It seems to some that Denny Hamlin is taking on too many fights and too many jobs. And he’s once again out of a race. Hamlin got turned in a Toyota tussle at Talladega with Erik Jones and Bubba Wallace. It ended his race late. Jones and Wallace also had to retire. “I just saw the No. 43 (Wallace) get turned and then I got turned,” Hamlin told Fox’s Regan Smith. The incident happened during Stage 3 of the Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway today, April 21. A track where Hamlin has previously found a lot of success. This was the second consecutive crash for Hamlin.
Just like at today’s Talladega race, Hamlin crashed out late at last week’s Echopark 400 at the Texas Motor Speedway. It’s early in the season. Hamlin currently sits in third, just 28 points behind current NASCAR Cup leader, Kyle Larson. But with all the battles Hamlin is taking on on-track and off, from driver, to NASCAR Cup team co-owner, to podcaster, media mogul — and very public critic of NASCAR — it must be asked if Hamlin is taking on too many fights.
Denny Hamlin Versus NASCAR
Barely two weeks ago, Denny Hamlin got into a nasty and very public fight with Marcus Smith, chairman of SMI (Speedway Motorsports). Smith runs SMI, which runs multiple NASCAR tracks, so this was not an easy fight for Hamlin. As we wrote at the time, “Hamlin and (Marcus) Smith engaged in a surprisingly nasty — and extremely personal — spat on X (formerly Twitter). Hamlin fired the first shot. He accused SMI of ‘paving on a budget’ at Sonoma and implied the company had done the same at North Wilkesboro.”
There’s more. Denny Hamlin spent a good portion of the week leading up to Talladega very publicly complaining about changes to — and in some cases, tear downs — of the pylons at NASCAR tracks.
Hamlin said he spoke with Chip Wile, NASCAR’s Chief of Track Properties, about the issue. Standing in front of a media throng, Hamlin remarked that “what created so many exciting times during qualifying was when the number would pop up on the scoring pylon. P1 for Dale Jr., whoever it was. That’s what people were looking at, and now it’s just a little different.” Is this a fight worth Hamlin’s time?
While these kerfuffles drew a lot of fan and media attention, probably most draining for Hamlin is the ongoing NASCAR charter agreement battle. Hamlin has been outspoken on the need for NASCAR to offer a greater share of the media money to teams — like the team he co-owns with Michael Jordan, 23XI Racing. Hamlin has similarly been critical of NASCAR for not coming to the table enough as part of the charter negotiations. As we wrote in February, 2024, Hamlin clearly expressed his displeasure over NASCAR ownership’s actions. “I can’t think of a league or an owner of a league or a commissioner that would decline meeting with his team owners. That’s very disappointing.”
Denny Hamlin, Co-Owner and Self Promoter
Denny Hamlin knows how to draw attention to himself. Take the popular Netflix series, NASCAR: Full Speed. As we wrote soon after its premiere, “Hamlin managed to make himself a centerpiece of the popular Netflix series.” This was not a criticism, as we added: “the thorny veteran emerges as an almost likable star of the series. A hard-driving racer, determined team owner, and deeply engaged father.”
Nonetheless, opening up his work life and home life to the Netflix production crew is just one more time drain. At last week’s race at the Texas Motor Speedway, Hamlin was in contention with 13 laps to go. After a series of restarts, Hamliln lost control and ran his No. 11 into the wall.
Add to this, Hamlin is co-owner of 23XI Racing while racing for Joe Gibbs Racing. It’s not a question of divided loyalties as much as focus. Though he crashed out at today’s Talladega race, Hamlin was there to cheer on the winner, Tyler Reddick. Reddick races for 23XI Racing. “Every 23XI win is like watching your kids win,” Hamlin said.
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