Denny Hamlin Exposes “Politics” and “Petty” Behavior in the Sport With Jimmie Johnson HoF Injustice

It is a prestigious feeling to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. After all, it is a testament to an illustrious career in the sport. While many big names had already graced the HoF, Jimmie Johnson was inducted very recently. However, the fashion in which the former Hendrick Motorsports driver was instated didn’t go down well with Denny Hamlin.

There is no doubt that Hamlin has more often than not enjoyed being the unfiltered himself. While he’s not known to mince his words, he provides timely insights to his loyal fanbase. This time around, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has provided an unexpected reality behind the scenes.

Denny Hamlin is baffled by the politics behind Jimmie Johnson’s HoF induction

Undoubtedly, Jimmie Johnson remains one of the best drivers to ever grace the track in the Cup Series. It is certainly no child’s play to have won the competition a record seven times and 83 wins to his name. While his heroics need to be applauded, it is surprising how his Hall of Fame induction was a dull affair.

Given his accomplishments, many considered as a no-brainer and expected his unanimous election for the HoF. However, that did not happen as Johnson earned only 93% of the vote from a panel of 57 people. The panel comprised NASCAR executives, drivers, crew chiefs, press reporters, and other industry entities.

Just a few days back, Denny Hamlin expressed his disappointment all the panelists failed to be on the same page when it came to Johnson. He slammed everyone involved to have not taken their job seriously. It seems that his rant isn’t quite over as he once again hit out at NASCAR.

Speaking on his podcast Actions Detrimental recently, Hamlin got candid with his opinion on the HoF scenario. While he understood it was difficult during the days of Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr to be unanimous, the 42-year-old felt electing Johnson was a simple choice. In fact, he criticized how people went about their voting and explained the politics behind it.

Hamlin said, “You vote for two people. So that means they voted two people over Jimmy Johnson. That doesn’t make any sense. And, to me, I believe, NASCAR needs to be transparent. Someone would have voted two people over Jimmy, not Jimmy and so-and-so which tells you it’s all political and it’s not political on that.”

He continued, “I’ve heard from people that have been in that room that, some of the guys that had been around a very long, very long time will go around the table in politics for their friends to get on the Hall of Fame. They’re just at lunchtime they’ll go around and, and they’ll politic for the buddies and so I don’t like it for sure.”

While Hamlin criticized this approach and the people involved for not taking the responsibility seriously, he agreed that there have been deserving candidates but couldn’t understand how Johson didn’t get unanimous voting. He said, “I can’t make sense of it other than someone’s just being very petty.”

Read More: “People Felt That Jimmie [Johnson] Wasn’t Eligible” – NASCAR Insider Reveals Wild Reality of Latest HoF Induction

Hamlin has every right to be angry here. In fact, he would be glad to know even the fans are on the same page with him.

Denny Hamlin gets fans’ support as he criticizes NASCAR for Jimmie Johnson’s HoF treatment

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Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin have been in the sport for a long time now. They may have been competitors but at the end of the day, the respect has always been there between them. Naturally, Hamlin being the upfront personality he is, bashed NASCAR for the HoF treatment Johnson got.

Surprisingly, even fans felt the same way. While it is not every day that you find fans siding with Hamlin, this time around they did so on Twitter.

“There are many things I see in life that make me lose more faith in humanity. The fact that JJ didn’t get a unanimous vote is one more of those things”

“When someone chooses their own ego over the right choice for the sport.”

“Honestly when I saw this I thought it was a joke at first. How could a Seven time Champion not be unanimous? It is more likely that we never see that again in our sport”

“Well for the first time in modern history, I agree with Denny!”

“Make ’em public, the rest will take care of itself”

It is amazing how Hamlin came out fighting for Johnson the way he did. This certainly gives NASCAR a lot to think about. Do you think the voting process should be made more transparent? Let us know in the comments below.

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