Denny Hamlin Disputes Jeff Gordon’s Divisive NASCAR Take: “Don’t Think That’ll Happen”

Historically, in a sport like NASCAR, it has been the drivers that the fans have often resonated with. They are the ones who bring forth the attention toward the teams in most cases. It is the exploits of the racers with their on and off-track actions that make them fan favorites and memorable for generations to come.

A little while ago former NASCAR driver and a significantly popular icon in the American stock car racing universe, Jeff Gordon made claims that teams must focus on investing in themselves as a team rather than focusing all attention on building the star power of their drivers. Although, he did mention that star power has been the primary thing that drives the sport.

Denny Hamlin does not agree with Jeff Gordon’s take

In a press conference before the Homestead Miami race, Hamlin was asked about Jeff Gordon’s previous comments at a racers forum. Hamlin subsequently responded, “If he’s wanting fans to resonate with the teams more than the drivers, good luck I don’t think that’ll happen. Our fans really latch onto a driver, it’s always been that way.”

“There’ll generally be fans of the bigger teams, but there’s not that many there and it’s just different. It’ll be tough to make that happen and what campaign to do so, I’m not sure. The drivers are the stars and that’s where our fans resonate to,” the JGR driver concluded.

Hamlin isn’t really wrong, since that is how it has been in NASCAR historically. While a handful of big-name teams have enjoyed their fair share of popularity, at the end of the day it was the popularity and success of the drivers within them that aided with their prominence.

What was Jeff Gordon’s take about?

Gordon was pretty clear about his stance, suggesting that while star power was the norm, they would have to make it a responsibility to invest in the branding of their own teams to protect them in the future. He cited examples of himself, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. and how things changed for the team’s popularity after they departed the sport.

While both Gordon and the people opposing him have understandable and feasible points, there are certain things that would not work if a team were to solely focus on diverting their investments towards themselves rather than marketing their drivers.

Yes, there is always the chance of a driver retiring or jumping ship, like in the case of Tyler Reddick with his move from RCR to 23XI Racing. But at the end of the day in a sport where driver stardom is the driving force, investing in just the teams would never be a logical option.