No publicity is bad publicity and Denny Hamlin is proving it right. He may be booed by the fans or termed the most polarizing figure, but there is no stopping the surge of the driver’s popularity in the NASCAR paddock. Moreover, with the dawning of the 2024 Cup Series season, there is no denying that Hamlin has taken the role of the protagonist in the grid area. The driver has become a household name for NASCAR fans and is vicariously propelling the sport’s popularity.

However, despite this, the veteran Joe Gibbs Racing driver is elusive of a Cup Series championship. However, with his current form, even that achievement doesn’t look too far out of grasp. But what would it mean for NASCAR if the #11 driver manages to get his hands on the coveted title? Well, according to the Rubbin is Racing podcast hosts, the stock car racing organization will definitely be able to cash a huge profit off of that storyline. 

Denny Hamlin’s championship win is reportedly going to appeal to both newer and older fans

In the NASCAR: Full Speed documentary on Netflix, Denny Hamlin has unarguably enjoyed a lion’s share of the coverage. As a result, the #11 Toyota driver seems to have climbed the popularity charts and has turned heads with the unfiltered portrayal of his professional and personal life. Moreover, serving as the centerpiece for the documentary, Hamlin has catapulted NASCAR into a popular form of motorsport. Owing to this, Rubbin is Racing members and NASCAR insiders Large and Quigs, sat down to determine what would await NASCAR if Hamlin actually wins the Cup Series championship.

The duo asserted that Denny Hamlin winning the championship in 2024 would work wonders for NASCAR. Large stated, “You follow through with the new audience and he is going to get c*cky as f**k and the monkey is off his back. Like the storylines on that, if even if you go down a tick you could still find these gigantic storylines I think NASCAR can feed off of it.”

Agreeing with Large, Quigs stated, “It checks all the boxes for old fans and new fans. The new fans get the guy they see in the media all the time. They saw Netflix and the old fans get the storyline of the guy who has been so great in the sport but just had never been able to get it done.” However, Large also acknowledged that many naysayers will not want to see the driver at the top, saying “And the haters will be pi**ed.” Even co-host Spider also nodded with the assertion and expressed, “The haters, the whole contingency of people that are watching, preying on Denny’s downfall hoping he doesn’t lift the trophy.”

However, Denny Hamlin is more than glad to brace the image of being a bad boy in the garage while he sets his eyes on just one goal: Securing the championship. The driver has even, time and again, mentioned how haters don’t really bother him. 

Denny Hamlin Shuns NASCAR’s 20-Year-Old System to Propose a ‘Round of Championship’

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver shrugs his shoulder towards the growing resentment

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Although starting strong in the 2024 season, and earning victory at the exhibition race at the Coliseum and at Bristol, the boos directed at the driver seem to grow stronger with each passing weekend. However, Hamlin seems to be quite nonchalant to the “noise”.

Speaking to the media about the never-ending criticism, Hamlin exclaimed, “I don’t mind it. I really don’t because it’s just noise. There were many moments mid-career where there was just claps; that’s just not a needle mover one way or the other. A lot of it comes with success as well. If you are a contender each and every week, you are going to get more noise typically.”

Hamlin also added how he dethroned his former teammate Kyle Busch after his change of team and has gladly accepted the crown of being a villain within the NASCAR community. The driver stated, “I’ve checked all of the boxes of the things that fans despise. We’ve seen a previous driver (Busch) at Joe Gibbs Racing, he just changes teams and he’s more liked. When you’ve got all the things that I’ve got in that box in the negativity checked, you are just going to have to live that life.”

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With the season already underway in full swing and Hamlin already being off to a strong start, it will be interesting to see if he can hold on to his momentum till the Championship 4 run.