Denny Hamlin highlights stark mood swing during Ohio State game

NASCAR Cup Series regular Denny Hamlin showed up for yesterday’s game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Texas Longhorns at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It was a roller coaster ride for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver as his favorite team out of Ohio emerged victorious and made the College Football Playoff national championship game.

Hamlin recently took to Instagram and posted two photos of himself directly from the grandstands, wearing an Ohio State jersey; one from the first half of the game and the other from the second. But his facial expressions were visibly different in the two pictures.

Reflecting on this, Hamlin wrote,

“First half vs second half.”

The Buckeyes will be vying for their first national championship since 2014. Next up is their game against Notre Dame, scheduled for January 20.

Interestingly, what the Buckeyes seek now is the same as what Hamlin does in the NASCAR Cup Series- a titular win. To this day, Hamlin has won 54 races, including crown jewel events like the Coca-Cola 600 (2022), the Daytona 500 (2016, 2019, 2020) and the Southern 500 (2010, 2017, 2021). But he is yet to win his first Cup Series championship.

Nevertheless, a new year means a new start. Paired with new crew chief Chris Gayle, Hamlin will return behind the wheel of the No. 11 Toyota Camry this season, aiming for the ultimate honor. 2025 will mark his 20th year with Joe Gibbs Racing.

Hamlin’s first race of the year will be held on February 2 at Bowman Gray Stadium. Although not a point-paying race, it will mark the return of the Cup Series to the historic racetrack in Winston-Salem for the first time since 1971.

Fans can watch Hamlin in action from 8 pm ET onwards only on FOX. Radio updates will be available on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Denny Hamlin reacts to NASCAR revisiting its rules for 2025

Last Wednesday, NASCAR announced quite a few changes to its rule book. For starters, the competition officials said that in 2025 and beyond, if a driver fails to show up for a regular season race due to non-medical reasons, they can claim a playoff waiver but in exchange for their points reset to a maximum of 2000.

NASCAR also tweaked its Damaged Vehicle Policy (DVP) saying that from now on, if a car wrecks during a race, the team will be allowed to tow it back to the garage for repairs. Previously, such cars used to be ejected outright.

Whether Denny Hamlin likes these changes is unclear. He had just two words to say following the rule changes.

“Lol. Wow,” Denny Hamlin tweeted.

NASCAR also introduced a new “Open Exemption Provisional”, that will allow a 41st car to run in events that already have 40 confirmed entries. Under the Open Exemption Provisional, four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves will make his NASCAR debut in the 2025 Daytona 500 for Trackhouse Racing.

Hamlin, too, will compete alongside Castroneves in the 67th running of the crown jewel event. The famed 500-miler is scheduled for February 16 and will air on FOX from 2:30 pm ET onwards.