Do NASCAR fans like Denny Hamlin? The JGR driver gives his take

NASCAR fans love to hate Denny Hamlin. However, the truth is that they also love talking about him, thus making him one of the most popular drivers in the NASCAR arena. In a recent episode of The Teardown, hosted by Jeff Gluck of The Athletic, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver explained that although the fans aren't fond of Hamlin as a driver, they do like him as a podcaster.

Besides being a stock car driver and the owner of a two-car NASCAR Cup Series team called 23XI Racing, Hamlin is the host of Actions Detrimental, a podcast on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Dirty Mo Media. The show is co-hosted by Hamlin's longtime friend and NASCAR insider, Jared Allen.

Gluck was curious if anyone had ever connected more with Hamlin after listening to the latter's podcast.

"Fans have definitely spoken and comments and things like that inside of our podcast world," replied Denny Hamlin. "They (have) spoken at the racetrack. They don't like me on the racetrack, they like me off the racetrack."

"They like that I'm able to use my platform to give my opinions on hot takes or whatever it might be for that week or controversies or someone going out and hitting a walk-off grand slam like Chase Briscoe did this week. That's all I wanted to do... you know, give some more content to the sport, get people talking about it.... stir up some different things that would start conversations and get people talking," he added.

Denny Hamlin is the winningest driver in NASCAR without a championship. To this day, the Tampa native has amassed 54 wins in the Cup Series, including victories in prestigious crown jewel races like the Coca-Cola 600, the Southern 500, and the Daytona 500. His most recent triumph came in the Würth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway in April 2024.

---

Kevin Harvick expresses concerns about Denny Hamlin's championship chase

Denny Hamlin has been close to winning the championship title on several occasions. However, every time, the title has seemed to elude the 43-year-old speedster. The closest he has been to bagging the Championship title was back in 2010 when he finished second behind Jimmie Johnson, who won his fifth consecutive title that year.

Denny Hamlin won three of the first 11 races of the 2024 season as he eyed his first Cup Series Championship. Despite starting off as a strong playoff contender, Hamlin has not been able to win a single race over the summer. Following his P24 and P23 placings at Atlanta and Watkins Glen, respectively, Hamlin sits six points below the elimination line.

Speaking of Hamlin's 2024 playoff journey in a recent episode of the Happy Hour Podcast, Kevin Harvick, a former Cup Series champion, said:

"He's got a lot of things that he can handle well off the racetrack. And still get in the car and perform. But he's never gotten to the point of being able to handle it well and win a championship. That's the part I really thought was gonna be different this year. But when we went to the very first freaking (playoff) race, we're right back into questioning that."

"And as much as we can talk about the performance and how great the team is, the very first decision that was made in the playoffs opens that question back up," Harvick explained. "We're gonna find out how strong they are right now. I expect them to go to Bristol and to be able to perform."

Denny Hamlin is a four-time winner at Bristol Motor Speedway and has led 1,199 laps in 34 starts at the short-track oval in Tennessee. Will Hamlin be able to win his way to the next round? More importantly, will he win his first-ever Cup Series Championship this year? One can only speculate for now.