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Denny Hamlin Confesses Massive Surge in Popularity Among “Different Crowd” After Being the Spotlight in NASCAR Docuseries

Published 02/04/2024, 4:51 PM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

Denny Hamlin is all everyone can talk about after he got what was arguably the lead role in Netflix’s ‘NASCAR: Full Speed’. Although he is frequently projected as the villain of NASCAR, he is a man of guts. He constantly proves that he is undoubtedly a legend. He did so recently by winning the Busch Light Clash too. But with everything that is happening, it seems Netflix may have tipped the scales with their portrayal of Hamlin’s personal as well as professional life. This raw depiction has turned the hearts of some, as Hamlin himself said in an interview.

NASCAR: Full Speed was released on Netflix on January 30, and since then has attracted more fans to the American stock car racing series. Directed in the likeness of ‘Formula 1: Drive to Survive’, the NASCAR show has its own story to tell. It depicts some unspoken, silent challenges that some prominent drivers, like Hamlin, face. Hence, it is no wonder that Hamlin, booed and ridiculed by many last year, would wear the cape of a misunderstood hero.

Denny Hamlin basks in the renewed glow of fan love

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After quite a hectic competition in the non-points exhibition race at the LA Coliseum, Denny Hamlin sat down at a press conference. Besides detailing his experience at the clash, he also addressed the impact that the Netflix NASCAR docudrama has had on his fanbase.

He said: “Yeah, I don’t know. The only data I have is on my social media, and I would think most of the avid fans probably follow me in some sort of way. What I’ve seen is just a big jump of following over the last five days.”

“When you look at the area where they’re from, their gender, all that stuff, it’s a different crowd. I think that certainly it’s getting out to people that probably have not seen NASCAR before from what I can see.”

Hamlin also emphasized how the Netflix show has enhanced knowledge about the popular stock car racing series. More fans would be eager to watch, feel, and live the races on a ground level. He said: “I think there’s a lot to tell, but certainly I thought it was a very good snapshot of NASCAR, and it kind of told a story of we race for this long, then we have a playoff, and here’s how the playoffs work. That helps with the new NASCAR fans.”

“It essentially was about four hours of a NASCAR 101, for any newbie that had just- hey, I don’t want to watch a race because I don’t know what’s going on. If you watch that, now you’re going to know when you flip the channel what’s going on in the middle of the race now.”

Watch This Story: Denny Hamlin Triumphs in First Clash at the Coliseum, Eliciting Cheers from Fans

Denny Hamlin has certainly collected more fans via his appearance on the big screen. However, that is not all. His remarkable performance at the Busch Light Clash may have also considerably increased his fanbase.

Hamlin gives a stellar performance at the Clash

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Hamlin made some jaws drop as he swerved with swagger to the Victory Lane at the Busch Light Clash, smoking his tires at every turn. Hamlin was in the lead initially but then dropped back to seventh at one point. From there, he rose up to third and back in the fight up front with 30 laps left.

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His time of glory came on a restart on lap 141. His teammate Ty Gibbs spun off and made some cars bunch up together in a chaotic mess. On the final restart, Hamlin outsmarted Kyle Busch and crossed the finishing line with a 0.610-second advantage. With that, he clocked his fourth victory at the season-opening Clash race.

Hamlin expressed how he felt following the event. “It’s just a great momentum boost. It doesn’t do much more than that, but I clean off all the trophies every January 1 in the entryway to the house, and now we get to add one pretty quick, so I’m really happy about that.”

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Star of NASCAR’s Netflix Series. Star of the season opener. 2024 is coming up all Danny Hamlin.

Read More: “Second Stuff Sucks” – Kyle Busch Dissects Back-to-Back Busch Light Clash Heartbreak, Claims He Was Better Than Denny Hamlin

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Written by:

Sumedha Mukherjee

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Sumedha Mukherjee is a NASCAR Writer at EssentiallySports who is known for her in-depth track analysis as well as her lifestyle coverage of Cup drivers like Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick. Inspired by the Kiwi's journey so far, Sumedha has also written pieces on Shane Van Gisbergen, predicting how the Supercars Champion would do in the new and unfamiliar American setting. Pairing her research skills with her vast experience as a writer, Sumedha creates stories her readers can easily get lost in.
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Edited by:

Ranvijay Singh