Denny Hamlin’s Villainous Gratitude Leaves JGR Boss Joe Gibbs Howling With Laughter

Joe Gibbs Racing has stolen the show in the first three playoff races. All three of their drivers in the final 16 displayed incredible tenacity in different aspects of racing. Denny Hamlin could be considered the most rewarded one, considering the way he has raced in the past three weekends. Pace and power are two words that would best describe his journey in the playoffs so far.

However, in spite of his getting into stellar form, the fans have shown no love for him. The most notable example can be seen at Bristol, where, despite being the best driver by far in the race, he was greeted with boos from the crowd. Well, Denny being Denny, he teased the crowd even more as the jeers continued. Amid all this, the one person who will be overjoyed with how things have panned out is team owner Joe Gibbs.

Denny Hamlin recreates the ‘all of them’ moment

18 years of experience in the Cup Series hasn’t translated into a championship win for Denny Hamlin yet. Could the drought end this year? Looking at the sublime form Denny is in, it might be a real possibility. Last weekend, when faced with repulsion from the crowd at Bristol Motor Speedway, the 42-year-old had a witty answer for them.

“I beat your favorite driver, all of them” announced Denny, declaring his win on the grand stage. This ‘villain arc’ of his has not gone down well with a certain section of the fanbase, but it is being loved by others. It has been a long time since NASCAR had a heel that continued to perform with brute strength despite the hostility.

Speaking at the banner-raising ceremony after his win at Bristol in the JGR team premises, Denny dedicated his win to his team, and his message was loud and clear as he conveyed, “I thought about which department I was gonna thank for this win. The answer is pretty easy. All of them.”

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Gibbs and co were amused by the hilarious words of their #11 driver as he reiterated his statement from Bristol. However, it might end up, with Hamlin bossing his role and being pivotal to his team’s success is what is most important for Mr Gibbs.

Joe Gibbs is elated by his team’s performance in the playoffs

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A precarious situation with an early elimination on the cards was one of the scenarios for the team as well. Regular season champion Martin Truex Jr. was facing the arduous task of getting into the final 12. But even after finishing 19th, Truex scraped his way through. Truex going out in the first round of elimination would have been a major embarrassment for JGR, considering the way the #199 team performed throughout 2023.

“It means so much. This is our playoff. Way it’s designed, it’s so tough to get from one round to the next. It means so much for us. It’s Toyota. It’s our sponsors.” stated Gibbs. Their third driver Christopher Bell on the other hand has been a weird case too. Despite grabbing the pole on all three occasions, he just seems to have missed the finishing touch. But that is something to be addressed on another day.

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“It just means a lot to our sponsors and to our manufacturer. It’s just all the way across the board. To have three cars advance is really a big deal for us.”

Having a quarter of the drivers from the list and all of them being contenders to make the final 8 will be a huge boost for JGR.