Rick Hendrick’s Aversion From Denny Hamlin Raises Warranted Questions on NASCAR’s Biggest Teams

Denny Hamlin is one of the most outspoken and unapologetic drivers in NASCAR today. While it is this attitude that has led to a lot of people disliking him, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver simply does not care. In a recent episode of the Actions Detrimental podcast, he once again let his feelings be known. And recently, it was the big NASCAR teams coming into his line of fire. Hamlin’s views may not be the most popular with fans or people involved with the sport, but this time, a lot of people agreed with what he had to say.

According to the Joe Gibbs Racing star, there are very few people on the grid who can be honest. Those who can speak out against what they believe to be wrong. The reason for this, Denny Hamlin explained, is the teams that they drive for. The constant need to maintain their image has led to teams forcing their drivers to keep their mouths shut. This comes after Jeff Gordon, vice-chairman of Hendrick Motorsports called the JGR man “too controversial.”

NASCAR insider explains why Denny Hamlin would never fit at HMS

Denny Hamlin’s comments sparked debates all across the NASCAR community. On a recent episode of Dirty Mo Media’s Dirty Air, Mike Davis, Dalton Greco, Andrew Kurland, and Travis Rockhold discussed the JGR man’s stance. Hamlin had said that it was this mentality of holding back that was preventing drivers from transforming into stars.

As Denny Hamlin’s comments came after Jeff Gordon said that he was too controversial, Dalton Greco explained why the HMS vice-chairman thought so.

“Hendrick wants a consistent product with their drivers so…I mean when you get someone like a Denny or, you know, anybody that’s outspoken in that sense, you’re not getting consistency across the board of, I know what I’m gonna get, like, you do with a Larson or an Elliott or a Byron or Bowman. I mean Bowman’s got the most character in that group I would say,” Greco said.

“But some sponsors and teams like guys who are outspoken and fun, and some don’t. But I will say, on Twitter, you would be surprised by how many people responded to the tweet of Denny saying what he said of, you know, we’re stunting growth, we’re stunting star power, who said man I can’t stand Denny Hamlin but he is right on here,” he added.

Denny Hamlin’s tweet did blow up as he said something perhaps a lot of fans had been thinking about. Even people who aren’t Denny Hamlin fans turned up in support of the No. 11 driver. It is true that NASCAR does not have those out-and-out superstars it had back in the day. There are a lot of fans that miss that aspect of the sport today.

Read More – Jeff Burton’s Prodigy’s Distracting Tactic by Picking Fight With Denny Hamlin Triggers Bitter Criticism From NASCAR Community

NASCAR’s villain garners fans’ support after controversial remark

Trending

Tony Stewart’s Disgruntled Star Throws Shade at Joe Gibbs’ Driver for Handing JR Motorsports the Talladega Crown

Carl Edwards Discloses the 8-Word Reason Behind Recent NASCAR Return After Long Silence

Fans Unhappy With North Carolina Authorities After NASCAR Teams’ Intervention to Saddening Tragedy

Kyle Busch Ditched by His Teammate and Allies Has NASCAR Fandom in Splits Raising Concern for the Veteran

Tony Stewart’s Mentee Calls Out NASCAR’s Talladega Mismanagement After ‘Big One’ DPV Blunder

“I 100% agree with you on this subject. HMS and many other are stunting the growth of the sport by making their drivers turn into robots. Perfect example is Blaney. He said last week that if he didn’t drive for Penske he would have a totally different look but it’s not aloud,” one fan commented.

“Never been a fan of Hamlin but his podcast brings a lot of light to things in the sport. I’m slowly starting to become a fan,” wrote another.

Comparisons were obviously drawn to Hendrick Motorsports in light of Jeff Gordon’s comments about Hamlin. One fan said that no one really knew either of the two HMS playoff drivers due to their subdued personalities.

“Noone knows or cares about Byron or Bowman and Byron has the most wins and might win the championship. Why? Because they have zero personality and you never hear anything from them. Everyone knows who @dennyhamlin is and is talking about him every week. Gordon needs to wake up,” wrote one fan.

“I liked today’s honest and heated podcast. Refreshing that someone with a good head on shoulders is making sense and passionate about topics,” commented another.

And of course, there were fans who had been fans of the sport for a long time. These are the people who missed having a superstar in NASCAR, which was not the case back in the day.

“It drives me crazy how plain and boring the drivers have become. Thanks for speaking up @dennyhamlin. Ive been watching since the early 90’s. Lately I find the cup series lacking alot of star power,” one fan wrote.

Denny Hamlin may not be one of the most likable drivers on the grid but he does bring up some legitimate concerns that fans have. Drivers these days are subdued due to team pressure, and that is something fans think has been making the NASCAR races bland for the longest time.

WATCH THIS STORY: Denny Hamlin Blames Tony Stewart for Letting Down Slowest Kevin Harvick