Denny Hamlin Unpacks ‘Cowboys’ Radio Blunder at Texas, Dodging the Revelation Of Team Secrets

“I hate the code words,” Kevin Harvick stated. Why this sudden reaction? Well, Denny Hamlin didn’t just trot into Texas to look like a cowboy, did he? Hamlin rolled into Texas Motor Speedway with high hopes, starting the race in a solid seventh position. The Joe Gibbs Racing veteran was poised for a strong run, but what unfolded was a gut-wrenching tale of miscommunication, a fiery engine failure, and a pit road blunder that sent him to the back of the pack.

The heart of the chaos? A single code word, “Cowboys,” which turned a routine strategy call into a costly mistake, sparked debate across the NASCAR world.

The trouble started early, around lap 22, when a caution triggered a pivotal moment. The Joe Gibbs racer, leading the race, intended to pit with most lead-lap cars but stayed out due to a miscommunication. He later explained he was about 10 laps short on fuel for the stage, a tight margin made trickier by a slower race pace caused by Josh Berry and Kyle Larson ahead. A caution flag offered hope to stretch the fuel, but the real issue was brewing on the radio. “I’m thinking, maybe we can make it on fuel. I’m not sure,” Hamlin said, reflecting on his mindset.

As Hamlin powered through turns three and four, he awaited a critical call: pit or stay out? His team uses code words to shield strategies from competitors, but this system imploded. Two crew members keyed their radios simultaneously, their voices clashing in a scrambled mess. “I was hearing multiple people key up at the same time, and they were keying up.” Hamlin recounted on his podcast with Jared Allen. Frustrated, he demanded, “One person, just tell me what the call is.”

The response: “Cowboys.” He checked his code sheet, stayed out, only to hear the crushing correction: “We gotta pit.” The error dropped him to the tail end, a blow that set the tone for disaster. The confusion arose because “Cowboys” was used in two strategic categories, a flaw Hamlin explained cautiously to avoid leaking team secrets. “Okay. Well, what happens is it all scrambles when it gets to me. So in turns three and four, I’m waiting on the call. What are we doing? And we have codes. And at the time, both of them are trying to tell me. They’re both trying to tell me, and nobody’s telling me because they’re both telling me at the same time,” he said.

Allen, puzzled, asked, “There are two plays called Cowboys?” Hamlin nodded, careful not to elaborate. Allen clarified, “So Cowboys isn’t actually the play. Packers, Giants, Jets are all a play. And Wild West, Gunfighters, and Cowboys is also a play.” Hamlin confirmed, “There you go.” This overlap in terminology led to the fateful misstep.

The pit road blunder was a prelude to greater disaster. On lap 75, Hamlin’s engine expired in a dramatic blaze between turns 1 and 2, forcing a caution as his car smoked and caught fire. Crew members rushed to his aid as he exited, his frustration erupting in a reported five-word outburst: “You boys were talking over each other, and I heard ‘Cowboys,’ and obviously I looked at my card.” Unrelated to the pit issue, the mechanical failure ended his race, a crushing blow after the earlier chaos.

Kevin Harvick, a NASCAR champion, unleashed a scathing critique on his Happy Hour podcast, targeting the use of code words like “Cowboys.” “I know a lot of them use the code words. I feel like it’s follow the leader in some of those scenarios. I never like — we s—— the code word up one time, and I’m like, ‘We’re done with code words.’ Just tell me when to pit.” Harvick declared, frustrated by teams’ insistence on cryptic language in an era of advanced, private radio systems. He emphasized that clear, direct communication is critical in racing, where split-second decisions determine outcomes.

Steve Letarte, a former crew chief for Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr., amplified the criticism. “Where it all went wrong for Denny Hamlin was code words,” Letarte said on Inside the Race. “And I’m going to tell you, I hate them. Don’t like them, never used them, won’t ever use them, won’t support them. I heard the radio and they said Cowboys, and then there was miscommunication; he didn’t know what the code word was. But simply, I had code words, I’ve said this before. … It was ‘pit’ or ‘stay out.’ he added, citing Hamlin’s pit road chaos.

Yet Hamlin defended his team’s system, calling it a rare error. “It was a simple miscommunication that compounded on our end,” he told Allen, insisting the code system typically works. Texas was a brutal setback, but Hamlin’s resolve remains unshaken. With his team’s playbook guarded, he’s already looking to the next race, ready to leave this chapter behind. In NASCAR, one bad day is just one story—and No. 11 Toyota’s journey is far from over.

Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin’s Hilarious Nickname Feud

Nicknames in NASCAR are more than just labels—they’re badges of honor. Richard Petty’s “The King” screams dominance with his untouchable 200 Cup wins. Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s “The Intimidator” captured his fearless, take-no-prisoners style. Then there’s Kyle Busch, the man of many monikers: “Rowdy,” “Wild Thing,” and the fan-favorite “KFB.” We all know what it stands for—Kyle F*ing Busch—a nod to those jaw-dropping moments, like when he tore through the grass at Texas in 2020, snagged P4, and just shrugged, “KFB.”

Recently, a NASCAR meme page, nascarcasm, stirred the pot, posting, “I was today years old when I learned that @KyleBusch and @Blaney actually have the same middle name.” They dubbed Ryan Blaney “RFB,” implying he’s got that same magic. Enter Denny Hamlin, who couldn’t resist a jab, replying, “They are both ripping off an old slogan that was around way before them…”

Blaney, usually chill, fired back on X: “I thought it was FDH, not DFH?” That’s right—he flipped Hamlin’s initials into F*ing Denny Hamlin, turning the shade right back. The NASCAR community is eating up this spicy feud, but Hamlin’s yet to clap back. While Busch is stuck in a winless rut, Blaney’s earning his “RFB” stripes. With 13 Cup wins and a championship in 10 seasons, he’s a force. At Texas this year, he charged from P24 to P3, nearly stealing the win. That’s pure “RFB” energy.

As the banter rages on, one thing’s clear: in NASCAR, nicknames aren’t just given—they’re earned.