NASCAR Community Grabs Popcorn as Denny Hamlin and Marcus Smith Exchange Blows on Twitter

While NASCAR is usually known for its feisty face-offs on the track, recent events spelled a twist in this trend. JGR Cup driver Denny Hamlin and Speedway Motorsports Inc. CEO Marcus Smith got into an online slugfest last night. Their words attracted a large crowd of fans who watched the bull ring with gleeful eyes. The argument that started over an image of chipped away asphalt at the Sonoma Raceway soon spiraled into a personal fight. As the two NASCAR heavyweights traded barbs, fans finally got over the now-stale topic of the Richmond restart.

Denny Hamlin’s late-night tiff drew a slew of comments

The 12-turn Sonoma Raceway was repaved for the first time in 23 years. But officials had to call off an SRO-sanctioned sports event, as the repair process went awry. Numerous sections of the 2.52-mile circuit peeled off, raising the eyebrows of drivers like Denny Hamlin, who well established his disdain for SMI’s reconfiguration and repave track record and did not mince his words either.

But what started as a small criticism snowballed into an online brawl on Twitter. Marcus Smith labeled Hamlin as ignorant and nonchalant while taking a jibe at his failure to clinch a championship. Denny Hamlin did not go easy either, as he said Smith was living off of his family’s money. And naturally, they arrested the entire NASCAR community’s attention.

Motorsports journalist Jeff Gluck commented how he couldn’t believe his eyes at what he was seeing. After all, seeing two NASCAR community members fight it out like this is a rare sight these days. “I’m honestly having trouble believing this is even real. Did one of them get hacked? Both? Like…what is going on right now?” read the tweet.

Some fans straight up admitted to the entertainment factor. “Not sure but I’m cooking popcorn.” Another fan observed that this scored way better than last weekend’s race. “Well I can honestly that whole thread was better than that Richmond race 🤷”

Others acknowledged the ‘gold’ nature of the fight. “Don’t care. This is GOLD!!!” One comment even went as far as saying that the whole feud was a marketing move, writing, “This is absolutely wild… or maybe it’s a marketing move 🤷🏻‍♂️”. Another fan stated how he’s waiting for this to be a podcast hot topic. “This, I’m sure, will 1000% be talked about on #DBC next week and I CANNOT wait! @SpotterBrett @FreddieKraft @CouchRacerShop”.

One fan sided with Denny Hamlin and iterated that the #11 driver’s relevance should not understated just because he doesn’t have a championship win. “I don’t understand how @dennyhamlin has no relevance because he doesn’t have a championship. He’s a 3 time Daytona 500 champion. He’s gonna be in the hall of fame. Now is he right about the track? No idea. I just know SMI needs to work on Texas immediately after next weeks race,” the tweet read. 

While many fans are seeing Hamlin and Smith lock horns for the first time, their rivalry actually dates back to 2021 when an argument over the Atlanta Motor Speedway’s condition ensued owing to SMI official’s refusal to pay heed to drivers’ opinions regarding the repaves. 

SMI gave more importance to fans

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In 2022, the All-Star Race took place at Texas Motor Speedway. While fans and Denny Hamlin pointed out the repaved track’s failure, Marcus Smith was hesitant to accept. Back in July 2021 as well, Atlanta Motor Speedway was reconfigured, much to the disappointment of drivers. To add to the racer’s misery, journalist Jenna Fryer also quoted an SMI official saying that fans were more important. “When fans are happy, drivers aren’t. When you talk to drivers, you get driver tracks and we’re making a fan’s track. We’re taking elements of driver feedback, but we’re ultimately giving the fans what they want to see,” the official had said. And as expected, Hamlin was quick to retort.

“With all due respect. This same group has reconfigured Texas, Kentucky, Bristol with 0 driver input. One of those lost a race, other one we don’t race anymore and last one we put dirt over it. But hey, what do the drivers know 🙄,” the driver wrote on Twitter. 

With Hamlin and SMI’s fresh fallout, at least fans have got a fresh topic to gossip about instead of the seemingly controversial Richmond restart, don’t you think?

Read More: Denny Hamlin Adamant to Work on this Dejected “Revenue Generator” Despite Recent Backlash