What happens when the moment your car catches fire isn’t the most volatile part of your day? Denny Hamlin’s season-long consistency was practically ended on lap 75 of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. Between turns one and two, his No. 11 Toyota experienced an unexpected engine failure, which led to a fire that swiftly spread to the front of the vehicle. A 21-race run of lead-lap finishes came to an unexpected end when Hamlin stopped on the backstretch and leaped out as flames erupted beneath the hood.

Smoke, flames, and burned sheet metal made the sight appear horrifying on screens, but what happened behind the scenes was much more chaotic. Hamlin was more than a driver escaping a flaming vehicle. As a father, his family was present to witness the event firsthand. What followed was emotional whiplash, not a post-race review.

Mechanical failure was the obvious issue when Denny Hamlin’s engine exploded in flames during the race weekend. However, when he stepped off the track, he was confronted with an even more uncontrollable situation: his family’s raw, unfiltered reaction. But let’s understand why the parenting aspect came into picture.

“Just the constant f******* complaining and yelling, and I was like ‘Dude, this is what I go through every weekend.’ You know how bad it was, I took my laptop into the toilet. I’m serious, I need some peace and quiet. I got work to do. So I grab this thing and go right into the toilet.” It was not a secret from Hamlin. There was no cooldown time or buffer. 

“Denny comes back from a blown engine on fire, you can tell he’s angry. Doesn’t want to talk about anything but he’s gotta deal with parenting things first,” co-host Travis recalled.

Hamlin admitted on Actions Detrimental, “I come under the bus, and one and a half kids are crying. Jordan’s pissed off and I’m like ‘Hey I’m here.’ And they’re like she did this and she did that. Oh just drama out the a– it just pisses me off more and I get it. They do not care. They are not old enough to care, but man, the drama. It’s like they think they can get away with so much b——- when I’m not around, that drives me crazy.”

Jordan Fish was reminded of how thin the line is as he watched Denny’s car flame, and it wasn’t simply another engine failure. Additionally, the emotions overflowed into their children, who were too little to comprehend the engineering behind a blown motor but old enough to feel panic. Besides, Hamlin is about to be a father for the third time. These brushes with danger pose a real threat. For the family, it might bring back terrible memories of another dark moment. Just a few weeks ago, the couple’s Las Vegas home had an incident with fire that left a mark on the family.

Coming back to the dangers on the track, Hamlin knows what he is dealing with. Ryan Preece has spoken about it extensively after going airborne several times. “As a father, as a racer, we keep beating on a door hoping for a different result and we know where there’s a problem: at superspeedway. I don’t want to be the example. When it finally does get somebody, I don’t want it to be me. I got a 2-year-old daughter, just like a lot of us; we’ve got families. Something needs to be done because cars lifting off the ground like that.” 

While Hamlin calms things down with his family, let’s see what he has to say about NASCAR.

Denny Hamlin criticizes NASCAR’s disconnect with core fans

Denny Hamlin challenged a narrative that he feels is compromising the integrity of the sport this week on his Actions Detrimental podcast. Hamlin, referring to a conversation with Michael Waltrip over the weekend, shared a moment that encapsulated his broader concern. “Michael Waltrip said this to me. This weekend we were golfing, and he’s like, ‘I don’t understand what everyone is so mad about. The cars are two-by-two, and the casual fan doesn’t know they can’t pass.”

The vast majority of NASCAR’s weekly viewership, according to Hamlin, is made up of devoted, seasoned fans who are aware of the complexities of racing and can spot when the level of competitiveness declines. He responded, pointing out, “I’m like, the amount of casual fans watching us each week is 10%? Our fans are core, they know what they are seeing, they’re smarter than you think they are, and certainly they will listen to when the drivers say, ‘What do you want me to do? I can’t pass because I got a car that runs 20 miles an hour slower by itself versus being in a pack.”

The remarks are the result of persistent annoyance with the Next Gen car’s aerodynamic shortcomings, particularly on superspeedways and intermediate tracks. Despite close-quarters racing, drivers have repeatedly claimed that they are helpless because they are unable to make passes due to horsepower limitations and aerodynamic resistance. Hamlin thinks that when there is little activity on the field, cars going “two-by-two” aren’t fooling the fans. “If you are the sanctioning body and you discredit what the drivers and core fans are saying, I think you lose some credibility with them, that’s why fan sentiment is low,” Hamlin added.

Drivers’ and spectators’ increasing dissatisfaction with NASCAR’s current racing product is reflected in Hamlin’s remarks. Despite being created with equality and cost reduction in mind, the Next Gen car has come under fire for restricting on-track passing and giving races an unduly artificial or restricted feel. Hamlin’s worries are frequently echoed by online fan replies, which draw attention to the discrepancy between real competition and visual spectacle. Hamlin urges the sport to prioritize substance over flair and cautions NASCAR against ignoring its informed core audience as TV talks get underway. He continues to use his position as a seasoned driver and team co-owner to advocate for significant advancements.