If there’s one thing Denny Hamlin is known for it is his combative nature. The Joe Gibbs Racing superstar has found himself in the crosshairs of many fellow drivers including Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and most recently, Ross Chastain. Despite the enemies that he has made on the track, there’s one driver the JGR driver believes is a genuinely nice person and that’s the 2024 Daytona 500 winner William Byron.
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Talking about the 26-year-old on the latest episode of Actions Detrimental, Hamlin narrated how he was asked which of his fellow drivers would he like to have date his sister (hypothetically). He gave the honor to Byron and reasoned, “I deem him the most harmless which is also why I deem him the best babysitter for my kids. Cuz, you know, ‘Hey play Legos.”
Byron’s affinity for Legos came to light largely after the release of Netflix’s Full Speed. The driver connects with them in his downtime and believes that the building blocks suit his personality and are very analytical. However, for Hamlin, they appear to be a hobby that could connect the youngster with his children.
Denny Hamlin heaps praise on William Byron for being a fair driver on the track
Hamlin continued, on a more serious note, “I think of him a lot like Jimmy Johnson in the sense that he just gets results. He gets a lot of results and he’s not super flashy about it. He’s a really good person outside the race cars. In the race car, he always races fair with everyone. I mean have we ever heard William Byron getting into or wrecking someone?”
Answering the question, podcast co-host Jared Allen reminded Hamlin of the time they had to bring Byron to Actions Detrimental to resolve a situation that the duo had encountered in Texas. Byron had spun Hamlin while under caution in the 2022 Autotrader 500 and was fined $50,000 for it.
Hamlin responded, “We hashed it out, Jared. I put it in the past. I moved on. We moved on from it. We talked it out, we moved on. It’s not my job to bring up something that we hashed out. So we’re good on that. I upset him clearly at that moment.” Clarifying the issue, he went on to reiterate that Byron doesn’t wreck anybody on purpose and that he had tremendous respect for him as a driver.
Hamlin’s words ought to provide a lot of confidence to Ryan Blaney, whose sister, Erin, is currently dating William Byron.
