Well, he’s back. Denny Hamlin apparently enjoyed being a heel so much last season that he’s doubling down to start the new year.
Don’t get me wrong, every sport needs people or teams to hate. NASCSAR is no different. And, last year, Denny more than embraced that role. But, the role has to occur naturally. Which it did.
And, if you’ve watched the Netflix series on NASCAR, Denny certainly gets a ton of air time and, arguably, does nothing that would have folks finding him a sympathetic character instead of a villain.
In other words, he did just fine being the villain, just being himself. He had the quote of the year in 2023 when he told a booing Bristol crowd that, “I beat your favorite driver.”
But, that was 2023. And, he needs to retire that line. It wasn’t cute or funny or even cocky when he grabbed Jamie Little to add it onto his winner’s interview at the L.A. Coliseum; it was annoying.
I hope, before he left Hollywood, Denny got some new writers.
ADDENDUM:
I wrote this on Tuesday afternoon, and read it on the air late Tuesday afternoon. As I was reading it, Denny Hamlin sent out a message on social media saying that he is, indeed, retiring the line after his dad told him he should.
One race, one win!