"There's just mutual respect": When Denny Hamlin picked Matt Kenseth as the NASCAR driver he enjoys racing against

During an interview in 2012, Denny Hamlin opened up on the NASCAR drivers he enjoyed and didn't enjoy racing against. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver also shared his thoughts on the drivers from the past he'd have wanted to be a teammate of.

As journalist Jeff Gluck asked Hamlin about one clean driver he enjoys racing against on the track, the #11 driver mentioned the name of Matt Kenseth. When asked why he picked Kenseth's name, Hamlin said:

"I think there's just mutual respect. He races me very clean and doesn't hold me up when I'm faster – and I try to do the same to him."

Hamlin was further asked about the opposite, the NASCAR driver he didn't enjoy racing and one who made things difficult for him on the track. The JGR driver named AJ Allmendinger deeming him "probably the toughest."He also put Marcos Ambrose in that category. However, Hamlin clarified that those two drivers don't drive dirty with him on the track, it's just that they make it "harder" for him.

"A lot of the reason they make it harder is they drive in the corner so deep, you're scared when they're behind you – because they'll run into you – or you just can't get position on them because they drive in so far," Hamlin explained.

Further in the interview, Denny Hamlin named David Pearson as the driver he would've wanted to be teammates with. Pearson, a NASCAR Hall of Famer, was a three-time Cup champion who won 105 Cup races. Hamlin also picked Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett citing their attitudes as the reason.

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Denny Hamlin shared his thoughts on 'different' racing in NASCAR's Next Gen era in 2023

Amid his ongoing feud at that time with Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin opened up in 2023 about how "different" racing in NASCAR had become in the modern era. He mentioned that the cars are closer than ever, which makes passing more difficult.

Hamlin said even someone like Mark Martin would have to adjust his style in the Next Gen era and wished NASCAR could return to the good old days.

"The days of the gentleman letting the guys go and you will just go and get them later – it’s just a different game these days," Hamlin remarked.

At the same time, Hamlin was aware that they'd have to adapt from where they were. Hamlin mentioned his example, claiming that over the last few years, he had become "more aggressive" because of the nature of racing around him.