Tag: Denny Hamlin

Why Clint Bowyer says NASCAR’s iRacing event will be ‘realistic beyond belief’

NASCAR is still (virtually) racing while its season is postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Even with the NASCAR season postponed because of the global coronavirus pandemic, Clint Bowyer has been behind the wheel this week. He, like so many of his fellow Cup Series drivers, is just doing it from the comfort of his own home with an iRacing setup.

But Bowyer has been competing on virtual versions of NASCAR’s tracks with guys like Dale Earnhardt Jr., Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr., NBC Sports’ Parker Kligerman and country music singer Tim Dugger.

“We’re racing until 2:30 in the morning!” Bowyer told For The Win about what he thinks was his Tuesday night because “this quarantine thing’s got me screwed up on days.”

“We raced street stocks from Homestead to Dover to Talladega to Rockingham. We had a hell of a good time!”

For Bowyer, this hasn’t just been a way to kill time on his North Carolina farm. He’s trying to get as much practice in as possible for Sunday’s exhibition race in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series, a newly formed series from NASCAR after seven races this spring were postponed through May 3. And he said the racing is “truly realistic beyond belief.”

It’s the Dixie Vodka 150 — a 100-lap race at the virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway, where the sport was supposed to compete this weekend — and will be broadcast by FS1 at 1:30 p.m. ET.

“I gotta get better,” said Bowyer, whose previous experience with iRacing has been in dirt late model racing as a team owner. He’ll also be providing in-race analysis for FOX.

“I don’t want to get my ass kicked on this thing with all these guys. We compete week in and week out, there’s nothing that sucks worse than getting beat by a Denny Hamlin or any one of these guys.”

Other drivers participating in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series include Earnhardt, Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Kyle Larson and William Byron, who started his career in iRacing before working his way up to the Cup Series.

“That’s where [Byron] was found,” Bowyer said. “This cat’s driving the No. 24 [Chevrolet] for Rick Hendrick for crying out loud. So he is the favorite in this thing, I can promise you that.”

With no racing or really any other sports right now, NASCAR has a unique advantage. The simulated tracks have been created with extreme detail to mimic their real-life counterparts, and racers are competing with pedals and a steering wheel. Some setups, like Hamlin’s, have seats that move accordingly when the driver hits the banking in a track’s turns.

iRacing has been around since 2004, and NASCAR has taken advantage of it. The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series features some of the best simulation drivers competing in a season for more than $300,000. But it’s not limited to the pros, and fans can buy an iRacing setup and progress through the ranks to find themselves competing against Cup drivers on any given day.

“The advantage NASCAR has is the iRacing platform,” Hamlin said Saturday on ESPN’s SportsCenter. He owns two cars in NASCAR’s already existing pro iRacing series.

“When you look at other sports and everyone’s on hiatus, the racing will be as close to the real thing as possible — closer than any other sport.”

New to iRacing in situations somewhat comparable to the Cup Series, Bowyer called the realistic simulations “mesmerizing.”

However, he and Hamlin agreed what isn’t quite realistic is the experience level of the sim drivers in Sunday’s race. People like Hamlin and Byron have years of experience with iRacing, unlike Bowyer, who’s “way behind” and said it’s like the equivalent of him attempting to drive a Cup car for the first time.

They also both speculated that regardless of drivers’ experience levels, the most skilled ones will finds ways to get the most out of their simulated cars.

“I guarantee I will be more nervous cranking the engine and leaving pit road this Sunday than I would be in real life simply because there are so many X factors,” Hamlin added on ESPN.

But in a world without sports, this is as close to real as they can get, and it’s not comparable to other sports’ video games.

“This isn’t a video game,” Bowyer said. “This isn’t Madden football or the NBA game you play. This is real life. You’ve got the football in your hand, you’ve got the baseball bat in your hand, you’ve got the steering wheel, you’ve got the throttle pedal, you’ve got the brake pedal, you are the guy.

“You’re not telling some computer what to do. You are him! You’re controlling every aspect of the race car, and I’m telling you first hand from somebody that’s just got on here cold turkey, my mind is blown how competitive it is and how realistic the controls [are]. Everything is through the roof. It’s more realistic than I could have ever imagined.”

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Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch headline NASCAR’s iRacing alternative amid coronavirus outbreak

Some of NASCAR’s biggest stars are competing in a new exhibition eNASCAR series while real-life racing is postponed.

Basically the entire sports world is on hiatus as the result of the novel coronavirus outbreak with the NBA, MLB and NHL among the many sports organizations suspending their seasons. But NASCAR has a way to keep its drivers competing against each other.

Sure, other pro athletes are grinding away at Madden and NBA 2K and FIFA 20 and so many more video games mimicking professional sports. But those video games don’t quite compare with iRacing, NASCAR’s greatest asset in these uncertain times amid a global pandemic.

