"They see it as, 'Oh, you’re an a*s'": When Denny Hamlin addressed his reputation among NASCAR fans in 2016

During an interview in 2016, Denny Hamlin opened up on his reputation in NASCAR. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, 36, at that time, was already an established and respected figure in the garage with many wins under his belt.

In fact, in 2016, Hamlin won the first of his three Daytona 500s having finished inside the top 5 in 2014 and 2015.

It's also worth mentioning that at that time and unlike the present, Denny Hamlin wasn't considered a villain-like or a negative figure among the fanbase.

When journalist Jeff Gluck of USA Today asked Hamlin about his own opinion on his reputation, and whether that reputation was accurate, the #11 driver said:

"I think my reputation among peers is probably different than my reputation among fans. My peers know me pretty well and so it’s fairly accurate. I think I’m respected among my peers. I’d say fans are a little more skewed because they only see you for a brief second.

"They might see you as they’re yelling at you because you’re not stopping for an autograph, but what they don’t know is I’m rushing back to have lunch with my daughter. So they see it as, “Oh, you’re an a*s.” But that’s not true."

Hamlin admitted that while he is not an outgoing person, that also doesn't mean that he's cocky or arrogant. He said that it was because he is an introvert.

When Denny Hamlin addressed his role as a NASCAR villain in 2023

While in the past, his former teammate Kyle Busch was considered by far and large the villain figure in NASCAR, in the present era of the sport, Denny Hamlin has found himself in that role.

Over the last few years, the #11 driver has had some notable incidents with some of the most popular and loved drivers, such as Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson on the track, because of which Hamlin's reputation among the fanbase has transitioned into more of an antagonistic figure. But interestingly, that isn't something that the JGR veteran is shying away from.

During an interview with motorsport.com in 2023, Denny Hamlin addressed his reputation among the fans. He said that he was always a 'middle-of-the-road' personality when it came to whether fans liked him or not.

"You had like Joey Logano and the really popular drivers back in the day – Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. – but as they retired, right, people wanted to root against someone. So, for a while it was Joey. But he hasn’t really had track stuff that’s really fueled it of late and I think I probably have. I’m just kind of the heel of right now," Hamlin described.

He claimed that because of having run-ins with drivers like Larson and Elliott, fans are unwilling to let go of the grudges against him. But despite that, Denny Hamlin said that he has 'come to accept' that a certain amount of negativity against him will 'never go away' considering he's the driver who did their favorite driver wrong at a certain point in time.