The FireKeepers Casino 400 brought the best out of Denny Hamlin. On the track, he outpaced his competition with his fuel-saving mastery, and off the track, he was back winding up the crowd in the grandstands. After climbing from his No. 11 Toyota, Hamlin faced the crowd and quipped, “Daddy, I’m sorry, but I beat your favorite driver, folks…all of them.” This moment pulled double duty. It celebrated Hamlin’s milestone, becoming just the 10th driver ever to win after making his 700th start.

In February 2024, Hamlin publicly vowed to retire that very catchphrase at his father’s insistence. But, as soon as the fans showered him with boos and jeers, he couldn’t resist the temptation of landing a good rebuttal. However, his fellow competitor, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., feels that Hamlin can do a better job at taunting the race fans. Let’s just say he got bored with his “I beat your favorite driver” tagline.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wants Denny Hamlin to up his villain game

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. doesn’t mince words about Denny Hamlin’s repetitive antics after his Michigan triumph. On a recent podcast, the JTG Daugherty Racing driver dissected Hamlin’s Michigan taunt with brutal honesty. “I know there’s a lot of stuff in his head that he can come up with,” Stenhouse said, implying Hamlin’s capable of smarter material. Even Bubba Wallace’s spotter, Freddie Kraft, who works with 23XI Racing under Hamlin’s leadership, added to this sentiment.

“I think. And I’m all for being. We need a heel. You know, we need a——. Denny’s obviously happy to take that role.” Kraft admitted. Yet he immediately critiqued the execution: “We’ve got to stop with this damn ‘beat your favourite. Like if he would have outrun like Chase or Larson or Blaney or somebody, I’d be okay with it, but he just beat the folk hero, Chris Buescher. I mean, not the ultra-popular driver. You know what I mean?” Kraft has his expectation set high after all he has seen this version of Hamlin grow right from the moment this equation between him and fans changed back in 2017.

Denny’s catchphrase ain’t cutting it for us 🙅‍♂️@StenhouseJr | @FreddieKraft | @KarsynElledge3 | @TBR7NY pic.twitter.com/VH1t6XUEVI

— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) June 10, 2025

Had it been Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney or Chase Elliott, this would’ve had a different impact. After all, there is a history behind Hamlin curating this infamous tagline. Back in 2017, Hamlin spun Elliott at Martinsville and ended his chances to win the race. During the post-race interview, the fans who usually cheered for the JGR driver turned on him and rained a shower of boos and jeers. And since then, this relationship between the driver and the fans has only turned sour. Back then, Elliott did turn up the heat and showed personality.

“I think these fans have been coming here a long time and they know when somebody gets wrecked and when somebody had a nice fight for the lead, and that wasn’t one. That’s it,” the HMS driver said after the race. Well, talk about creativity, Hamlin didn’t just clap back at his critics, he even threw the O-H at the stands. It was his message to the fans in the stands that he is an Ohio State fan and supports the Buckeyes. If anything, Stenhouse Jr. could’ve adopted the villain role; he had his shot after he was crashed into the wall at Nashville

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Stenhouse Jr. opted to play the cool customer after the Nashville crash

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. knows how to turn into a villain, albeit for the sake of entertainment. His most explosive moment came at the 2024 All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro, where Kyle Busch wrecked him on Lap 2. Furious, Stenhouse parked his car in Busch’s pit stall, stormed Busch’s hauler post-race, and threw a punch that ignited a brawl involving crews and his own father. NASCAR fined him $75,000 and suspended his crew members for crossing the line from drama to disorder. The fallout was costly but revealing: Stenhouse admitted Busch’s early aggression felt personal, snarling post-fight that Busch was “frustrated he doesn’t run nearly as well as he used to.”

Yet just weeks ago, when rookie Carson Hocevar dive-bombed him at Nashville, triggering a crash that knocked Stenhouse out of playoff contention, his response was strikingly measured. Though he blasted Hocevar as “definitely overaggressive” and joked confronting him would be “too expensive” (a nod to his NASCAR fine), he opted for diplomacy. After Hocevar called him, Stenhouse acknowledged the incident as a misjudgment, adding, “I don’t mind a good rivalry, but I don’t want a rivalry for running 15th. If we’re battling for wins, that’s great.”

A lot of fans were expecting fireworks at Michigan, but instead, the Hyak Motorsports driver brokered a peace deal with Hocevar. It remains to be seen how long this peace deal will last, as Stenhouse Jr. won’t miss an opportunity to repay the favor against Hocevar if he is competing for a win.