NASCAR’s season has been postponed through May 3, at least, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the cancellation or postponement of gatherings of 50 people or more for the next eight weeks. And the governing body is rightly utilizing that asset to offer fans something, anything, in an age without sports.

NASCAR and iRacing, the online racing simulator, announced Tuesday night the creation of the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series, a multi-week series to fill the temporary racing void with drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin — who owns two cars in the already existing pro iRacing series, including one with a Jumpman paint scheme designed with Michael Jordan’s help. Dale Jr.’s team, JR Motorsports, also has two iRacing cars this season.

(The two organizations already had a partnership for the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, which is in its 11th season with some of the best simulation drivers competing for more than $300,000.)

This isn’t the same as, say, NBA players being themselves in 2K. iRacing requires a computer, a steering wheel and pedals, more or less allowing real-world professional racing skills to translate to the virtual track. Several current drivers in NASCAR’s top series have started their careers in iRacing.

Earnhardt Jr., Hamlin and William Byron are among the successful Cup Series drivers who previously raced online.

“I was very good at iRacing back in the day; I sat on the pole and won some really big, prestigious races,” Hamlin told NBC Sports in February. “Now back then, there were like 5,000 people that raced online, and now there’s over a hundred thousand that do iRacing.”

And currently without real-life racing, there are a few more sim drivers joining or returning to the virtual track. In addition to Dale Jr., Busch and Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell are expected to participate in this exhibition eNASCAR series.

The first race is set for Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET on the virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway track, where NASCAR was scheduled to compete this weekend before the season was suspended. Remaining race times have not yet been announced, and, according to Autoweek, NASCAR is attempting to get the first race aired on FOX Sports or NBC Sports Network.

NASCAR president Steve Phelps spoke about NASCAR’s reliance on iRacing during the coronavirus pandemic while on a media conference call Tuesday prior to the pro series announcement. He said:

“There are discussions we’re having with FOX about what things we can do, discussions we would have with NBC, things that we can put through our own channels that satisfy our fans. Our fans are obviously thirsty for this content. We want to provide it to them smartly and have interesting content as opposed to just repurposing some of the content that’s already been done.”

“Thirsty” is an understatement. With the season postponed after just four races in 2020, fans are desperate for competition. And as just about every other sport being put on hold in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19, some NASCAR fans, inexplicably, argued for competition to carry on, despite the fast-spreading virus and ignoring the severity of the situation.

That group of fans didn’t get its wish because it’s just not safe for those in NASCAR or anyone they may interact with to gather right now. But there is a pretty solid next-best option.

While virtual racing certainly isn’t exactly the same as the real world, it’s close enough, especially compared with the alternatives other pro sports have to offer.

And we got a quick preview of what this exhibition eNASCAR series could be like. Sunday, drivers and others in the industry united for a one-off iRacing event called The Replacements 100 at the virtual Atlanta Motor Speedway, where NASCAR was scheduled to race last weekend.

It included Earnhardt, Hamlin, Alex Bowman and Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr., and Ryan Blaney’s spotter Josh Williams outlasted Byron for the win. As Autoweek reported, the Twitch broadcast peaked at 27,000 viewers.

Diehard racing fans or those with experience online (watching or competing) will surely tune in for NASCAR’s exhibition iRacing series regardless, and big names like Earnhardt, Busch and Hamlin could attract more people who might not be interested otherwise.

Plus, if it comes to fruition, successfully broadcasting these races on national TV would shine a spotlight on the virtual racing, which NASCAR has been trying to promote anyway. And it could just reach a much broader audience and quench that thirst.

With a total of seven Cup Series races postponed at this point — and perhaps more to come — NASCAR has a noticeable and rare advantage over mainstream sports in the gaming world. It’s playing the only real card it had, and while iRacing isn’t quite the same, it’s good enough for now.

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Martin Truex Jr.’s recent road rage vs. his NASCAR teammates is gloriously profane

Martin Truex Jr.’s radio audio from NASCAR’s race in southern California is a masterpiece.

Welcome to FTW’s NASCAR Feud of the Week, where we provide a detailed breakdown of the latest absurd, funny and sometimes legitimate controversies and issues within the racing world.

Having ample moments of road rage through the first three races of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season is pretty standard. But having highlights this incredible is not.

Martin Truex Jr. had a rough day at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday, lashing out multiple times throughout the Auto Club 400, including at his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates and his pit crew after a painfully slow stop. He also started the race last in 38th after his car failed pre-qualifying inspection three times, so that didn’t help.

And despite the 2017 champion working his way up to the front at one point, Truex finished 14th, which is actually his best finish so far in a disappointing opening.

The radio audio highlights from Sunday’s race, of course, featured some fiery comments from plenty of usual suspects, like Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer and Ryan Blaney.

But nothing tops Truex, who’s had some outrageous meltdowns early in past seasons. So here are some of his best road rage quotes from Auto Club Speedway’s 2020 Cup Series race.

