Imagine the thrill of a NASCAR driver finally achieving victory after an extended dry spell, only to be greeted with jeers rather than the anticipated cheers and accolades. The driver’s perseverance, talent, and dedication appear eclipsed by the crowd’s disapproval.

This is precisely what transpired for Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, who triumphed at Kansas after a nearly year-long winless streak. Despite the boos that followed his victory, Hamlin maintained a positive outlook as he spoke to the media.

In a later podcast, Hamlin discussed how fans would have preferred a Kyle Larson win over his own. To counter his critics, he cited boo-magnet Max Verstappen‘s experience at the Miami Formula 1 race as an example of overcoming detractors.

Denny Hamlin on how he handled the boos at Kansas

Hamlin stated, “Well first of all heard the crowd booing which, you know, they’re making noise. I don’t mind that.”

“I just said they asked me in the media center… What do you take from that? I’m like, I take from that that Kyle Larson is more popular than I am and they wanted to see him win over me.”

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“So I don’t mind it at all. I think that as long as we’re making noise of some sort, I don’t mind any reaction.”

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Denny Hamlin uses Max Verstappen’s example to shut down haters

Subsequently, Hamlin’s co-host mentioned that they had seen some responses to the story on Instagram, in the “Dear Denny” section, where people asked how to handle boos. He thought that, given a choice between no reaction and many boos, one might prefer the latter.

Answering the question, Hamlin then stated, “I think you just want any noise. Any noise is good because that means you have an effect on someone… so, I consider it an endearment. Evidently, they said Max Verstappen got tons of boos at Miami F1, that guy’s pretty good.”

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Ultimately, it’s commendable that Hamlin was able to maintain a positive attitude amidst the criticism. Much of the disapproval may have stemmed from Hamlin’s last-lap nudge of Larson. However, his resilience and ability to focus on his accomplishments will undoubtedly serve him well in the future as well.