Dale Earnhardt Jr Unhappy With Denny Hamlin’s Petty Behavior Despite Embracing His Confidence

Joe Gibbs Racing star Denny Hamlin has been one of the most polarizing figures in NASCAR this year. Hard at work towards bagging his first Cup Series championship since his debut 17 years back, he sits comfortably in the round of 12 currently. Despite gaining some spectacular wins on the tracks, Hamlin hasn’t been a very popular figure amongst the fans. At least, not in a positive way. Jumping on the bandwagon this time is 15-time Most Popular Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Hamlin’s on-track traits of finding contact with fellow drivers to grab wins set off the fire, and the driver continues to tend to the bulking hate with his off-track attitude and disregard for the opinion of fans. Getting back from the race at the Texas Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr spoke on his podcast and decided to express his thoughts on the path that finds Denny Hamlin with so much at stake.

Dale Earnhardt Jr notices the change in Denny Hamlin’s character from past seasons to 2023

Despite being in the top series of NASCAR for 17 long years, Hamlin has never been able to find his glory at Phoenix. With 51 victory lane visits in his career, he stands as the championship-less driver with the most number of Cup Series wins. Getting into 2023, the idea for Hamlin and his #11 team at JGR was to finally end that curse.

As the season progressed, they faced an unlikely enemy from outside the track. The driver’s friction with drivers like Kyle Larson was not viewed favorably, and he was booed everywhere he went. Disregarding the common voice, Hamlin has gone on to back his confidence and raw thoughts with his brilliance on the track. Despite that, Dale Jr doesn’t think he is heading down the right path.

Conversing with co-host and Director of Communications at JR Motorsports, Mike Davis, Junior said, “Denny to me has been different this year. He has got this sort of confidence. ‘It’s our year. Nobody’s stopping me. Nobody’s stopping us. We got this.’ It’s different.

In years past, he was like, ‘If it meant to be, it’s meant to be’ kind of guy (…) But this year, he’s different. He’s like, trash talk and the confidence is there. Maybe it wasn’t so much there in the past when he had decent opportunities to win the championship.”

Watch Story: Denny Hamlin Points Finger at Nascar’s Intricate System for Teammate’s Dramatic Downfall

In a show of reversal, Dale Jr went on to disclose his displeasure at the new confidence, citing that it was taking Hamlin on the wrong path.

The Hall of Famer compares the JGR star to a bitter fox

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Denny Hamlin has voiced his thoughts against the NASCAR system on multiple occasions this year. From claiming that the appeals process lacked transparency to expressing that the playoff points system encouraged aggression, he has held no bars on his thoughts. Dale Jr, for one, believed that these displays of coming out against NASCAR were the result of a different pain. Explaining what had occurred to him when he heard Hamlin’s rant against the promotion, Dale Jr. continued,

“I heard him dogging the current system, it made me feel like, it sounded like, ‘Denny, no! Don’t do that man! You are already riding the middle battle. This is a step in the wrong direction.’ 

While many might have taken Hamlin’s outbursts as an outcome of an issue that had to be talked about, Dale Jr did not take it so. Using the example of a Fox and Grapes story to paint a picture of what he thought, he narrated, “Whatever it is, he [Fox] comes up, sees these grapes and he’s like, ‘I want the grapes!’, and he can’t reach them. And he decides they’re probably not very good anyway. Yeah, that’s what I hear from Denny going.”

Despite Dale Jr’s opinions, Hamlin appears quite comfortable in his position as the villain of NASCAR. Showing absolute disregard for the negative voices around him, he goes on winning races. Though the former HMS star did not think voicing out against the system in this crucial stage was the right way to go about things, he did take the newfound confidence in a positive light. Not yet finalizing his spot in the round of 8, Hamlin will be hoping to do so at Talladega and earn another round of boos along with the victory lane visit!

Read More: “They Went Rogue” – Denny Hamlin Puts Forward Heavy Criticism at $710.8 Million Dollar Contractor As Texas Motor Speedway Racks Up Victims