Denny Hamlin bombarded with NASCAR boos at Bristol, but why is he reviled? Vote!
Denny Hamlin has come to relish in his role as the reviled villain of NASCAR.
He was all smiles as the boos rained down from the Bristol bleachers on Saturday night after he finished dusting the field to claim victory and officially advance to the Round of 12.
You gotta admit, he owns it.
"I gotta realize 18 years in that I'm probably not going to win the Most Popular Driver Award," Hamlin said after winning at Bristol on Saturday.
But how did we get here? Why do NASCAR fans hate Denny Hamlin?
Well, here's your chance. We want you to tell us!
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Certainly, Hamlin has had his dustups with other drivers. Shoot, he's completed a bingo card of feuds with the entire Hendrick Motorsports roster and yeah, we know, nobody messes with Chase Elliott and gets away with it! And that doesn't mention calling Alex Bowman, "a hack", or prolonged tangles with Ross Chastain and Kyle Larson.
But is that why he's on the receiving end of so much hate these days? Is his gleeful acceptance of animosity only intensifying the resentment? Or, is he right in suggesting that he's hated because he wins?
"As (comedian) Katt Williams said, 'A hater can't stand a winner'," Hamlin said.
Last week, we asked which big-name driver would be eliminated from the playoffs. Almost unbelievably, Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano finished tied with 24.1% of the vote each and, wouldn't ya know it, both were below the cutline at the end of Saturday's race.
A hat tip to you all.
As always, you may vote up to once an hour until the poll closes an hour before next Sundays' race at Texas. Remember to send any and all comments to rpritt@gannett.com or tweet them to @RPritt on Twitter. We may run some of our favorites with next week's story.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR: Denny Hamlin is the sport's most hated driver. Why? Vote!
