“It Is a Myth”: When Denny Hamlin Debunked False Notion About iRacing Involvement

Back in the day when everyone was quarantined at home while the world battled COVID-19, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin opened up about how he kept his racing itch alive.

On that note, he debunked a myth about himself. While talking to journalist Lindsay Czarniak in an episode of NASCAR Race Hub, the 23XI Racing owner revealed that he was Sim Racing to keep up with the speed.

But while doing so, he said that he had not been iRacing for a long time. Denny Hamlin then panned the camera at his room where his computer and his entire gaming set-up stood as Czarniak watched on in awe.

Unlike others, who have probably run thousands of races, Denny Hamlin had run about 160 or 170 races. “One of the myths out there is that I’ve been an iRacer forever,” said Hamlin. “And it is a myth. I got on it for two months in 2016, then I got off up until a week and a half ago when we all started this iRacing.”

But it didn’t take someone as skilled as Denny Hamlin to find speed even in virtual racing. Hamlin admitted, “All of a sudden I got back on, I re-downloaded everything and just started running some laps and the speed came back to me.”

Denny Hamlin’s drivers helped Denny Hamlin find his iRacing momentum back

It’s his iRacing team that helped him find his speed back since he quit back in 2016. Denny Hamlin said that he started winning races only after his two iRacing drivers teamed up to give all the relevant information to their boss on how to make speed and how to not wear off the tires.

Hamlin said, “I have my iRacing team DHR. Keegan Leahy and Casey Kirwan are both my drivers and I went in and said, Hey we gotta do some testing so I’ve had data from them and learned how I could be faster and what do I need to do to keep my tires on the car for the long-run and had success in the first week.”

Denny Hamlin even joined the 2020 season with a strong lineup as a team owner in the NASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series. His team featured Hamlin, Casey Kirwan, and Keegan Leahy. Leveraging Denny Hamlin’s resources, the duo grabbed the checkered flag in the series several times.