“I have more fans than ever”: Denny Hamlin elaborates on how his podcast allows him to build his brand image

One of the hottest stories from the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season was Denny Hamlin’s evolution into NASCAR’s villain. With the offseason upon us, Hamlin has openly discussed his perspective on the reasons behind people's hate towards him.

In the Dirt Mo Media, Denny Hamlin reflected on his increased visibility and the polarizing nature of his opinions within the NASCAR world. He acknowledges that while he has garnered a larger fanbase, there is also a segment of fans who strongly oppose him, making their dissent more noticeable.

Denny Hamlin said that the uproar and noise, particularly towards the end of the 2023 season, led to his outspoken nature and the platform he had to express his opinions. Despite the increased volume of detractors, he sees this as part of the process of building a brand and expanding his fan base.

Denny Hamlin said.

“I have this. I have this platform to give my opinion, and I think that a lot of the fan uproar towards the end of the year. A lot of it was because I am opinionated. I do believe that I have more fans than I've ever had by far. It's not close.”

“However, the counter Denny Hamlin fans, the ones that don't like me at all, are louder than they've ever been. So it's just been more noise. But I do believe that it did what we hoped, and that was build a platform, build a fan base, build a brand, and see where this thing goes,”

The 43-year-old has been booed at nearly every track he competes in 2023 NASCAR season due to his outspokenness.

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“They were 700 or 800 horsepower versus right now is no different” – Denny Hamlin on Phoenix test outcome

During an appearance on Dale Jr. Download podcast, the 23XI Racing driver expressed his views about the outcome of the recent test at Phoenix Raceway and reproached the governing body’s stubborn stance on horsepower.

Hamlin said:

“Everything but horsepower. They just refuse, they will not do it. I can tell as a team owner, our engine bills when they were 700 or 800 horsepower versus right now is no different. So I don't understand why going back and taking a 50-cent piece of aluminum, that is a tapered spacer, and opening that thing back to 750.”

“I can't make sense of why we're not doing it. Because the engine builders, Doug Yates came on says, 'We can change it next week and the components aren't really gonna change that much, we are gonna get the same durability...'”

Catch Denny Hamlin in action when the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season officially kicks off at the Daytona International Speedway on February 18.