Let’s start with this one that’s still circulating around NASCAR Twitter. In the first stage (60 laps) of the race, Truex was looking for a hand from his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 Toyota and Erik Jones in the No. 20 Toyota. And he was pretty angry when he didn’t get it.

Truex: [Expletive] the 20 and [expletive] the 11! They can both kiss my [expletive]!

Clayton Hughes, spotter: 10-4 on the kiss.

In a later conversation with his new crew chief, James Small, Truex explained a little more calmly what was going on. But they still criticized the other JGR teams.

Truex: Just got caught in a bad spot there in traffic. It [expletive] killed us. Killed my front tires too.

Small: Doesn’t help when our teammates race us like jackasses every week as well.

Truex: Yeah, I don’t understand why they can’t just help push me by the next guy and not push the next guy back past me. I just don’t understand that. It’s like, kind of stupid.

While much of the No. 19 Toyota driver’s frustration was directed at his teammates, he wasn’t happy with plenty of other drivers on the track. He threatened to wreck Joey Logano in the No. 22 Ford, and the pair have a bit of history together in our NASCAR Feud of the Week series. He’s also threatened revenge on Logano before too but hasn’t followed through (yet).

Truex: Tell the 22 I should have wrecked him. Next time, I will.

Hughes: Yes, sir. Tired of that [expletive].

At about the two-minute mark in the video above, it appears the No. 19 does run into the back of the No. 22, but not enough to wreck anyone.

A common complaint of Truex’s also returned during the race at the two-mile track: lapped cars.

Truex has directed his road rage at lapped cars not getting out of the way of cars on the lead lap — he’s certainly not the only driver, either — and that was true at Auto Club Speedway as he moved through traffic, according to this radio quote per The Athletic‘s Jeff Gluck:

“These [expletive] guys have no idea where they’re at!”

The No. 19 Toyota driver also can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to pit stops. A disastrous one in November — his team accidentally swapped left- and right-side tires — arguably cost him a second championship. At the Daytona 500 in February, he slammed into a rogue fuel can from Chase Elliott’s team while driving down pit road before ultimately crashing out.

And then Sunday, a pit stop in the final stage of the race took significantly longer than it should have.

Truex: What the [expletive] is going on?!

Small: I’m not too sure right now. It’s something with the gun.

As it turns out, the team’s rear tire changer got a cramp in the middle of doing his job — these guys are absolutely athletes too — and Truex wasn’t able to make up the positions he lost.

And later on in the race, Truex’s fury was redirected back to his teammates, specifically Hamlin. Again, Truex was looking for some help from Hamlin, and when he didn’t get it, he seemed almost resigned about it:

Truex: How many times, Denny? How many times?

For his part, Hamlin tried to explain himself over his team’s radio:

Hamlin: Tell him when he came to my right rear, it gets [expletive] tight.

Chris Gabehardt, crew chief: He don’t care about that, bud. You just gotta do you, man. You race the 11 car.

Regardless, Truex wasn’t happy, and that almost certainly made the Joe Gibbs Racing team meetings this week a little interesting, to say the least.

“I’m in trouble here. I’m plowing my [expletive] off from that [expletive] damage.”

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NASCAR owner scolds Denny Hamlin for lighthearted video with Kyle Larson

NASCAR Twitter thought Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson’s grocery store video was funny. But Chip Ganassi didn’t.

Welcome to FTW’s NASCAR Feud of the Week, where we provide a detailed breakdown of the latest absurd, funny and sometimes legitimate controversies and issues within the racing world. This one is part joke, but also appears to be part serious.

NASCAR Twitter thought the video of Denny Hamlin running his shopping cart into Kyle Larson at the grocery store was pretty funny, as it mimicked the run-in the two friends had Sunday at Auto Club Speedway.

But Larson’s team owner, Chip Ganassi, disagreed.

Hamlin — who opened the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season with his second consecutive Daytona 500 win — tweeted the video of him and Larson at the grocery store Sunday night, hours after the Auto Club 400 ended at the two-mile southern California track. And he ran into Larson with his shopping cart, loosely recreating what happened during the race, the third of the season.

Early in the race, Larson, Hamlin and Kevin Harvick were running together going into Turn 1. As FOX Sports’ Jeff Gordon explained during the broadcast (and the video below), Harvick gave Hamlin a push, which got the No. 11 Toyota right on the bumper of Larson in the No. 42 Chevrolet.

But then Hamlin gave Larson a push that was just too much, and it turned Larson’s car, which then hit Auto Club Speedway’s outside wall.

Larson had to pit so his team could repair the damage to the right side of the car. Behind Alex Bowman, who won his second career Cup race, Larson finished the race 21st and a lap down, and Hamlin came in sixth.

Judging by Hamlin’s Twitter video later that night, Larson isn’t holding a grudge against his friend.

