Denny Hamlin Sure Knows How to Bring Attention to Himself

Getty Images Denny Hamlin

It seems clear that Denny Hamlin seeks out attention not only on track, but on camera and online. His latest dust up was a late-night Twitter fight with Marcus Smith, chairman of SMI (Speedway Motorsports).

While much of the NASCAR world was tucked away in bed, April 4, Hamlin and Smith engaged in a surprisingly nasty — and extremely personal — Twitter spat. Hamlin fired the first shot. He accused SMI of “paving on a budget” at Sonoma and implied the company had done the same at North Wilkesboro, which will host the NASCAR All-Star race in May. Though Smith later deleted many of his tweets, he landed as many shots as he took, including this: “so listen here, almost NASCAR Champion, you keep working at it and one day you’re gonna get a big trophy!” Ouch. The reason for the online fight? Ostensibly, over how SMI repaves the NASCAR tracks it owns and operates.

SMI owns and operates several racetracks. Marcus Smith runs the company, which was founded by his father. Hamlin instigated the fight by going on Twitter and suggesting that SMI repaves and reconfigures the tracks on the cheap and without input from the drivers. The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck screen captured much of the fight.

I’m honestly having trouble believing this is even real. Did one of them get hacked? Both? Like…what is going on right now?

Everyone Talking About Denny Hamlin

Credit to Denny Hamlin. He knows how to draw attention to himself. Hamlin’s 53 NASCAR Cup Series wins places him 13th on the all-time wins list. Among current drivers, he’s second only to Kyle Busch. That drives attention to Hamlin. Is it enough? Seems not.

Most NASCAR fans already know that Hamlin, after a win, loves to stand atop his car and gleefully exclaim, “I just beat your favorite driver.” Hamlin’s also good at grabbing attention even when he’s not racing. For example, Hamlin managed to make himself a centerpiece of the popular Netflix series, NASCAR: Full Speed. As Heavy wrote at the series premiere, “Hamlin’s story drives much of NASCAR: Full Speed. Surprisingly, the thorny veteran emerges as a almost likable star of the series. A hard-driving racer, determined team owner, and deeply engaged father.”

Hamlin’s also good at generating attention for himself online. For example, following last week’s controversial finish at the Toyota Owners 400. Many said Hamlin jumped the restart and should have been penalized. Hamlin didn’t deny this. Instead, he stoked the flames of the controversy. Hamlin first took to Twitter to make fun of the controversy. He tweeted: “After much consideration, talks with the team and dissecting the SMT data, it is clear that I jumped the start. Because of that, I’ve decided to do the right thing and… wish you a happy April Fools Day!” Later that day, Hamlin went on his podcast and confessed: “I went pretty early in the zone,” he said.

Just a few days later, April 4, Hamlin returned to Twitter and went after Marcus Smith and the work of SMI.

Choosing Sides in the Latest Hamlin Spat

Denny Hamlin is one of the winningest drivers in NASCAR Cup Series history. And he’s co-owner of 23XI Racing, which competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. Yet, many in NASCAR chose not to take Hamlin’s side in his fight with Marcus Smith. Dave Moody, of SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, tweeted: “very few have done more to elevate the fan experience in this sport than the Smith Family. When you break boundaries and try new things, sometimes you fail. But there have been plenty of wins.”

Bob Pockrass, with FOX Sports, suggested that the Smith – Hamlin spat got out of hand. Pockrass decided it was part of a larger fight over NASCAR’s ongoing charter negotiations with the teams, including Hamlin’s. Pockrass wrote, “So here is a driver and team co-owner bashing a track owner for spending less money — a subtle way of possibly indicating that the tracks are pocketing money that could be better used to go to the teams.”

As he often does right after a big kerfuffle, Hamlin tried to then make light of the situation. Early this morning, April 5, Hamlin (once more) took to Twitter.