Hamlin hasn’t won a championship and never will.”
Every sport has a villain, a charismatic athlete that people unite to cheer against. Hamlin embraces that role gladly by unregretfully being himself.
He wins in spite and lets the booing fans know it, saying “I beat your favorite driver.” His competitiveness is toxic to the point where nothing is really his fault and he so convincingly sells it, and it works.
He’s secured wins in 17 out of 18 years since his rookie season, even winning eight times in a season and since 2019, he hasn’t finished outside the top five in the final standings.
The success he earns by being himself isn’t limited to his driving efforts though. He is the co-owner of race team “23XI” with Michael Jordan, which is represented by the 45 and 23 cars in the Cup Series.
His competitive drive remains the same as an owner as he has championship aspirations for his company, but when racing his cars on the track he’s still there to win.
He also contributes to the sport through his podcast “Actions Detrimental,” but his character remains the same as his outspokenness on the platform has cost him fines and penalties before.
Denny Hamlin will forever be deeply invested in racing and he’s not going to change the way he approaches it. Maybe he’ll never win a championship, but he’s already a NASCAR legend with 54 wins and counting.
Love him or hate him, it’s true. He beats your favorite driver and I’m going to cheerfully watch him continue to do it.