But Ganassi tweeted Tuesday morning that he disapproves of the video making a joke out of their run-in and said it was in bad taste.

Clearly not everyone in NASCAR thinks Hamlin and Larson’s video joking about the on-track incident is that funny.

It seems unlikely that Hamlin would purposefully wreck his buddy like that and so early in the race, no less. So maybe it’s OK to laugh about something that is probably truly an accident.

But a team owner looking at a wrecked car that costs around $300,000, understandably, might have a different perspective.

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Kevin Harvick puts $50k bounty on Kyle Busch in NASCAR’s Truck Series

Kyle Busch is on a seven-race win streak in the NASCAR Truck Series.

Kyle Busch, the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion, runs as many races in the lower-tiered XFINITY Series and Truck Series as he’s allowed to. He often dominates, and his haters don’t exactly love that.

In his first Truck Series race of the 2020 season, Busch won the Strat 200 at his home track, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, on Friday night, extending his win streak in the series to seven races going back to the 2018 season. He also became the winningest Truck Series driver last year and just keeps adding to his record.

NASCAR rules dictate that because of his experience as a Cup Series driver, he’s only allowed to compete in five total Truck Series races this season.

And Kevin Harvick wants to have a little fun with that. The 2014 Cup Series champion tweeted Saturday that he’ll offer a $50,000 prize to any fellow full-time Cup driver who beats Busch in a Truck race.

Now, it’s a little unclear whether that driver has to beat Busch once in his next four Truck Series races or all four times, but things could get interesting.

Busch’s four remaining truck races are at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 14, Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 20, Texas Motor Speedway on March 27 and Kansas Speedway on May 30. He’s also planning to compete in the maximum five XFINITY races this season, starting with Phoenix Raceway in two weeks.

Not long after Harvick put down his $50,000, Marcus Lemonis — the CEO of Gander Outdoors, which is the Truck Series title sponsor — tweeted he’ll match the No. 4 Ford driver’s offer.

And with all of Busch’s Truck Series races coming in the next several weeks, this could get fun.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. defends Denny Hamlin’s celebration, compares Daytona 500 finish to 2001 tragedy

Dale Jr. said fans attacking Denny Hamlin were being “overly critical.”

Denny Hamlin didn’t know the severity of Ryan Newman’s last-lap crash when he began celebrating his second consecutive Daytona 500 victory. The No. 11 Toyota driver did a burnout on the grass near the frontstretch at Daytona International Speedway and continued his celebration with his team in Victory Lane.

But as soon as they learned Newman — whose car spun, hit the wall before being slammed into by Corey LaJoie, went airborne and slid off the track upside down — might not be OK, they stopped celebrating and team owner Joe Gibbs immediately apologized. Gibbs later apologized again as he, Hamlin and spotter Chris Lambert explained they didn’t realize what was happening.

Newman was taken to a nearby Daytona Beach hospital and was released Wednesday, less than 48 hours after the crash.

Despite the No. 11 team’s explanation, NASCAR fans on Twitter relentlessly criticized Hamlin and the team after the crash for celebrating their win, which Dale Earnhardt Jr. described as “overly critical” with Twitter being “all over the dang place.”

On his weekly podcast, the Dale Jr. Download, Earnhardt defended the team’s immediate actions, again noting its apology. He also compared the aftermath to that of the 2001 Daytona 500, when his father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., was tragically killed on the last lap of the race as Michael Waltrip won the first race of his career.

Dale Jr. explained:

“Denny goes and celebrates his win, and he caught a lot of flack for that. And I didn’t feel like that was deserving. I appreciate Joe Gibbs issuing an apology, but I didn’t feel it was necessary. But in this day and time, it certainly is for people get triggered so easily.

“But if people think back [to] Dad’s accident in 2001, Michael celebrated. He was in Victory Lane with his entire team celebrating — the team owned by my dad — before they finally were getting the right information. And no one ever in that moment went, ‘Oh, how dare Michael be celebrating until we figure out what’s going on with Earnhardt?’ So it’s a different time, and people react differently to those type of situations. I think they’re being overly critical of Denny and his team.

“It’s unfortunate that someone in that camp did not get to Denny quicker and tell him to pause and hold on his celebration. It didn’t happen, and it’s unfortunate, but it’s not anyone was right or wrong. It’s just how it played out. And we’ve seen it happen before and we’ve been much less critical in other situations that were extremely similar.”

Earnhardt and podcast co-host Mike Davis also brought up the 2015 summer race at Daytona. Junior won as Austin Dillon was involved in a huge wreck with his No. 3 Chevrolet ending up in the catchfence.

Comparing that situation to the one Hamlin was in Monday night, Earnhardt said he most likely would have been celebrating his win if he hadn’t seen Dillon’s wreck unfold behind him.

