Throughout history, there have been drivers who have either been praised and adored by the fans or absolutely hated and booed for their very presence on and off the race track. Looking back a couple of years, the prime antagonist in the NASCAR Cup Series scene was Kyle Busch. There have been countless instances where his reactions would garner a negative reaction from the attending crowds.
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However, in recent times, that particular role seems to have been taken away by his former teammate, Denny Hamlin. Recently, in a 1-on-1 on a NASCAR video, Busch’s wife Samantha explained how the narrative had shifted from her husband and onto Hamlin instead.
Samantha Busch hints Denny is the new chief antagonist instead of her husband
During the video, the interviewer discussed how in the last couple of races it was Denny Hamlin who received the lion’s share of boos on the race track and not Busch.
Subsequently, Samantha mentioned, “It’s funny because Brexton and I also been in the cars and there will be boos. So I may as well look at the screen thinking it’s dad and then we are like, ‘Oh it’s like Denny. It’s not us.’ So it’s exciting to see.”
The recent years, especially this season have seen several instances where Hamlin has been subjected to the dismay of the fans attending the races. The jeers have grown louder particularly after Hamlin ran Kyle Larson up the wall at Pocono Raceway.
Thereafter, several Larson fans were left upset with the JGR driver’s actions and his refusal to properly apologize made matters worse over the social media criticism.
Denny Hamlin is not bothered by the constant criticism
Meanwhile, Hamlin does not seem to be bothered by the constant hate and criticism he has been receiving from the fans of the sport.
He spoke about this during one of his recent podcast episodes as well, where he mentioned, “I’m feeding off it because I am proving so many people wrong…”
“I just want to make these next seven weeks a living hell for you… I want to live in the misery of you (his haters) watching us run well.”
At this point, one can assume that Hamlin has embraced the villain arc and is not at all bothered by the hate he has been receiving. Well, as long as this helps the championship contender to get that elusive Cup Series title at Phoenix this year, it’s all good for the JGR driver.
