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Denny Hamlin reacted to the driver graphics FOX Sports used throughout the 2024 season's broadcast, mentioning that he had to 'live' with a buzz cut for the entire year. However, he grew another "major beef" with the network after they failed to change it this year as well.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver faced tough luck last season as he failed to win the Cup Series championship despite clinching victories in 3 races. He continued to remain competitive for most part of the season, but was just out of reach for the championship battle.
Although the season's result might have been a little tough for the #11 Toyota driver, there was yet another issue he faced. Speaking on the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, Denny Hamlin mentioned how a little incident before production picture day left him with a buzz cut and that graphic was used for the entire year.
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However, he thought that leading into the 2025 season, it would get better as the broadcasters would use a new graphic; but they didn't. Hamlin claimed that "they" (FOX) didn't change the graphic.
"I have one major beef with FOX," he said (34:15 onwards). "I was so excited to go to the production day this year because I was finally going to lose the buzz cut because whatever you look like on January 15th is what you look like for the entire year, right? And so, when I had that little clipper mishap last year, I had to live with a buzz cut the entire year. They haven’t changed it! They haven't changed it."
"Give me my hair back, FOX!" Hamlin exclaimed.
Denny Hamlin reflects on the pre-season Clash at the Bowman Gray
The NASCAR Cup Series restarted after a brief hiatus, returning to the Bowman Gray Stadium for the first time since 1971 for the Cook Out Clash. The pre-season event witnessed adrenaline-filled racing as drivers went all out on the quarter-mile "Madhouse" track.
Opining up on the race and the track, which was renovated recently, Denny Hamlin mentioned:
"They took a facility here that's been around for a long time and made it feel like a brand new one."
"The fans obviously were very, very excited to see us. They were enthusiastic. We feed into that. It felt like a big event even though it's not a points-paying event or anything like that," he added.
Denny Hamlin started the Clash from the second row in third place. Despite losing his place at the start of the race, he battled well throughout the 200 laps at the Bowman Gray. He pulled the #11 back into third place at the end of the race as Chase Elliott claimed victory. The two were split by the #12 of Ryan Blaney.