He continued on the Dale Jr. Download:

“If I had no idea that the 3 car went into the grandstands, I definitely probably would have been celebrating. But I happened to, just at that moment, catch a glimpse of what I thought was the bottom of the car, so in my mind, I’m assuming that the roof of that car had went into the fence, which is a terrible scenario.

“I’ve seen a lot of bad things in racing, and I’ve seen more than one death at a race track. I’ve been at race tracks where people have lost their lives and multiple times. So I feel like Denny, he won the race. He obviously did not see the severity of the crash in the mirror. He did not understand — how could he know that Corey LaJoie made contact with Newman’s car the way it did? None of us would have known, had we not seeing it on TV with the replays and so forth, right? We all had much more, much, much more information than Denny ever had. That’s all I think needs to be said about that.”

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Denny Hamlin reviews Michael Jordan’s exclusive new golf course after playing with Rickie Fowler

Denny Hamlin spent time at Michael Jordan’s exclusive new golf course after playing a round with Rickie Fowler.

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The good news for NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin is he didn’t lose any money playing golf against Rickie Fowler this week.

The bad news for him is he didn’t win any, either.

Hamlin, Fowler and former NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip visited Michael Jordan’s new exclusive golf course, Grove XXIII, in Hobe Sound, Florida (near Jupiter), and the defending Daytona 500 champion said he bet Fowler “a lot and ended up with nothing.”

“I tied Rickie on the final hole,” Hamlin said Wednesday at Daytona International Speedway. “Thank goodness that got me back square, so that was a lot of fun. But it’s just amazing to see how good pros are. You think you’ve seen people that are good at their craft; go see a professional athlete do his craft. And it’s just amazing to watch.”

Although Hamlin is an avid golfer — he and some other NASCAR drivers are in an amateur (but super serious) league called The Golf Guys Tour — he, unsurprisingly, said Fowler has “an absurd unfair advantage” on the course.

“Unfortunately, he uses the same clubs, and he has the same body type,” Hamlin said comparing his own game and Fowler’s. “So there’s really no excuses other than he’s got talent and I don’t.”

Still, Hamlin — who underwent successful arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn labrum in November, right after the 2019 NASCAR season ended — said he had a great time at Jordan’s private course.

Unlike many drivers who like to use NASCAR’s short, three-month offseason to race in other series, Hamlin said he needs that break from the track to “amped up and better prepared” when he returns for the season-opening Daytona 500, which is Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET. He said he figured Fowler would be the same way and wouldn’t want to play golf in his free time — but found that the opposite was true.

Denny Hamlin during the Tournament of Champions LPGA golf tournament Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Gary McCullough/AP)

“For me, it’s my way of unwinding,” Hamlin said about golfing. “Each driver is so different, and I actually talked to Rickie Fowler a little bit, and I said, ‘Why are you out here? Like, you’re not golfing in competition, so what is it? Are you out here practicing, or are you just bored and don’t want to be home?’ He said, ‘I love golf.’

“He actually mentioned it’s similar to what Kyle Larson [does], right? Or any of the other guys that just continue to race, race, race. For me, I’m a little different. If I’m a pro golfer, and I’m not golfing that week, I’m not golfing that week. But each person finds their own way to motivate them to keep doing this because this is not an easy thing to do, week in and week out.”

Hamlin was also blown away by Jordan’s new 72-par course.

“The course was unbelievable,” he said. “There’s only 75 members. Hopefully to be 76 here in the next few weeks, so it was really an honor to be invited and be a member at such an exclusive place. It’s really new, just a few months old. It’s going to be fun to do for the next 20 to 30 years, as long as I’m able to play.”

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Denny Hamlin reviews Michael Jordan’s new golf course after playing it with Rickie Fowler

Denny Hamlin was also amazed by Rickie Fowler’s skills.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The good news for NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin is he didn’t lose any money playing golf against pro Rickie Fowler this week. The bad news for him is he didn’t win any, either.

Hamlin, Fowler and former NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip visited Michael Jordan’s new exclusive golf course, Grove XXIII, in Hobe Sound, Florida (near Jupiter), and the defending Daytona 500 champion said he bet Fowler “a lot and ended up with nothing.”

“I tied Rickie on the final hole,” Hamlin said Wednesday at Daytona International Speedway. “Thank goodness that got me back square, so that was a lot of fun. But it’s just amazing to see how good pros are. You think you’ve seen people that are good at their craft; go see a professional athlete do his craft. And it’s just amazing to watch.”

Although Hamlin is an avid golfer — he and some other NASCAR drivers are in an amateur (but super serious) league called The Golf Guys Tour — he, unsurprisingly, said Fowler has “an absurd unfair advantage” on the course.

“Unfortunately, he uses the same clubs, and he has the same body type,” Hamlin said comparing his own game and Fowler’s. “So there’s really no excuses other than he’s got talent and I don’t.”

