Home

NASCAR

Mark Martin Reveals the Time Denny Hamlin Violated the “Driver’s Etiquette” During His Early NASCAR Days

Published 07/03/2022, 2:40 PM EDT

Follow Us

USA Today via Reuters

Recently, former NASCAR driver Mark Martin shared an interesting story about Denny Hamlin. According to him, there was a bit of a hypocritical situation with the #11 driver. As it turns out, there was an unspoken gentleman’s agreement between all NASCAR drivers. However, Martin revealed that Hamlin violated it, and he had the audacity to complain about it.

USA Today via Reuters

Martin said, “We had a driver’s etiquette that was understood in NASCAR at the time. One of the things was, if a faster car is passing you, don’t hang on his right rear. It’ll slow you both down.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

“Something that you got to do today because passing is so hard. Back then, you didn’t want to lose time to the other competitors.”

“I caught Denny and was passing him and then he hung on my right rear for about a lap and a half. I squeezed him out and he complained about it.”

“…Entered a Chat That You’re Not Really Welcome In” – Justin Marks Advises Ross Chastain on Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott & Joey Logano’s Attitude Towards Him

What else did Mark Martin say about Denny Hamlin?

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

The former Roush Racing driver confessed that he had a talk with the Joe Gibbs Racing driver about the matter. Later on, Martin was vindicated when the same thing happened a few years later. This time, it was Denny Hamlin who was on the receiving end, from a younger driver. Now that he was older and wiser, he was able to impart some advice to the younger driver.

So he simply scolded the rookie for not observing the proper racing etiquette. In fact, Mark Martin truly enjoyed seeing Hamlin undergo the transition from having to learn of the agreement himself, to teaching it to others.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

WATCH THIS STORY: “The Game Has Changed” – Denny Hamlin Criticizes the New Normal After Ross Chastain Ploughed Through AJ Allmendinger to Win the NASCAR Race in Austin

Speaking of Denny Hamlin, the driver is currently in the midst of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series campaign. He has already qualified for the Playoffs, but it would not hurt for him to rack up a few more wins.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Dhruv George

14,338Articles

One take at a time

Dhruv George is a senior Motorsports author for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.
Show More>

Edited by:

Ranvijay Singh