The 43-year-old veteran driver who “beat your favorite driver(s)” 52 times now, Denny Hamlin has certainly seen it, done it all, and lived it all. The Phoenix victory marked a pinnacle for the #11 team and Joe Gibbs Racing as it marked Coach Gibbs’ 210th victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Joe Gibbs Racing has seen the best of the best grace the JGR garages and pit boxes on their way to five Cup Series championships. This year, however, could very well mark the 6th for Joe Gibbs Racing, as the controversial Denny Hamlin has commenced his championship battle, breaking records and “stigmas” yet again for his 19th straight year in NASCAR’s premier division.
Why is the JGR “Interior Guy” frustrated?
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Although Denny Hamlin is already on NASCAR’s self-published list of the top 75 “Greatest Drivers” and has plenty of other accolades to show for, his most shining accolade has to be the three Daytona 500 victories he holds to his name. So naturally, this year at Daytona, he was once again one of the favorites. He did not live up to expectations as the #11 car watched Hendrick Motorsports #24 and William Byron take the checkered in a widely controversial finish.
Then it was Atlanta, another superspeedway, where the Toyota contingent did not fare too well with their new Camry XSE body. Following the early-season double of restrictor-plate action, Hamlin arrived in Atlanta with an upset stomach. Indeed, as the JGR mainstay made headlines for urinating himself for the first time, he explained to the media after that he “kind of liked it.” That is not a bad thing considering Hamlin’s almost two-decade-long, extensive stint of captivating race fans all around the globe.
However, the recent disclosures have finally made our favorite racing legend, Dale Earnhardt Jr come into conversations with the people involved, to let fans know more about the latest updates on the recent episode of Dale Jr Download. Denny Hamlin himself had said earlier, when asked between discussions, exactly what went down this past weekend, with regards to Denny’s bladder. He told Junior that when the veteran #11 driver told his crew about the seemingly recurring incident, the crew seemed aggravated at the signs of Denny Hamlin’s battles with time.
Later, Hamlin’s “interior guy” from JGR stepped forward in conversations with Junior to express his own understandable frustrations. “Well, I’ll say this… In his old age, yes, he is more prone to p**ing in the seat for sure, but I’m talking to JGR management right now to try to give me a raise cause this is ridiculous, and I’ll be honest with you I can’t eat asparagus anymore, I mean I’m traumatized I can’t listen to Yellow by Coldplay..no pun intended.” Ironic, considering the lyrics of this award-winning song by the British rock band.
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Did it affect the track?”
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The camaraderie between all these righteous beacons of the sport did paint an aging picture. However, as Junior himself admitted later, “He can’t control it; I mean, it’s like he turns you know a certain age and he just starts p***ing all the time.” Nevertheless, the trials and tribulations placed on Hamlin’s body for decades of high-velocity excitement coincided with his Bristol victory, after the newly repaved track called back to its glory days of short track racing when it saw a 90s-style, 5-car finish on the lead lap.
Nevertheless, the heavily speculated “mystery” surrounding the rapid “cording” of the new Goodyears overshadowed the decades of wear and tear on Denny’s body. Some are blaming the new “resin” that replaced the old PJ1 compound to help the track “rubber in,” and others just downright blame the manufacturers. Denny was among the latter, as he had taken a subtle dig during Saturday’s practice session about someone having “p**ed” in the tires for them to have run so badly the next day.
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Putting things in perspective reveals what Dale Jr once said about Denny Hamlin, as conversations have evolved. “I guess he feels like when he’s in that driver’s suit, it’s just okay to go anywhere.” A true observation from one veteran professional to another.