Denny Hamlin Confesses Having Michael Jordan?s Infamous Trait & Accepts Joe Gibbs? Grandson as His Apprentice

Psychological warfare has been an ebb and flow of sports worldwide. Unsettling your opponent mentally is undoubtedly one of the methods many sportspersons adopt in the long run to gain the upper hand. In NASCAR’s never-stopping world, many great drivers have taken the road of trash-talking as well. Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin would be a prime example of that in the sport’s top-tier competition.

While Hamlin has often been ridiculed for his comments on and off the track toward other drivers, his analyses often add an element of rawness to the sport, which is probably absent from most other experts’ analyses. And, from the looks of it, Hamlin‘s teammate Ty Gibbs seems to have taken a cue from him as he is seen sending out some subtle digs in a post-race interview after the Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen.

“It was very Denny Hamlin of him”: Hamlin has some words of praise for Ty Gibbs

When it comes to dealing with verbal attacks, Denny Hamlin has mastered the art of it. Hamlin’s way of throwing shade is a tad different from, perhaps, the arrogance of someone like Kyle Busch. Rowdy does not hold back from speaking his mind out loud and usually backs them up with his performances. Compared to that, Hamlin’s attacks would look a bit more subtle and can often go unnoticed as well. Maybe Joe Gibbs‘s grandson has also been jotting some of them down.

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After starting on the pole at The Glen on Saturday, Gibbs had a strong outing until a tussle with eventual winner Sam Mayer sent him spinning with a rear-end bump. In the restart before the last one, Ty was battling for the lead alongside Mayer when he tried to beat off the competition via an aggressive move on the JR Motorsports driver. But tragedy befell him in the final restart and he had to limp off to a 17th-place finish.

On the latest episode of his podcast, Actions Detrimental, the 42-year-old and his co-host Jarred Allen covered news about the happenings around the NASCAR community. A topic that arose during the conversation about the Xfinity race was Ty’s insolence.

“Ty says in a roundabout way, I mean it was just a dig,” says Hamlin. “It was very Denny Hamlin of him. He says, ‘you know, we came into this thing together and we’ve raced together a long time and he’s got a bunch of starts, I know he’s going for that second win and I was really hoping to get my 13th.’ Just smarta** comment.”

Well, any affirmation about trash-talking coming from Denny can only mean that Ty has been learning well from his senior.

“I love talking s**t”: Hamlin confesses to a guilty pleasure

“It was pretty good for Ty because he kinda had those comments early on. From that point on, AI pretty much does all of Ty’s interviews.” continues Hamlin as he sings praises for Ty’s elusive disparage at Sam Mayer.

Hamlin has also been involved with another such person who has excelled in infiltrating the opponent’s minds through some harsh words. Co-owner of 23XI Racing and NBA legend Michael Jordan is known for his expertise in such scenarios. Over the long span of his legendary career, trash-talking was certainly one of the traits that he used to his advantage. His partner Denny Hamlin hasn’t backed out from maintaining it as his forte either.

“You didn’t see a whole lot of the personality coming out the way it came out again. I applaud that,” says Denny.

“People know I love talking s**t. I do it half the time by the way people just to rile you up, I love it. I love talking s**t. It doesn’t matter if I’m competing with the guys on the basketball court, playing golf, or whatever it is I love banter back and forth. It’s fun to me.”

In a Cup Series career lasting almost two decades, Hamlin has beefed with many drivers in the sport. Some legendary, some new to the top-flight, and some even outside of the tracks, but rarely has Denny ever backed out from giving it back. Irrespective of the consequences of his unadulterated comments, he has preferred to use some belittling to his advantage. Maybe the fans have not liked it and have resented this behavior of his from time to time, but undeniably this enriches the sport. Adding fuel to the fire ignites a spark in the other person, possibly even leading to a rivalry on the track.

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