Denny Hamlin’s Sly Jab at NASCAR Champs Gathers Fans’ Support

What’s more important for NASCAR drivers, race wins or championships? There might be those advocating that championship wins are necessary for a driver to be considered one of the best. But there have been instances when luck has prevailed over racecraft in gifting drivers championship wins. So it’s a slippery slope in trying to gauge what accounts for greatness in NASCAR.

However, riding the high horse after this third win of the season, Denny Hamlin took shots at NASCAR’s greats. He claimed that he wouldn’t lose sleep over failing to win the championship, as many unworthy ones have claimed the title in the past. Terry Labonte has just four wins to his name and still won the precious prize. In recent years, the likes of Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, and Kurt Busch have done the same.

Sharing his opinion via his podcast show, the JGR driver said, “I know that I’m a championship-caliber driver. I’ll just say it, I think there’s been worse drivers to win a championship than me.” Considering one can find several drivers with fewer wins than Hamlin and still be crowned champions, his opinions are probably justified.

What’s more surprising is that upon learning about Hamlin’s statement, fans weren’t critical of him as usual. Instead, they sided with him and blamed the playoffs system that has helped create the space for unworthy NASCAR champs.

Fans react to Denny Hamlin’s honest take on championship wins

Taking a jibe at NASCAR’s system, a fan shared the example of Kevin Harvick’s failure to win the title, despite putting up nine wins back in 2020. “Unfortunate reality for Denny is with this format you pretty much just need everything to fall in the right place. All it took was two mediocre finishes in the round of 8 to kill Harvicks chance after winning 9 races throughout the year”.

Despite his hatred towards Hamlin, a user on Reddit shared the list of drivers who he felt were just mediocre championship-winning drivers. He further added how he would prefer having the Florida native in his racing team, “I fucking hate Denny but I’m taking him over prime Elliott , Elliott , Keselowski , Blaney , Kulwicki , Kenseth and maybe MTJ if I was a team owner”.

Bill Rexford’s title win is perhaps the best example to prove the JGR star’s point, which is exactly what another fan posted in his reply. “Any system other than a normal points system like we had before 2004 is a joke. It’s just a pathetic gimmick that makes the sport a farce. Bill Rexford, the 1950 champion, only won a single race in his 36 race Cup career”.

Taking a shot at Team Penske and HMS star drivers, a fan argued that their accomplishments should be credited to the racing system and not to their skills behind the wheel. “Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, and Tony’s final championship are a product of the system and getting hot at the right time. Not saying neither deserved the chip. Just saying it’s obviously they got hot when it mattered”.

Comment
byu/CNASFan1992 from discussion
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While everyone is entitled to their opinions, especially NASCAR fans, it is hard to argue that Denny Hamlin isn’t among the greats of the sport. And again, he still has at least a couple of attempts to conquer his final peak.