[autotag]Denny Hamlin[/autotag] rounded Turn 4 at Bristol Motor Speedway and crossed the start-finish line for his third victory of the 2023 NASCAR season. It was one that came without any controversy but the sound of fans booing Hamlin echoed throughout The Last Great Colosseum. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver had a simple message for all of them.
“Hey, I beat your favorite driver,” Hamlin said. “All of ’em.”
With more booing from the fans, Hamlin walked away and fully displayed on Saturday night that he is embracing the villain role that has been cast upon him during the 2023 season. Following the interview on the front stretch, Hamlin went into his post-race press conference and was asked about whether there was a point he decided to start playing the crowd.
“Yeah, I mean, at some point, I got to realize 18 years in that I’m probably not going to win the Most Popular Driver award,” he said smiling. “I’ve come to the conclusion of that. I understand it.”
'@DennyHamlin did a burnout coming to victory lane! #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/YRNaBGGM2Y
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 17, 2023
“Yeah, they think they bother me. But clearly it’s having an opposite effect. I welcome any fan to want to come to the dark side. All five of my fans are still out there chanting my name. They’re over in turn three right now. But yeah, as Katt Williams said: A hater can’t stand a winner.”
The driver of the No. 11 car has become even more confident and dangerous, which has firmly established himself as a serious title threat after the Round of 16. In fact, there may not be a driver on the same level as Hamlin in the 2023 playoffs outside of Kyle Larson, who has earned the most points of any driver over the last three races.
Hamlin led at least 63 laps in every race during the Round of 16 and a case could be made that he could have won all three events. The No. 11 team is peaking at the right time and combined with his newly embraced villain role, this spells bad news for the rest of the NASCAR playoff drivers. The statistics do not lie.
There is nothing more dangerous than a confident race car driver. Hamlin has the speed and consistency to make his way to the Championship 4 and the confidence to win the entire thing. There may be ups and downs along the way but there are no reasons to doubt Hamlin at this point. Sure, the past may have resulted in zero championships but this year certainly feels different.
Whether you love him or hate him, Hamlin is certainly entertaining and that is not going away anytime soon. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s strong performances are likely seeing the same fate so it wouldn’t be surprising to hear a rain of boos coming down at Phoenix Raceway as well.
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