"Joe Gibbs lets me be myself" - Denny Hamlin speaks up on his "Black Hat" image among NASCAR community

Denny Hamlin recently addressed his "Black Hat" image in NASCAR and revealed how he doesn't let it affect him.

Sometimes called NASCAR's "villain", Hamlin became an unpopular figure on the grid owing to his repeated feud with drivers both on and off the track. There have also been moments where after winning a race he still received boos from the spectators. While he seemingly embraces his image, it hasn't impacted his driving.

On the Harvick's Happy Hour podcast, Kevin Harvick spoke with Hamlin regarding his "Black Hat" image. He asked Hamlin:

"Let's talk about this black hat situation, not the one you have on. Was there a time where you just said, screw it, I'm going to just take this on. I don't care. We need a villain."

Denny Hamlin responded by acknowledging the feuds he has had with different drivers and how it made him the 'villain' of the sport. He stated:

"You know, I think that you get into enough incidents with people and people will start to say, well, there's one common denominator. And I acknowledge that, right? I think if I had to sit down and hash it out with everyone I've had issues with, then the line would be really long here."

Hamlin added that both his sponsors and Joe Gibbs haven't had any issues regarding his persona and that he is comfortable in his own skin.

"So I just feel like I've reached the point in my career where I'm comfortable in my own skin. My sponsors let me be myself, that's a really important one. Joe [Gibbs] lets me be myself. I mean, he's had to deal with some very tough characters in his lifetime."

Most drivers would want to get over a "villain" image formed in the sport, but as Denny Hamlin revealed, it motivates him to perform well in races.

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Denny Hamlin on how 'trash talking' keeps him motivated to perform

Despite his negative image in the sport, Hamlin has performed well competitively. He won the preseason Busch Light Clash and also the Food City 500 at Bristol.

Hamlin is one of the most consistent Cup Series drivers having spent more than 18 years behind the wheel in the championship. Although he is yet to win the championship, he has won 52 races in his career and stated earlier in the season that he intends to make it 60 wins by the end of this particular season.

Talking about his motivation to perform at the top, Denny Hamlin revealed that his rough image in the sport helps him stay motivated.

"But I feel like I definitely don't let it compromise my race team. And there's something about it that I feed off of. There's the trash talking back and forth. It's the 'who are you to talk? You've never done this or you're not good enough for that. Oh, really? I'll show you.' Then I'll go out and win the next race."

"So I just there's something about it inside that self motivates when I get into these incidents that just gets the best out of me on the racetrack."

Denny Hamlin currently stands fourth in the Cup Series standings with 206 points, chasing Ryan Blaney ahead of him.