[autotag]Denny Hamlin[/autotag] started the 2024 NASCAR season on a perfect note. Hamlin swept the Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum by winning the pole and the race on Saturday night. It was an excellent showing for the No. 11 team, which featured the Joe Gibbs Racing driver telling the crowd that he beat their favorite drivers again.
This saying originated during the playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway in September 2023 and has carried over into the 2024 NASCAR season. However, according to Hamlin on his podcast, Actions Detrimental, that will be the final time he says the joke to the crowd after a victory.
“I’m gonna have to retire it,” Hamlin said. “I’m gonna retire the ‘I beat all of your favorite drivers’ because I got a text and those of you who saw the Netflix special with my dad. He sent me a text, and he says, ‘Son, you’ve got to stop that. I don’t like it, it’s just too cocky,’ and I’m going to listen to dad on this one.”
Denny Hamlin wins the 2024 Clash at the Coliseum! pic.twitter.com/IfVzOhEZLn
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 4, 2024
“So, we’re going to retire it, that’s the last time. I think jokes are always funnier the first time you say it, not the second….We’ll come up with something new next time around, but ‘I beat your favorite driver, all of them,’ is officially gonna go down in the history books. It’s done.”
Hamlin must devise something clever for his next victory, as he loves to play the villain role with the fanbase. It is good that Hamlin retires the saying because he’s right. It doesn’t have the same impact the second time and can feel overused. Now, the driver of the No. 11 car hopes to have plenty of opportunities to land another impactful saying.
[lawrence-related id=6369]