“I love that”: Denny Hamlin approves Chase Elliott fan’s Bristol race birdies against him

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin both advanced to the round of 12 of the NASCAR Cup Series after finishing fourth in the Bass Pro Shops Night held at the world's fastest half-mile track in Bristol, Tenessee on September 21. However, there was a fan who was making rude remarks towards Hamlin.

A picture of an individual gesture towards the 43-year-old was shared on X and it was stated that the person in question, who was wearing a Chase Elliott shirt, was doing the same thing during each lap.

"Average Chase fan over here has spent the entire stage flipping @dennyhamlin off every time he goes by. I strive to achieve this level of hate one day," the picture was captioned.

Hamlin touched upon the incident on his podcast Actions Detrimental. He decided not to give the individual the attention he wanted and summed up his reply.

"I love making feel some sort of way. For my buddy Steelhorselive, who tweeted that 'look at this guy that flipped off Denny every lap he came back around'. I mean, that is someone that, 'Oh, I am just burning up. I'm an ulcer in their body that just is just eating them alive, and I love that,'" said Denny Hamlin [56:35].

Hamlin and Chase Elliott had a feud last year at the Coca-Cola 600, resulting in a DNF for both drivers. They had an accident in lap 185 and bashed into the guardrails, totaling their cars. The #11 Toyota driver asked NASCAR for a suspension on Elliott, and the Stock Car Racing Association suspended the #9 driver for one race.

A look Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott's performances at the Bass Pro Shops Night Race

Denny Hamlin finished fourth, two places behind Chase Elliott at the Bass Pro Shops Night Race. However, stages one and two were not in favor of the Hendrick Motorsports driver. The Florida native maintained the lead in stages one and two, finishing in sixth and third place. But in the 338th lap, the #9 Chevy driver got his lead and finished the race in second place.

During the two stages of the race, Hamlin earned 13 points and Elliott only earned three points. Even at the end of the race, the 43-year-old driver had more points than the Chevy driver. Hamlin earned 46 points, and Elliott got 38 points. After the Bristol race on September 21, Chase Elliott is seventh in the standings and is six points above the qualifying points.

On the other hand, Denny Hamlin is sixth with seven points above the qualifying line. He is also overshadowing Elliott in this year's stats. Hamlin has three wins, four poles, 13 top-10s, and ten top-5s in 29 races. Elliott has just one win, 14 top-10, eight top-5, and no pole position this season.

There is just one point difference between these two drivers, and the upcoming race will be intriguing to watch as these two compete to increase the point gap in their playoff standings.