The Dallas Cowboys, sitting pretty with a whopping $9 billion valuation, haven’t clinched a major victory in ages. Yet, they continue to stir up a storm of love and hate, a whole generation away from their heyday, still basking in their ‘super-rich’ status. When it comes to finding a match for the Cowboys in the racing world, Denny Hamlin springs to mind.
Just like the Cowboys, who often start strong but somehow fumble before the final whistle, Denny Hamlin has a knack for acing the regular season and early playoff races in NASCAR, only to drop the ball later on. Drawing on this parallel, NASCAR fans recently had a field day poking fun at Hamlin, pointing out this all-too-familiar pattern.
NASCAR fans see parallels between Denny Hamlin and the Dallas Cowboys
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2023 started off looking like Denny Hamlin’s year. His consistency and confidence were evident in his performances. He even believed that this would be the year he’d shake off his “championship-less” label. However, fate had other plans. In a similar vein, the Dallas Cowboys had a repeat performance, going 12-5 for the third consecutive season but with nothing significant to show for it. They’ve made NFL history as the first team with three straight 12-win seasons yet without making it to a Conference Championship game.
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This striking similarity led NASCAR fans to draw parallels, labeling Denny Hamlin as the Cowboys of NASCAR and, conversely, the Cowboys as the Denny Hamlin of the NFL.
Social media buzzed with tweets like “If the Dallas Cowboys were a NASCAR driver #nascar #DallasCowboys”, “@NASCAR Dallas Cowboys are the Denny Hamlin of the NFL. Great season, then blow it in the playoffs”, “The Cowboys are the Denny Hamlin of football. #nascar #nfl”, “If you want NASCAR equivalent to the Cowboys in the playoffs. 1 man sums it up 🤣🤣🤣,” and “NFL: Dallas Cowboys NBA: Boston Celtics MLB: St. Louis Cardinals NASCAR: JGR #11 FedEx Toyota team,” showcasing fans’ perceptions of their similar fates.
If the Dallas Cowboys were a NASCAR driver #nascar #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/TYAIvXrcly
— Matthew Waldon (@M_wal14) January 15, 2024
However, despite how his career has unfolded in the last 18 years, Denny Hamlin seems to be gathering fans just like Cowboys, proving that any form of popularity still counts.
Denny Hamlin says he has more fans and more buzz than ever
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Denny Hamlin’s racing flair, coupled with his foray into podcasting since February 2023, has added an extra charm, bringing him closer to fans in a fresh way. By teaming up with Dirt Mo Media for his podcast, Hamlin set out to unravel NASCAR’s intricacies and share his personal insights. This venture seems to have hit the mark, boosting his popularity.
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Reflecting on his growing fanbase and the ripples his opinions have caused in the NASCAR world, Hamlin acknowledged an upswing in his fan following, more than ever before. However, he quickly pointed out that not everyone’s on his bandwagon, with a vocal group making their disapproval heard.
Hamlin remarked, “I have this. I have this platform to give my opinion, and I think that a lot of the fan uproar towards the end of the year. A lot of it was because I am opinionated. I do believe that I have more fans than I’ve ever had by far. It’s not close.”
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“However, the counter Denny Hamlin fans, the ones that don’t like me at all, are louder than they’ve ever been. So it’s just been more noise. But I do believe that it did what we hoped, and that was build a platform, build a fan base, build a brand, and see where this thing goes,” he added.
Denny Hamlin’s plans off the track may have come to fruition, but what’s still left for him is to achieve his on-track Cup Series plan. When do you think that will happen?