Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Denny Hamlin did not have the best outing in last Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway. After several wrecks, cautions, and hard racing, he finally managed to find himself competing with Chase Elliott for the lead. However, in a desperate bid to take his lead back, he spun his car into the wall and ended the race on a sour note. From eyeing his third win of the season to crashing out of the race, it was a big blow for the driver.

However, Hamlin was able to redeem himself soon after the Texas disappointment. The only difference was that it wasn’t a real racing event but a virtual console game. In fact, it was his debut run, trying his hands on the Mario Kart Racing by Nintendo games.

Denny Hamlin bags his first Mario Kart win

Hamlin is known to share his winning exploits on social media, and so was the case when he competed in the Mario Kart game against Jared Allen. It is indeed hard to believe that he hasn’t played the game all these years, as going by his maiden run, it might suggest the JGR driver could be lying.

Puzzled by the button on the controller, Hamlin was getting really nervous on his first try. “How do I say yes, X?” He even just randomly selected his ride and the character. “Does any of this matter, or is this just for appeal?” But he was pretty much sold by the looks of his car. “Oh, look at that car. That’s a winner.”

Hamlin asked Allen if he was entering some cheat codes ahead of the game, and as the game started to approach, he was getting more anxious. Surprisingly, he was a natural when it came to getting used to the controller and doing well in the actual game. Allen was taken aback by Hamlin’s performance. “Have you ever actually played this game? In like any variation?” Hamlin replied, “No.”

The JGR driver did finish second, but he just wasn’t going to be content with a runner-up finish and started a rematch. Allen was feeling nervous. And his fears came true as Hamlin beat him to bag his maiden Mario Kart win.

While the race at Texas Motor Speedway didn’t go as planned, Denny Hamlin is still in a commanding position to compete for the championship.

Hamlin is among the prime candidates to win the championship this season

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Is this finally the year, where Denny Hamlin completes his NASCAR legacy with a championship win? Well, given the start he has had so far, it is indeed well within his reach. The driver of the No. 11 JGR Toyota Camry has been on a roll on the short-track circuits. In a challenging race at Bristol, managing his tires pretty well, he registered his first win of the season. Whereas, a witty yet effective restart tactic saw him bag his second win at Richmond.

If it wasn’t for his unfortunate accident in Texas, he could have added more points to the leaderboard. But despite the #30 finish, he is still holding strong in the third spot. Moreover, with the playoffs spot already secured, Hamlin is in a position to try his luck and adopt new strategies, which is exactly what he tried last Sunday.

With the Talladega race coming up on the schedule, it will be interesting to see what the #11 team has in store for us.