Denny Hamlin Slaughtered Online After Making “Black Tie” F1 Demand to NASCAR

One battle that has gone on for decades in America is the fight for supremacy between NASCAR and F1. The war is not necessarily between the drivers, organizers, or broadcasters of the event, but between the fans. Among it all, NASCAR fans often slam F1 for being outright “boring” and lacking competition. That is because most of the time, one team comes up with a dominant car and their drivers end up winning most of the races through the course of a season. NASCAR, on the other hand, has a rich history of delivering excitement race after race, giving fans a bang for their buck. Despite that, Denny Hamlin feels the Series can take a leaf out of F1. Fans, however, caution him against it.

F1, over the years, has created a brand for itself that is not dependent on the races alone. The management builds an event around the race which contributes to the overall experience for the fans. Take the inaugural Las Vegas GP for example. F1 has invested close to $240 million for the star-studded event which they project will bring in a revenue of $500 million.

Denny Hamlin wants NASCAR to learn how to convert a race into an event from F1

Hamlin, in a recent interview with Dirty Mo Media, talked about his wish to see NASCAR build an event around a race to attract more fans. That, he believes is already in process. He said, “We’re already on our way to do what F1’s doing, and that is making it more about the event and not as much about the actual race because F1, if you know, one thing I would love to see us do is that have more pre-race parties and stuff like we did for Daytona.”

“While that was kind of an industry party, you know, have something to where, it brings a little more black tie to the weekend versus, what we currently have, which is, show up and we race and we and we have a couple quick minutes of practice and it’s over. And there’s not really much to talk about, honestly.”

Fans react to Hamlin’s suggestion

Fans on Instagram, however, did not take too well to the suggestion and warned that the loyal ones would leave if NASCAR ever went that way.

Have a look at some reactions to the original post.

“F1 = boring parade. NASCAR = awesome competition”

“Door to door racing is what we love. A concert is fine but let’s not try to become a “Hollywood style” event. You will lose many fans. You might gain a few new ones but lose many tried and true.”

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“Disagree. Bring back Rockingham North Wilkesboro put Richmond back to the way it was they always filled the stands great racing great announcing was just better.”

Some fans iterated that the absence of “black tie” was the reason why they loved NASCAR.

“That’s why I prefer NASCAR, it has no black tie. It’s more gritty and each event has a more local flavor than an F1 race. It’s also a more family affair than F1, I think nascar going down that F1 path would be a huge mistake”

“Don’t need black tie event my opinion”

Some fans believed the lack of “black tie” culture was a part of NASCAR’s tradition and going against it would be detrimental to the Series.

“Get back to the roots Denny don’t need a black tie party. How about meet and greets with fans?”

“F1 has one guy leading the race most of the time with most of the racing going on for third and fourth place and that SUCKS to watch”

“Don’t make it like F1! Be Nascar and dont copy another form of professional racing. F1 is a way more expensive platform. I thought all the dumb changes they made were to cut costs anyway. It called Stock Car Racing. Not black tie racing.”

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“Quit trying to be F1 . This is why people are loosing interest in Nascar.”

Do you agree with Denny’s assessment? Does NASCAR really need parties to get fans and other entities excited about the race?