Most interesting man in NASCAR?

The late Dale Earnhardt once said, “Good job, boo, it doesn’t matter as long as they make noise.” » And there is no doubt Dennis Hamlin is a conductor that generates noise. At Pocono Raceway a few weeks ago, the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran certainly heard a lot of noise coming from the long grandstand as he celebrated what ultimately turned out not to be the victory for race number 49.

Longtime NASCAR reporter Marty Snider commented on the “fan comments” several times, ending the interview at the finish line by asking what Hamlin’s reaction was to the boos. Hamlin’s face broke into a wry smile as he replied, “I hear more cheers than boos.”

And whether you love him or hate him, you can’t deny that Denny Hamlin is a driver that makes fans sit up and take notice. In fact, I’d say he’s the most interesting man in NASCAR.

This past Sunday (July 31), Hamlin reached a career milestone with the No. 600 Cup start, a streak that dates back to October 9, 2005 at Kansas Speedway. For the record, Hamlin finished 32nd that day in a field of 43, with the race itself won by the irrepressible Mark Martin. Hamlin would go on to notch a seventh-place finish and two eighth-place finishes over the next six races – enough to propel him into full-time top-level racing, he still shows no signs of giving up the better part of two decades later.

On numbers alone, Hamlin’s resume is excellent – a surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer. Forty-eight (49*?) victories, with victories on all types of circuits; good for 17th on the all-time list, including three Great American Race wins (2016, 2019, 2020), three more in the Southern 500 (2010, 2017, 2021) and again this year, a Coke 600 long awaited victory. Hamlin has 36 poles, 201 top fives, 310 top 10s and has paced the field for more than 13,000 laps.

Now, as any good Hamlin hater will gleefully remind you – vehemently on that bastion of respect and kindness that is Twitter – he still has a big goose egg in the championship column. Hamlin has entered the final race of the season six times with a chance to win the big prize (his rookie year of 2006, 2010, 2014, 2019, 2020 and 2021), but the title has remained elusive. And you can pretty much guarantee that any serious NASCAR fan has an opinion, one way or another, on this particular topic.

And while I’m on the subject of opinions, Hamlin certainly has a lot of them. Scroll his Twitter feed if you have any doubt, you will see exactly what I mean. Some (those who still hate) might call it blunt, but whether it’s on social media, in person, or via interview, Hamlin always has a point of view and it’s often a unique and thought-provoking point of view . He’s certainly not a typical athlete spouting trite platitudes and non-statements.

And he is aware that he is not always right (none of us are right anyway.) As he noted in a Sports Affairs Journal article late May: “The things we did 15 to 20 years ago are not the things you need to do now. I’m not saying I’m always right. Sometimes, in retrospect, months or years later, I think, “Hey, I don’t know if that was entirely true.” But at the same time, it fascinates me. I really want this sport to take off.

And again, whatever your opinion, only the most blind haters could deny that Hamlin wants, passionately, for NASCAR to be as successful as possible and for the sport to be better for his ilk by advancing it on and off the race track.

Title or not, Hamlin’s lasting legacy may turn out to be that of team ownership. Let’s also not forget that Hamlin brought Michael, damn Jordan, to the sport. He didn’t partner with some vest-wearing techie asshole or a smart-aleck self-made billionaire with a stack full of PowerPoint slides on ROI and sponsorship KPIs. No, Hamlin teamed up with one of (if not the) greatest sports figures of all time, a name known around the world, not just America.

And in doing so, he brought to the sport the first primary black owner of a NASCAR team in half a century.

Now the hard truth is that teams come and go in NASCAR (some faster than others) and no one can say whether or not 23XI Racing will succeed in the long term, but with Hamlin, Jordan and the management team in place, not to mention the veteran. daily leadership of President Steve Lauletta on the business side and Kurt Busch When it comes to driving, there’s more than enough reason to believe. But as always in NASCAR, the answers will be found on the track in the months and years to come.

Future Hall of Fame driver, veteran garage voice, team owner, change agent, Ross Chastain(OK, maybe not that one’s) best friend, social media provocateur, and most importantly father, Denny Hamlin wears many hats beyond the purple and white FedEx one he wears on a weekend end of race. And while for some fans, Hamlin may not be their particular cup of tea, it’s hard to argue with the fact that he’s one of the most influential and interesting figures in sports today.