After Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin is often seen as NASCAR’s resident ‘villain,’ a title he embraces rather than shies away from. But before he retorted to jeering fans or disregarded critical comments about his victories, Hamlin was quite reserved, or so he professed in a 2016 interview.
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During a conversation with Jeff Gluck for the ’12 Questions’ segment, Hamlin was queried about his perceived reputation within the NASCAR fanbase and community, and whether he felt those perceptions were accurate. He explained that there’s a disconnect between how his fellow drivers and fans perceive him.
He clarified, “My peers know me pretty well and so it’s fairly accurate. I think I’m respected among my peers. I’d say fans are a little more skewed because they only see you for a brief second.”
“They might see you as they’re yelling at you because you’re not stopping for an autograph, but what they don’t know is I’m rushing back to have lunch with my daughter. So they see it as, ‘Oh, you’re an ass.’ But that’s not true.”
He further admitted, “Yeah, I’m not that outgoing — but it’s not cockiness, it’s being an introvert.”
Even back then, Denny Hamlin was known for his forthright opinions, a trait evident in his interviews. However, since launching his podcast and running a racing team with Michael Jordan, his increased public visibility has made him more comfortable with speaking out.
What led to Hamlin taking on the villain arc and embracing it?
Hamlin’s transformation into the ‘villain’ of NASCAR didn’t happen overnight. It evolved through a series of events and his candid expressions on his podcast, ‘Actions Detrimental,’ launched with Dale Jr.’s Dirty Mo Media at the start of the 2023 season. The new platform allowed him to express his views more freely than ever before.
Besides that, his reputation for aggressive racing tactics — compromising competitors’ chances to clinch victories — has also fueled fan animosity.
For example, the controversy began to swell in 2017 at Martinsville when Hamlin knocked Chase Elliott out of the lead, sparking a backlash from fans. His notoriety grew with further incidents, including contentious encounters with Kyle Larson at Pocono and Kansas in 2023, where his maneuvers to win were seen as overly aggressive by many.
Following these incidents, Hamlin‘s responses did little to quell the uproar; he openly relished the boos at Pocono and provoked the crowd further by boasting at Bristol, “I beat your favorite driver — all of them.”
Hamlin’s strategy extends beyond the track. He often uses his words to unsettle or challenge the perspectives of fans and fellow competitors. This has led some to perceive him as insincere or underhanded, a stark contrast to the more reserved demeanor of drivers like Martin Truex Jr.
Whether projecting confidence or engaging in psychological games, Hamlin has embraced his role as the antagonist, a persona that continues to divide NASCAR fans.
