For years, Denny Hamlin has accepted that he is NASCAR’s villain. The crowd has booed the JGR driver more than cheered for him. At first, the cause was his attitude, paired with the infamous tagline “I just beat your favorite driver.” But later, the crowd was just displeased with his overall brashness and his complete disregard for other drivers. Up until 2025, that was not really a problem for Hamlin, as he was happy to embrace the cockiness and the perks that came with it. Lately, though, he seems to be changing his mind, stemming from his off-season tragedy.

Denny Hamlin is ready to accept a new role with fan support

Denny Hamlin has been reading all the messages and discussions about him on social media. Based on that, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has made his decision.

“Yeah, whatever the fans want to do, I am in support. This is the noise that you really want, but they’ve been really supportive over the last few months. And, after Phoenix, how that ended, and how many comments and messages that I got from fans—that just, it made me feel like I was a champion, even though I didn’t have the ring and the trophy. Like, it certainly made me feel like I had accomplished what I was hoping to. And so, if the boos turn to cheers, that will make me happy too.”

When he became the NASCAR villain, his persona and his actions were fueled by the crowd.

However, the loss of his father in the off-season, paired with his tragic defeat in the NASCAR Cup Series championship race, has changed the mentality of both him and his critics.

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At first, the fans were just sad that he nearly won his first championship but lost it due to a stage caution. It was the first trigger in changing the narrative around him. After all, Hamlin drove valiantly throughout the 2025 season, and the loss at Phoenix seemed unfair.

But the thing that really moved the fans was his father’s death in December. Hamlin’s late father was the biggest supporter of Hamlin, as well as the biggest critic. He made Hamlin give up his brash tagline. It was his wish to see Hamlin become a world champion, but it went unfinished. As a result, fans have been rallying forward to support Denny Hamlin ahead of his 2026 campaign.

However, the biggest sigh of relief will come from the community itself. The NASCAR community has been worried about Denny Hamlin all off-season. This new announcement not only puts him in sync with their emotions but also adds a layer of fan support. This time, it will be the fan support for a villain who claims his redemption and becomes the hero.

On that note, Hamlin also has some advice for the organization he sued last season.

Denny Hamlin accepts the revenue shortage in NASCAR with an honest admission

Denny Hamlin, Michael Jordan, and the entire 23XI team, paired with Front Row Motorsports, landed a complete blow to NASCAR in court. Since the trial ended in a victory for his side, you would expect Hamlin to turn a blind eye to NASCAR’s problems. However, he is also a part of the sport and relies on it to some extent.

Denny Hamlin echoes the struggles that the sport is facing when he says—

“We need someone to come in and invest, like, billions into heavy promotion and heavy upgrades on everything,” Hamlin said. “And while it might come to a short-term loss, it will certainly have long-term gain.

“We saw what happened with Liberty Media, what they did with Formula 1, and they infused a lot of money into the sport, and it took off. That’s just the way it works nowadays. I think that’s the kind of thing you need.”

More than that, Hamlin is more than happy with the newest changes brought forth in the sport. So while the two entities had bad blood between them for the past year, it’s good that at least Hamlin has moved on from it.

Do you think NASCAR is going to forgive Denny Hamlin and turn over a new leaf?