NASCAR’s SpongeBob Gimmick Sends Racing Fandom in a Frenzy as Denny Hamlin’s Bizarre Phobia Gets Laughed Off

As a highly competitive driver with almost two decades of racing full-time in the Cup Series, Denny Hamlin knows all too well the rigors of racing at the most elite level. His career choice is precarious, to put it mildly. Nonetheless, the fact that he fears things that other people cherish most sets him apart.

NASCAR’s official Instagram page recently featured photos of every former winner at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, a track with a distinct tradition. But it was Denny Hamlin’s reaction in one of the photos that got the most attention, and NASCAR fans wasted no time making fun of the veteran.

When Denny Hamlin had an awkward encounter with a 44-pound monster

After winning the 2017 Overton’s 301 Cup race and securing his spot in the postseason, Denny Hamlin’s mood swiftly shifted from elation to dread when the organizers at NHMS presented him with its traditional gift.

Crew chief Michael Wheeler gave Hamlin a live lobster weighing 44 pounds in honor of the city of Loudon, Tennessee. Hamlin, upon sighting the monster, pushed through bystanders and fled in the other direction. Being timid initially about holding the gigantic lobster, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver worked up the nerve to pose for a few photographs with his prize.

He told reporters afterward that he had a terrible fear of lobsters. Denny Hamlin said as much at the post-race news conference: “Yeah, I’ve never really liked them to begin with; I don’t like the taste of them; I don’t—I just don’t like looking at them. They have pincers, really, so I don’t like anything that’s ugly and has pincers.

“I don’t know—it’s just a big scorpion in my mind. I try to stay away from them, and, yeah, I’ve had some interesting moments with them for sure that I don’t care to recall or bring back up.”

Now, NASCAR has uploaded a picture of Hamlin looking really frightened by the Lobster, presumably to drum up interest in the upcoming NHMS race. In response to Instagram’s posting of the NASCAR Cup Series champion’s victory photo, fans mocked him with comments like, “Dennys face is priceless”; “It’s so funny to see how scared Denny Hamlin is of lobsters”; “The denny one never fails to be funny”; “The picture of Hamlin will never get old lmaoooooo”; and “Everyone looking happy, then there is @dennyhamlin😬”

While NHMS boasts of a peculiar celebratory tradition, it’s not the only one. Let’s take a look at some equally outrageous ones.

Other Unique Trophies in NASCAR, Which Are One of a Kind

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Winners at Texas Motor Speedway also take home unique novelty prizes, including NASCAR Six-shooter revolvers, cowboy hats, and boots. Another one of NASCAR’s “crown jewel” races, the Coca-Cola 600, sees the winning driver take a refurbished antique Coke machine and a conventional piston-style trophy known as the Bruton Smith Trophy since 2010.

Watch This Story: Denny Hamlin Confesses Having a Disagreement With JGR Member After Falling Victim to HMS Star

Since 2004, the victors of races at Dover International Speedway, sometimes known as “The Monster Mile,” have been awarded The Monster Trophy. With the mammoth mascot, Miles holding the winner’s car’s die-cast on its gigantic palm, it may seem strange, but that’s part of what makes it so awesome.

The grandfather clock at Martinsville Speedway is the clear winner when it comes to NASCAR’s greatest novelty prizes. NASCAR drivers like Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt Jr have all remarked that the trophy is always the most sought-after one.

Let us know, which trophy did you like the most. And do you think this time, if Denny Hamlin wins the New Hampshire Speedway Race, he will have overcome his crustacean phobia?

Read More: Denny Hamlin Demands More Respect for “Overachieving” Veteran & Rising Star, With Ancestral NASCAR Legacy