Hamlin isn’t going anywhere. That’s good — NASCAR needs him

You can hate Denny Hamlin all you want. If you are a NASCAR fan, you can boo him. If you are a fellow NASCAR competitor, you can feud with him. If you are a NASCAR official, you can penalize and fine him every Wednesday following every race and every podcast.

But all of the above — especially NASCAR itself — needs Denny Hamlin. In fact, the sport could use a few more Denny Hamlins.

Think about it. This is an era when the collective fan base says that the garage is devoid of strong personalities and drivers willing to speak their minds before first checking with sponsors and bosses. Hamlin is clearly not asking anyone for permission before he faces any microphones, be it in the media centers of racetracks or in the recording studio to lay down another shocking episode of his still-new “Actions Detrimental” podcast. And he clearly isn’t having any Zoom calls with any marketing and PR advisers — what public figures like to call “my team” — before hitting “send” on his tweets.

Just as a reminder.

I went on a podcast and apparently broke 3 rules 24 hours later. 50k and 25 POINTS.

— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) March 30, 2023

This is a time when we often hear that today’s racers don’t have the same DNA as the demigods of days gone by, that this bunch of softies would never be willing to issue any chrome horn justice like Dale Earnhardt and Cale Yarborough and name-your-Hall-of-Famer used to do it. Then Denny Hamlin openly admits that he has done exactly that, and more than once.

It wasn’t a wreck. NASCAR throws cautions for wrecks.
Rule #1 my momma told me, don’t lie. https://t.co/sUtB6UTyml

— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) March 14, 2023

This is also a time when the sport is beginning a generational shift, as happens every 15 years or so. When those cycles inevitably begin, there is also unstoppable feeling of sentimentality among those who love the sport.

Hamlin, the one-time wunderkind, is now 42 years old, in his 17th full-time Cup Series season. He has hinted that he is much closer to the end of his driving career than people likely realize, a run that began with a stunning first year at Joe Gibbs Racing in 2006, when he went from a largely unheard of Virginia short track racer to earning a spot in NASCAR’s postseason as a rookie, racing against Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Dale…