Love him or hate him, Denny Hamlin is in NASCAR Cup Series playoff contention — again
Denny Hamlin has never felt his car was faster.
Whether he’s racing at a short track or a road course, Hamlin finds himself routinely driving down pit road looking to break even or gain points.
Since his late wreck at Darlington that dropped him to 25th in the first NASCAR Cup Series playoff race, no driver has been better than Hamlin. He finished second at Kansas, won at Bristol, took fifth at Texas and then came in third at Talladega.
Hamlin enters Sunday’s Charlotte Roval 50 points above the elimination line, in third place in the Cup Series playoff standings, only behind round of 12 winners William Byron and Ryan Blaney. Nearly 30 points separate Hamlin from the rest of the playoff drivers who haven’t won a race this round.
Hamlin, the veteran driver who co-owns 23XI Racing with Michael Jordan, hasn’t been shy about his confidence. Whether it’s responding to fans on X, formerly known as Twitter, or sounding off on his podcast, Actions Detrimental, Hamlin has become the subject of boos — and some cheers — whenever his name is announced at a track.
“I’ve made my living, I’ve started a team, all those things that lead into the confidence that you have to just be yourself and not worry about repercussions,” Hamlin told reporters Thursday on a video call. “That doesn’t mean that you just need to throw caution to the wind, but also, it’s OK to let your personality come out.”
After Hamlin’s last win, his NBC Sports post-race interview was overshadowed by thunderous boos from the estimated 100,000-plus at Bristol Motor Speedway. Hamlin, 42, fed into it, turning toward the crowd and ending his interview by telling them he “beat your favorite driver.”
He addressed his reaction to those unhappy fans on his Sept. 18 edition of “Actions Detrimental” podcast.
“This just goes right into my wheelhouse. I don’t think people know that I love banter. I love talking s–t. I do,” Hamlin said. “And now I’m just running well enough where I can back it up.
“I’m feeding off of it because I’m proving so many people wrong. All I want to do at this point is, if you root against me, I just want to make these next few weeks a living hell for you. I really do. I want to live in the misery of you watching us run well.
“Am I feeding into the villain stuff? Absolutely. 100 percent. Because I’ve got some confidence, our team is running well.”
Thinking about this year, specifically, he feels he has no reason not to be confident. He said Thursday there are always ebbs and flows, but the consistency with which his team continues running at varying tracks has made him believe that he “likes [his] chances” against any other driver in any race.
“This is from the bottom of my heart, truth: I’m not trying to get more fans, but I love the back and forth,” Hamlin added on that “Actions Detrimental” episode. “Anyone that plays in my basketball league or my golf league, I love talking s–t to people. I just do. It’s fun for me, and to me there’s a mental aspect that I’m just motivating myself by doing it.”
This story was originally published October 6, 2023 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Love him or hate him, Denny Hamlin is in NASCAR Cup Series playoff contention — again."