Denny Hamlin is one of the most outspoken drivers out there in NASCAR today. However, right before he was about to let his thoughts loose on his incident with William Byron post-race in Texas, his boss, Coach Joe Gibbs, stopped him.
This was something which was pointed out in a YouTube video by the channel, ‘After The Checkered Flag’, as Hamlin, who was aggressively speaking on the Byron issue.
But as he was doing so, he was pulled back by Gibbs, their conversation hidden by a PR official, and when the #11 driver returned to the mics, his demeanor had changed completely.
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So what did Joe Gibbs tell his driver, which suddenly led to such a drastic change in his behavior and overall attitude?
Well, the truth is something only the parties involved know, but that didn’t stop NASCAR fans running wild with their theories, in particular, the theory of Gibbs warning Hamlin of ‘the Kyle Busch treatment’.
One fan wrote, “He told him to watch his mouth and don’t end up in another ride like KB you can see it in his attitude he really wanted to voice his displeasure but was told not to,” while another wrote, “Denny was going to speak his mind but Gibbs put a damper on it.”
“Joe Gibbs: “Denny, be careful what you say or I’ll dunp you like I did Kyle,” read one reaction while another went like, “He probably told him to watch his mouth during the interview or he’d be the next one to leave Gibbs Racing.”
“Gibbs probably told Hamlin to do his mouth a favor and keep it shut,” read another fan’s comment.
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NASCAR’s initial take on the Denny Hamlin-William Byron incident
In a post-race media address, Scott Miller laid down the honest truth to everyone seeking it about the controversial incident during the caution at Texas.
“When we were in the tower, we were paying more attention to the actual cause of the caution up there and dispatching our equipment,” he said. “The William Byron-Denny Hamlin thing we had no eyes on.”
“By the time we got to a replay that showed the incident well enough to do anything to it, we had gone back to green.”
Miller added that the issue in their eyes wasn’t completely resolved, as he suggested they’ll be revisiting it soon, which they did.
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William Byron was given a penalty of $25,000 and a 25 points deduction.
Now, Hendrick Motorsports have announced they will appeal against this penalty, but do you think they’ll have any luck this time around?
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Let us know in the comments below.