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Denny Hamlin explains inspiration for Horns Down gesture at Texas Motor Speedway

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones05/05/25brianjones_93
Denny Hamlin (48)
Apr 13, 2025; Bristol, Tennessee, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin (11) during driver introductions for the NASCAR Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

Denny Hamlin broke his silence on the Horns Down gesture he made at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday. On the Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin explained he did the gesture when the fans began to boo him.

“I did say to them I’m gonna play off the crowd,” Hamlin said. “After the race, if I win and the crowd is really booing hard, then I’m gonna do it just to get them. But, you’d be surprised. When I went from Horns Up to Horns Down, actually, the crowd shifted for a minute. There were a few cheers that weren’t there before. We’re not necessarily right there in Texas territory as far as Austin, Texas.”

Hamlin is right when it comes to not being in Texas Longhorns territory. Texas Motor Speedway is located in Fort Worth, Texas, which is three hours away from Austin. The thought was that Hamlin did the Horns Down gesture because he became an Ohio State fan this past college football season. Ohio State defeated Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinals before winning the national championship.

Did the Horns Down gesture cause Denny Hamlin to lose at Texas?

While Denny Hamlin was having fun with the fans, that fun didn’t last long as his No. 11 car suffered engine failure early in the race. It was a tough break for Hamlin, who has won two races this year and is near the top of the playoff standings and Cup points.

“Just the lap before, it started misting,” Hamlin said after the race, per Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. And when asked if he received any warning about the fire, Hamlin said, “No, not really. It just blew up.”

Before the fire, Hamlin was penalized for speeding on pit road. He went down pit road twice because too many people talking on the radio at the same time, and he heard the “Cowboys” code name.

Hamlin also explained to reporters what happened with the “Cowboys” code word mishap. He said it was “Miscommunication between me and the team. They gave me a code, and it was too close to another code just got mixed up there.”