Denny Hamlin’s Romance With Texas: Wins, Embarrassment, Rivalries & Odds

Throughout the 18 years behind the wheel of the number 11 Toyota Camry, Denny Hamlin has amassed 51 wins, including 3 triumphs at the Daytona 500, 3 triumphs at the Southern 500, and a victory at the Coca-Cola 600 in 2022. With his 7th win at the tricky ‘Pocono’ triangle, the 23XI Racing co-owner got Toyota their 600th victory as well. However, despite all his achievements in the NASCAR top-tier series, there is just one thing that’s missing from his bag of credits. And that is a Cup Series championship title.

After his latest win at Bristol Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin has established the fact that he goes to every track with the intent to win. And that attitude will probably not change when he revs his Toyota at the start-finish line at Texas. But with other drivers like Tyler Reddick and Kyle Larson going for a win, what are the odds for him?

Denny Hamlin’s challenges at Texas Motor Speedway

The 42-year-old JGR speedster has 3 wins, two in 2010 and one in 2019, besides 16 top-10 finishes at the 1.5-mile NASCAR oval racetrack in Texas. Since 2005, he has led a combined number of 292 laps at the asphalt track. Looking back at the last three races of the opening round of the playoffs, Denny Hamlin had the fastest car. Despite the first two getting ruined by a loose wheel and a chaotic overtime restart, Denny showed who the boss was after he grabbed the checkered flag and laughed at the booing audience.

But Denny Hamlin cares very little about what people say about him. And that was quite evident after what he said to the media after the race was over. Despite people giving him the bird and throwing a full-size cucumber at him, he exclaimed, “I beat your favorite driver…all of them!”

However, the path to his 52nd win is not short of obstacles. Moving on to the upcoming race at Texas Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin has had his history of rivalries there. The name that makes it to the top of the list is Hendrick Motorsports sensation William Byron. Throwback to last year, William Byron was not happy with how Denny Hamlin raced him around turn 2. As a result, he retaliated during a late caution by driving Hamlin out into the infield.

Watch This Story: Are Denny Hamlin & His Baby Mama Back Together? What Caused Her Internet Outburst?

According to draftkings.com both Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson match the odds to win the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway at +450. Whereas for William Byron, it is +700. It is just a matter of time before the fans get to know who the odds go in favor of.

Fans showered boos on Denny Hamlin after his dominant victory at Bristol Motor Speedway

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Denny Hamlin took the lead off the pit road for the first time on lap 366 of 500 and beat HMS star Kyle Larson to the finish line by 2.462 seconds. The 23XI Racing owner led a total lap of 142, which included the final 135 laps to win his 51st Cup Series win.

Later, when he tweeted “I beat your favorite driver”, fans pulled no punches trolling him.

A Denny Hamlin hater wrote, “My driver has more championships…”

While another said, “You still won’t the Championship,@dennyhamlin, so there’s that …”

Someone breathed sarcasm as he said, “Pretty amazing you didn’t have to wreck anyone to win 👍”

“My drivers are still waiting for you to grow up. 😭😭😭,” said another.

A motorsport enthusiast and Kyle Larson fan commented, “You beat Larson tonight, but he’s won the war. He’s in your head. Last week at Kansas you screwed your race because you were worried about him winning, and last night you needed Bubba to block for you so that Larson wasn’t anywhere near you.”

Read More: NASCAR Veteran Hands Championship-Less Denny Hamlin the Ultimatum With Shocking One Sentence Claim

What are your thoughts on Denny Hamlin’s odds of winning the opening race of round 2 in Texas? Let us know in the comments!