Still, Hamlin — who underwent successful arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn labrum in November, right after the 2019 NASCAR season ended — said he had a great time at Jordan’s private course.

Unlike many drivers who like to use NASCAR’s short, three-month offseason to race in other series, Hamlin said he needs that break from the track to “amped up and better prepared” when he returns for the season-opening Daytona 500, which is Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET. He said he figured Fowler would be the same way and wouldn’t want to play golf in his free time — but found that the opposite was true.

Hamlin hits out of the bunker during the final round of the Tournament of Champions LPGA golf tournament in January in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough)

“For me, it’s my way of unwinding,” Hamlin said about golfing. “Each driver is so different, and I actually talked to Rickie Fowler a little bit, and I said, ‘Why are you out here? Like, you’re not golfing in competition, so what is it? Are you out here practicing, or are you just bored and don’t want to be home?’ He said, ‘I love golf.’

“He actually mentioned it’s similar to what Kyle Larson [does], right? Or any of the other guys that just continue to race, race, race. For me, I’m a little different. If I’m a pro golfer, and I’m not golfing that week, I’m not golfing that week. But each person finds their own way to motivate them to keep doing this because this is not an easy thing to do, week in and week out.”

Hamlin was also blown away by Jordan’s new 72-par course.

“The course was unbelievable,” he said. “There’s only 75 members. Hopefully to be 76 here in the next few weeks, so it was really an honor to be invited and be a member at such an exclusive place. It’s really new, just a few months old. It’s going to be fun to do for the next 20 to 30 years, as long as I’m able to play.”

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NASCAR Superlatives 2019: We polled drivers to see what they think of each other

“His ability to link cuss words together is phenomenal,” Jimmie Johnson said about one driver.

There is only so much NASCAR fans can learn about drivers through social media and brief interviews at the race tracks.

Posting more than race or sponsorship information or making a sly on-camera joke helps. But it’s still challenging to get a sense of what they’re really like, unless you’re at the track regularly.

But many of the drivers know each other fairly well, and some are actually pretty good friends and hang out beyond NASCAR race weekends. So For The Win conducted its annual NASCAR Superlatives investigation to see what some of these drivers really think of each other.

“So Clint Bowyer wins goofball, again and again and again and again?” Brad Keselowski joked.

Answering these questions, 11 drivers shared some funny and quirky details about their peers and their personalities.

Answers have been lightly condensed and edited for clarity.

1. If you’re having a party, who’s the first driver you invite?

Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. and Ryan Blaney (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Clint Bowyer: None. Wouldn’t be a very a good party if you invited my peers to it. That’s rude. None of ‘em know how to party! Most of them aren’t old enough to drink anymore, so it’s out of control.

Jimmie Johnson: Probably Clint, and then my teammates. [Alex Bowman] had a hell of a party after his first win.

Brad Keselowski: Ryan Blaney, he’s a good party dude. He brings in a good crowd.

Kyle Larson: Ricky Stenhouse. He’s one of my best friends, and he’s really wild right now.

Joey Logano: Typically — not that we’re partiers in any way — I’d invite Brad because our families are all friends, and [Corey] LaJoie because we grew up together, and we’re all friends.

Denny Hamlin: Kyle Larson.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Larson, just because we’re great friends and have a lot of fun together.

Ryan Blaney: My buddies, Bubba [Wallace] and Chase [Elliott].

Landon Cassill: Corey LaJoie, we have fun.

Alex Bowman: I don’t have any friends. It’d be Clint Bowyer, but he probably wouldn’t come to my party. [Yells to Bowyer across the room.] We’re trying to decide if you would come to my party or not!

Bowyer: Hell yeah!

Bowman: Well, Clint’s coming to the party then.

Bowyer: Are you old enough to drink?

Bowman: Last week, I turned 21, so we’re good.

Bowyer: Oh my god. Are you really serious? Did you really just turn 21?

Bowman: No, I’m 26. Come on now.

2. Which driver is most likely to be cause “The Big One” at Daytona or Talladega?

Cars wreck during “The Big One” at the 2019 Daytona 500. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

Johnson: I think we’re all capable of it. I’ve caused plenty.

Bowyer: History would show, in recent years, it would be Ricky Stenhouse.

Larson: Ricky. Whatever, we’ll still party after.

Hamlin: I love him, but I’ve gotta say Ricky.

Stenhouse: We’ve all done it. I would always say Jamie McMurray back in the day.

Erik Jones: I’ve caused The Big One. We all have at some point.

Keselowski: That’s pretty easy for me, William Byron.

Bowman: Keselowski.

3. Which driver is most likely to apologize for wrecking you?

Hamlin: Probably Brad Keselowski.

Keselowski: Probably Clint Bowyer.

Bowyer: None of them. It’s not worth the breath. It’s something you just do because it’s the right thing to do. It means nothing. They’re still going to want you to have a bad day.

