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Denny Hamlin explains why he relishes role of being NASCAR antagonist after win at Michigan

Nick Profile Picby: Nick Geddes06/08/25NickGeddesNews
Denny Hamlin
Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Denny Hamlin relishes his role of being the biggest heel in NASCAR. In March, Hamlin proudly waved an “11 against the world” flag after his win at Martinsville Speedway.

Sunday, following his victory in the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Hamlin broke out his once retired catchphrase. Hamlin turned to the crowd while speaking to Prime Video and said, “I just beat your favorite driver.”

Hamlin loves being the antagonistic. Speaking with Dale Earnhardt Jr. after the race, Hamlin explained why he enjoys having fun with the crowd.

“I love having fun with the crowd and I just don’t want them to ever clap when they say my name,” Hamlin said. “It’s like, ‘Alright, next guy.’ I want to make them feel a certain way. It could be positive, it could be negative, but I like to have those feels.”

When Hamlin broke out his iconic catchphrase, he received a mixed reaction. But when he began doing the “O-H-I-O” chant, the reaction shifted to boos. Hamlin hopped on the Ohio State bandwagon during its College Football Playoff National Championship run this past season. With Sunday’s race taking place just outside of Ann Arbor, Hamlin took the opportunity to troll the pro Wolverines crowd.

Denny Hamlin manages fuel to take checkered flag at Michigan

Hamlin has “beat your favorite driver” now three times through 15 races this season. This was a special one for Hamlin. He’s just the 10th driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to win a race after making his 700th start. With career win No. 57, Hamlin passed Kyle Busch for the most checkered flags in Joe Gibbs Racing history.

Hamlin’s fiancée Jordan Fish is also due to give birth to the couple’s third child and first son. Hamlin and Fish were anticipating their son’s arrival last week while Hamlin was racing at Nashville Superspeedway. Ryan Truex was the backup driver at Michigan in the event Hamlin got the call and needed to leave.

That call never came. Hamlin won the race, saving enough fuel as William Byron lost the lead to him with four to go and then ran out of fuel entirely.