"Got more personal than it should have" - Denny Hamlin calls truce with Speedway Motorsports CEO after heated online spat

Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin and Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith have buried the hatchet hours after their heated altercation.

Hamlin, a veteran NASCAR driver and 53-time Cup Series race winner, was entangled in a staunch argument mere days after his Richmond Cup race victory. The 43-year-old took to his X (formerly Twitter) handle to point out the broken-apart Sonoma Raceway which had undergone a replacement just over a month ago.

His choice of words prompted a response from Marcus Smith, the chief executive officer of Speedway Motorsports Inc., which owns and operates 11 racetracks in the USA, including Sonoma Raceway.

Hours after taking personal jibes at each other, the duo waved the white flag. Extending the olive branch, Smith first wrote on his X account:

"Following up on my previous posts, I take a lot of pride in the dedication and hard work our teammates put forth to make @NASCAR the very best it can be and I shouldn’t let social media conversations get personal, so I deleted those posts."

"@dennyhamlin is a passionate driver and team owner and I’m truly looking forward to seeing him drive for a championship this year. Our team is working hard to fix some pavement issues @racesonoma and we will get it right. Let’s keep the positive momentum going in 2024!" he added.

Denny Hamlin then took responsibility for the personal turn the argument had taken and said:

"I'll cosign this. I’ll definitely take responsibility for my part in it. It got more personal than it should have for sure."

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A look into the words exchanged between Denny Hamlin and Marcus Smith earlier

The spat broke out between the duo after it was announced by American racing series SRO America that their season-opening Fanatec GT World Challenge America, scheduled for earlier in the week, was postponed. The event, set to take place at Sonoma Raceway, was postponed after its surface broke apart during a pre-season test.

Upon the revelation, Hamlin took to his X handle, where he questioned the finances involved in the repaving process and predicted a similar outcome for the recently repaved North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Responding to Hamlin's accusations, Marcus Smith discussed the Joe Gibbs Racing driver's alleged ignorance and aimed at his lack of silverware.

"This is a great post from somebody who doesn't know all the information. Your negative comments would have a lot more weight if you had a championship to back then up," Smith wrote.

Denny Hamlin then accused Smith of mismanaging the legacy handed down by his father, racing mogul Bruton Smith. He said:

"Let someone else run your business before you blow everything your dad gave you!"

With his spat with the Speedway Motorsports CEO now in the past, Denny Hamlin would look forward to continuing his pursuit of his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series championship.

The No. 11 Toyota driver has two wins and 252 points in the ongoing campaign after seven races.