“It Was an Outlet”: Denny Hamlin on the Benefits of a Podcast vs. Traditional Media

There’s no denying that Actions Detrimental, the podcast of Denny Hamlin, has been a big hit in its first season. Because it is a show where a current driver gives his thoughts on the races, the events, and everything NASCAR in full detail and as unfiltered as he can do it. However, it’s worth wondering just what is it about the platform of a podcast that separates and perhaps elevates it from the platform of traditional media.

This was what Hamlin recently described in a conversation with Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Speaking to Junior on a recent episode of his podcast show, Hamlin claimed the podcast is an opportunity to say things he could not talk about to the media. “As soon as the race is over, they’re chasing me down the pit lane before I hop on a golf cart and go home. So it was an outlet,” he said.

“What I liked about it was, what you told me, it was going to be you’ve got more time to process your thoughts, you’ve got more time to expand upon a subject that you’re speaking on, so that way it doesn’t get cut where in the media they grab on to a sentence and make a headline out of it and next thing you know, it looks negative but actually, how many fans don’t even click on the article.”

Hamlin claimed fans would earlier look at a headline and a picture and come up with a narrative. “It really allowed me to expand on my thoughts on certain subjects,” he added.

“I really liked that.”

Was Denny Hamlin saving his opinions for the podcast vs. the media?

After Hamlin described his thoughts on the platform of the podcast, Earnhardt asked him whether, over the last season, he found himself saving his thoughts for his forthcoming podcast episode instead of opening up to the media on the weekend, to which Hamlin agreed.

“You told me that it was coming. You said, ‘You’ll notice Denny, you’re gonna start saving a little bit for the show. You’re not gonna just spill it all out there during the 20 minutes of your media availibility on Saturday.’ A lot of it allowed me time to think about it,” Hamlin said.

He added how during his usual media availability sessions, there’s no one who is countering or challenging his takes whereas on his podcast, there’s his co-host and his producer who can make him question and stir up his mental thoughts.