“A racing villain not a people villain”: Fans react as Denny Hamlin wins hearts at WWT Raceway

Denny Hamlin signed as many autographs and took as many photographs as possible with fans as he arrived for the practice and qualifying sessions at the World Wide Technology Raceway on Saturday. With that, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver won the hearts of many.

Hamlin is a 54-time Cup Series winner with multiple victories in the Southern 500, the famed Daytona 500, and a win in the Coca-Cola 600. He has won seven times at Pocono Raceway and currently looks forward to adding a NASCAR Cup Series championship to his resume.

A fan uploaded a video of Hamlin on his way to his car and wrote:

"@DennyHamlin made it a point to sign as many autographs and take as many pictures with fans as possible on the way to his car for practice. Think what you want, Denny is man of the people."

Several fans reacted to this with one suggesting that Hamlin, although a racing villain, is actually a "cool guy".

"I think Denny is a racing villain but not a people villain. He gets me so angry when racing but off the track I think he’s a cool guy," said the fan.

Recalling a previous encounter with the Joe Gibbs Racing icon, another fan wrote:

Met him at Martinsville while he was filming a video with @barstoolsports/@rubbinisracing, went out of his way to call me over since I was wearing a 23XI hoodie, super super cool guy"

Here are a few other comments about how Denny Hamlin is outside of the racetrack:

"Did the same thing a couple years ago before the playoff Texas race. Undeniably a humble and down to earth athlete," wrote a fan.

Considering Hamlin as the next Joe Gibbs or the next Rick Hendrick, a fan said:

"Denny is becoming a NASCAR mogul. He has a plan and it’s working. He’ll be a 60+ win owner when he retires and will likely become the next Hendrick or Gibbs. A championship would be awesome but doesn’t take away from his vision and mission."

"With each passing day I become more and more of a fan. Appreciate it while he’s still here folks," added another.

A fan suggested that Hamlin loved playing the role of the "bad guy" and wrote:

"Great guy. Loves playing the "bad guy" role. So did D.W"

Hamlin is currently atop the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series standings with 492 points, five points ahead of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Martin Truex Jr.

Denny Hamlin reacts to Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s $75,000 fine

A couple of weeks ago, NASCAR fined JTG Daugherty Racing driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. a hefty $75,000 for initiating a fight with Kyle Busch near the number 8 Richard Childress Racing hauler. Besides that, two crew members and Stenhouse Jr.'s father were suspended from multiple races.

NASCAR posted a video of the altercation on its official X page, which garnered over three million views.

Denny Hamlin wasn't surprised at NASCAR fining someone whose actions drew eyeballs toward the sport. In an interview with FOX Sports, the 23XI Racing co-owner said:

"There's certainly been things that they quietly like to root for, but publicly, they have to do something different because they don't want it to get out of hand. With that dollar fine, you are going to have people think, 'I don't want that' so you might not get what you probably are hoping for."

Hamlin has won races at Bristol, Richmond, and Dover Motor Speedway this year and is therefore qualified for the playoffs. He now eyes his 60th career win. Hamlin will start sixth in Sunday's (June 2) Enjoy Illinois 300 on the World Wide Technology Raceway.