Larson: Ricky, just because we’re friends.

Jones: No one, to be honest.

Logano: Only saying this because it’s the freshest, but [Daniel] Suárez just did. He apologized pretty quickly, which, I knew it wasn’t on purpose. He’s was mature enough to admit fault.

Bowman: Byron.

Stenhouse: Blaney always apologizes. I’ll apologize if I’m in the wrong.

Cassill: None of them.

Johnson: Teammates obviously because of the relationship and dialogue. Over the years, I would say [Matt] Kenseth and I had a really good dialogue to work through issues. I had a dust-up with Blaney earlier this year, and it took a long time before we finally sat down and talked. And I just think the longer the relationship, the longer drivers have been around, the sooner that stuff happens.

4. Who’s definitely not going to apologize for wrecking you?

Kyle Busch (Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports)

Keselowski: Oh, Kyle Busch for sure.

Larson: Probably Joey Logano or Kyle Busch.

Logano: Kyle Busch.

Johnson: [Kevin] Harvick.

Bowman: Newman, I don’t think he really cares.

Stenhouse: Kurt Busch.

Cassill: All of them.

5. Which driver do you think is the worst driver on the street in a regular car?

Keselowski: Only because I’ve heard an account, Denny Hamlin. He admittedly texts and drives a lot. It’s not a talent thing; it’s a focus thing.

Hamlin: Maybe me.

Johnson: The one I’ve experienced is Brian Vickers. We were teammates for a long time, and I literally thought I was going to die riding shotgun with him.

Bowyer: Well, Kyle Busch got caught in his own neighborhood going like 80 miles an hour. That’s pretty dumb. [It was 128 miles per hour in a 45 zone.]

Stenhouse: Clint because I’m going to guess he doesn’t pay a lot of attention.

Larson: Probably Ryan Newman, but I’m not really sure how much time he spends on the road because I think he’s just on his farm. But when I have been on the road with him, he’s pretty crazy.

Jones: I don’t know. I’ve never gotten a ticket in my life.

Bowman: Definitely William Byron because he can’t see over the dash.

6. Which driver has the biggest personality difference between on and off the track?

Joey Logano (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Larson: Joey Logano, for sure. In the car, he’s extremely intense. Outside of the car, he’s extremely dorky.

Keselowski: Probably Joey.

Logano: Frickin’ me, that’s for sure. I am definitely that guy. … Brad said me? Hahaha.

Johnson: [Matt] DiBenedetto. He seems so calm, but I’ve heard some radio stuff where he just loses it and gets so emotional and melts down. His ability to link cuss words together is phenomenal. And then outside of the car, he’s so chill.

Bowman: Probably Byron, he’s pretty quiet and then pretty aggressive on the race track.

Blaney: Kyle Busch gets misconstrued a lot. Very fiery personality at the race track. But when he’s away from the race track, I don’t want to say he calms down, but he’s a different person. It’s hard to see personalities at the race track because people are passionate about what they do. It’s a whole different vibe when you’re away from the race track.

Cassill: Kurt Busch is a pretty nice guy off the track. Pretty aggressive on track.

7. Which driver is having the largest impact on the sport this season?

Jimmie Johnson and Chase Elliott (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Hamlin: Kyle Busch. He’s the guy that gets the most headlines. A lot of it is because of what he says, and he’s exciting on the race track. He’s our impact player right now.

Larson: Kyle Busch.

Jones: Chase Elliott, he’s the fan favorite right? Lot of fans of his dad and a lot of fans of his now that still come to the track to see him race.

Keselowski: Chase Elliott. Fans really like his last name because it brings back good memories of the past. [When asked if he thinks that draws fans in, he said, “Yes.”]

Logano: Maybe Denny. He’s pretty in-tune with what’s going on, and he’s pretty vocal and getting everyone’s opinions and communicating that [to NASCAR]. I would honestly say me, but Denny too.

Bowman: Jimmie Johnson, seven-time champion has a huge impact on the sport all the time. But at the same time, I feel like Chase Elliott’s the most popular guy right now, so there are a lot of eyes on him.

Blaney: There’s a lot of great personalities — Chase, Bubba, Kyle Busch is really good for the sport. Jimmie still being here is a really big personality for the sport. Those four guys are all really different, but they all impact it in different ways.

Stenhouse: I think Blaney does pretty good all around with fans, with kids, with the podcast he does.

Cassill: Dale Jr. or Kyle Busch.

Johnson: I just feel like Chase. When he’s running well and his victories, I feel like that moves the needle more than anyone with the fans.

Bowyer: It’s Chase Elliott, without a doubt. It beats the hell out of me. Damnedest thing I’ve ever seen.

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After 14 years, Denny Hamlin is ready for his moment in NASCAR’s title race

Denny Hamlin’s confidence is at an all-time high ahead of NASCAR’s championship race.

