Denny Hamlin proved on Sunday that age is the last thing holding him back from winning races. He recorded his sixth victory at the Martinsville Speedway and his 55th victory in his overall career. However, there was one thing that he did after reaching victory lane that some don’t approve of. The retired icon Kevin Harvick is among them and he criticized Hamlin for the same on Harvick Happy Hour.
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What the driver did was wave a flag that read, “11 against the world.” It was a subtle nod to the Ohio State football team, but also a way to stir up some trouble of his own accord.
A section of fans surrounding him at Martinsville cheered loudly for the action. However, Harvick clearly wasn’t pleased. He said, “I wish he would have just stayed out of the car right there and not pulled that flag out.”
“Everybody was cheering, and Denny was in a great spot, and then he pulled the flag out, and I don’t know if it was all cheers because right now, I think everybody is learning a lot about Denny Hamlin.”
“I think he takes a lot of flak for a lot of the things that he says on his podcast, taunting the fans and all of the things that come with this.” It was valid reasoning from Harvick’s point of view.
But what he failed to consider was that fans actually loved the flag. With his words trending on X, they jumped below the post and defended Hamlin.
One comment read, “The problem with the flag is that the average fan doesn’t know the backstory that started with Ohio St last season with Denny and his buddies giving Ohio St a flag after the national championship so a fan made one for Denny and gave it to him pre-race Sunday.”
Turns out, there was more to Hamlin’s flag than just the need to flaunt himself. Another comment said, “I seen nothing wrong with the flag. I didn’t understand it at first, but when he explained a fan made it for him after what he did with Ohio State last year it made sense.”
One more added, “I didn’t know it was such a harm, a fan gave him the flag he practically made their day and much more.”
The common thought was that Hamlin could find motivation in any way he thought fit. A fan pointed this out particularly and wrote, “Even if you don’t know the backstory behind the flag, what is wrong with drivers finding motivation in unique ways? Athletes self-motivate in plenty of ways..including making their own beef. Hell, @dennyhamlin’s co-owner knows a thing or two about that. Let the man be.”
Harvick must not have expected such a big army to back a driver who is known for picking trouble with fans. Hamlin himself said on Actions Detrimental that the cheers were a lot louder than the boos around him. At 44, he still gives sleepless nights to his haters.
