What should have been a joyous day in Pocono for Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin turned into a rather murky one. This was after the fans in the stands showered boos on Hamlin all the way despite a milestone 50th Cup victory for the #11 driver. With 7 laps to go Hamlin dove down the inside of Kyle Larson in order to gain the lead, forcing Larson into the outside wall, thereby ruining his race.
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Recently speaking about the controversy, NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared his thought on how Hamlin had surpassed Kyle Busch as the most booed driver in the sport. Earlier, Busch used to be the one being booed around the circuits despite winning, mostly because of his on and off-track demeanor and altercations.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. claims Denny Hamlin is the most booed driver in NASCAR
Speaking on the Dale Jr. Download, Earnhardt stated, “I can understand, both sides of it. I really think that put anybody else in Denny’s car. And he had the same outrage. I mean, he already had a lot of people pretty upset at him over this year, right? Some of the things he’s been involved in on and off track have soured a lot of things, right?”
“You go to the racetrack… But when you go there and he’s introduced, he’s likely the most booed driver… It used to be Kyle Busch but now, it ain’t even close. And so, he didn’t help himself there. The fans were adamant. Now I look down and I’m in the booth and I’m looking down and there’s some fans cheering. There’s some 11 flags and shirts and they got their arm and air, but it was like 80:20.”
As the checkered flag dropped and Hamlin crossed the line, only the sound of boos could be heard coming from the stands. Particularly on Sunday, it was his controversial move for the lead on Kyle Larson that might have irked the Pocono crowd.
Denny Hamlin scores his 7th Pocono win and gets into elite NASCAR list
Hamlin’s 7th win at Pocono also marked an impressive 50th career Cup win, putting him in an elite list of drivers to do so. There have only been 15 drivers with 50 or more wins in Cup Series history, with Hamlin being one of them now. What is missing from his trophy cabinet is the biggest prize of all – a Championship.
Despite all of the chatter about this win, Hamlin is now third in the regular season championship. As we head into the playoffs later into the season, Hamlin will be likely to make more news as he makes the lunge for his first-ever championship.
