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“We Need That Villan”- Dale Earnhardt Jr Risks Angering NASCAR World by Giving Denny Hamlin the Greenlight

Published 07/26/2023, 11:19 AM EDT

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There’s a thin line between dirty driving and hard racing in motorsports. On one side, people boo incessantly and humiliate a driver, while on the other, they say it is merely following the nuances of the highest form of stock car racing. In his podcast, The Dale Jr Download, veteran former racer, and NASCAR icon Dale Earnhardt Jr explained the importance of aggressive driving on the tracks of NASCAR.

Being under the radar of the public’s attention is quite a challenging job. And recently, the #11 driver for Joe Gibbs Racing has been facing this challenge like none other. This certainly happened after his on-track move on Hendrick Motorsports, Kyle Larson in Pocono.

“We need exactly what we got yesterday, said Dale Earnhardt Jr after Hamlin-Larson on-track contact

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20 years from now, people will probably remember that he was the one who got Toyota their 600th win, or he was the one who set the record for the highest number of cup wins at Pocono. They will probably forget how he pushed Kyle Larson into the wall in order to get the win. Dale Junior has a similar opinion. He did not refrain from saying that the driver would take what he needed to win. It might be a little disrespectful, but it is called hard racing.

Junior said, “He crossed some lanes…When you slow it down frame to frame, when the 5 hits the wall, Denny is not in his door, it’s not that egregious.”

“He bounces off him and then kinda turns down the track. Denny didn’t even get off the corner. He’s not full throttle, and he didn’t hit a bad*** exit,” he explained.

While talking about the importance of aggressive driving, the NBC commentator said:

“We need that villain. We need contact, confrontation.” to which co-host Mike Davis agreed and replied, “Somebody’s got to do it!”

Junior then goes on and remembers the days when he used to watch his dad, the G.O.A.T. Dale Earnhardt race. Running down someone or bashing against someone else’s bumper was a normal thing back then. Mike then drove the conversation in a slightly different direction.

The most objective group of people; Chase Elliott fans

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Opinions were vastly divided. So, in order to have a fresh perspective on the situation, a neutral audience was the need of the hour. Or at least, Mike Davis thought so. And it was the Chase Elliott fans who came into the picture when the co-host of The Dale Jr. Download threw a question at the fans of the HMS driver, “Was he (Denny Hamlin) right or was Kyle Larson right?”

Last year at Watkins Glen, Larson tangled with teammate Eliott and forced him to miss the corner on a restart with just 5 laps remaining in the race. As a result, Larson bagged the victory, while Chase fell back to 4th place after A. J. Allmendinger and Joey Logano.

When it comes to Denny Hamlin, we need not remind the fans what happened between the two at the Coca-Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. NASCAR suspended Elliott for deliberately crashing into the 23XI co-owner.

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Davis said, “They (Chase Elliott fans) like neither driver, in fact they probably dislike both and they’ve got reasons to dislike both.”

Who would you side with? The Toyota Camry star or the Golden boy of Hendrick Motorsports? Let us know in the comments below.

Read more: Big Blow for Chase Elliott: Just One Point Could Be Proving Dale Earnhardt Jr Right

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Written by:

Soumyadeep Saha

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Soumyadeep is a NASCAR writer at EssentiallySports. He has done his Master's in English Literature and is a semi-professional bodybuilder. He has, in recent years, channelized his love and commitment for motorsports into a building career path.
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Edited by:

Shivali Nathta