Denny Hamlin is back to being the villain, provoking Michigan crowd after win
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Denny Hamlin the antagonist is back.
He brought his famous line out of retirement to goad the crowd after winning Sunday's Cup race at Michigan International Speedway and delivered an Ohio State cheer to incite fans of the University of Michigan in the stands.
'I do thrive on it,' Hamlin said of being viewed as the villain, 'just simply because you feel like you've got 60,000 people that are rooting against you. When you have that, it just feels really, really good and gratifying to prove them wrong.'
A week before Father's Day, Hamlin eschewed his dad's wishes and told the crowd after winning for the third time this season and the 57th time in his Cup career: 'Daddy, I'm sorry, but I beat your favorite driver folks.'
Many in the crowd booed.
Nate Ryan,
It was a repeat of the line he first uttered after winning the Bristol night race in September 2023. He said the line again after winning the Clash at the Coliseum in February 2024 and then stopped doing it.
Hamlin said on his podcast 'Actions Detrimental' afterward that his father sent him a text to stop saying the line. His father said he didn't like it and thought it was too cocky. Hamlin said on his podcast that 'I'm going to listen to dad on this one.'
Oops.
'I thought about saying it a few other times,' Hamlin said Sunday night. ' … In this one, son knows best.'
Just to add another layer of antagonism, Hamlin did part of the O-H-I-O cheer for Michigan rival Ohio State in front of the crowd, earning further furor from some.
Hamlin attended the college football national championship game in January that Ohio State won over Notre Dame. While he had no previous allegiance, his friends were Ohio State fans and he supported the Buckeyes.
Buckeyes fans, look here. 😂
Wolverines fans, look away. 🫣 pic.twitter.com/sgWTlcrOFQ
Hamlin thrives on chaos. His fiancee is due to deliver the couple's third child any day, an appellant panel ruled against his team and Front Row Motorsports this past week and both face the prospect of losing their charters and being open teams as soon as the end of the month.
So, of course Hamlin won Sunday. And of course he stirred it up with the crowd unlike in his wins earlier this year at Darlington and Martinsville.
Dustin Long,
While he often is greeted with some of the largest chorus of boos during driver introductions, his actions Sunday are likely to amp that up.
He's fine with that.
'Until the crowd shifts to mostly cheers over boos, I'm always going to antagonize the booers,' Hamlin said. 'Like, until you really get the switch, which I don't think I'm ever going to in my career, what else is there?
'... I got to find ways to have fun doing this. It's such a grind and it's so hard to win. I found myself winning races a few years ago and I just moved on to Monday and it was on to the next track. I never really got to spend it celebrating. I took it for granted I'm just going to win next week, I'm going to win the week after that. I just thought another one was going to always come.
'You have another birthday (turning 45 last November). You keep wondering like how long are you going to be able to keep doing this at this level? Listen, 57 (Cup wins) might be it. None of us in this room know. I'm at least going to enjoy it as if it's my last, then I'll go to work on Monday, just like I always have.
'I don't want to be so ho-hum with winning that it's boring because then I lose my drive.'
Or the boos.
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