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Denny Hamlin’s confidence is peaking.

One strong performance in the 36th and final race of the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season stands between him and his first career championship after 14 years at the sport’s highest level. He won his sixth race of the year six days ago at ISM Raceway near Phoenix to secure his place among the final Championship 4 contenders.

Ahead of Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Hamlin is excited but not nervous. He’s relaxed and actually feels like he already won.

“We won Homestead last week,” Hamlin said Thursday. “That was our win-or-go-home race. We performed at an incredibly high level. We have now a free weekend to go out there and have fun and keep doing what we’ve been doing. We’ll have a chance by the end of the night because we have all year long as long as we do the same thing.”

Hamlin is joined in the final four by two Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr., and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick. He doesn’t have win the race to claim the championship; he just has to finish higher than the other three —although the last five champions have also taken the checkered flag.

Hamlin after winning at Phoenix on Sunday to guarantee his spot in the title race. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Hamlin almost didn’t make it

With 19 top-5 finishes so far, Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota has been consistently strong all season. He opened the year with his second Daytona 500 win and took checkered flags at Pocono Raceway, Bristol Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway’s playoff race in October.

But until Sunday, he and his team were on the brink of elimination. He had a poor finish at Texas Motor Speedway two weeks ago and entered the Phoenix race one spot below the four-driver cutoff line. And then he dominated, leading 143 of 312 laps on his way to the win.

“I’ve been eliminated from the playoffs many, many ways,” said Hamlin, who is tied for 22nd on the all-time wins list with 37 and the most successful driver without a title.

“The craziest [expletive] has happened to me to keep me from winning championships. Texas was on me. I was going to hate that I was going to be responsible for ending our chance at a championship.”

Hoping third time’s a charm

This is Hamlin’s third real shot at winning it all. He was the runner-up in 2010 to Jimmie Johnson after the title slipped away in the final two races. He said he wasn’t having any fun by the end of that season.

Then in 2014, he finished third in the standings, behind champion Harvick and Ryan Newman, when his car wasn’t running well. Hamlin said he was just happy to be in contention.

Hamlin at Homestead in 2014. (Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports)

But this year is different in so many ways. He said he’s not angry or stressed like in past playoff or championship-contending years. Everything feels “nicer and friendlier,” and he’s “not as agitated” this time around.

He said his confidence has never been higher — “not even in 2010 when we were really fast every week.”

Bouncing back from a career-low

Hamlin’s six checkered flags this season follow a winless 2018 — a first for him as a full-time Cup driver. He still made the playoffs but finished 11th in the standings.

“If you go through a whole year like he did last year and not win a race, the rumors start,” team owner Joe Gibbs said Friday. “‘Is this guy over the hill?’ I think Denny was fighting through that, saying that’s not the case. …

“I think that we all know that people mature and grow up. Different things happen in their life, and so I think Denny is — I think he’s in a part in his life where he says, ‘I get a second chance really in a lot of ways,’ and he’s making the most of it.”

Hamlin in the garage at Homestead. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

This year, Hamlin, who turns 39 Monday, is also paired with a new crew chief, Chris Gabehart, after three seasons with Mike Wheeler, and Gibbs said he noticed the positive effect Gabehart has had on the their driver.

Gabehart, 38, “brings out the best” in him, whether he’s a calming voice of reason or pumping him up moments before a green flag flies, Hamlin said.

Even Busch detects the chemistry between Hamlin and Gabehart, who was once a mechanical engineer for Kyle Busch Motorsports.

“Something’s a little bit different with Denny,” Busch said Thursday. “[Gabehart has] done a really, really good job of whether you want to say flipping Denny into the right frame of mind or whatever. But he’s just been a really good leader, and Denny’s been a good listener.”

Hamlin vs. the NASCAR champions

Under NASCAR’s current playoff format, this is Hamlin’s second appearance in the Championship 4 after 2014. But that’s nothing compared with Harvick, Busch and Truex, who are also all past champs.

Hamlin, Harvick, Truex and Busch at media day Thursday. (Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Harvick won his title in 2014 and has made it to the final four in five of the last six years. Same goes for Busch, the 2015 champ, but his five appearances have been consecutive since his title season. And Truex made it in four of the last five years, winning it all in 2017.

But Hamlin knows how to win at Homestead. In 14 starts, he has two wins — the other three have one each — and was the last driver finish first without winning it all (2013). He’s also earned four top-5 finishes and nine top 10s.

He’ll start on the pole Sunday, followed by Harvick, Truex, Busch and the rest of the 40-car field.

“I’m excited because I know I’ve got the opportunity, a really, really good, legit opportunity to go out there and get it done,” Hamlin said. “I’m just going to do the same things, prepare the same way that I have all year. I know that will give me a chance.

“At some point in the race, I’m going to have an opportunity to take control and win the race. As long as I continue to do that, I’ll live with the result, win or lose.”

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