Denny Hamlin, Marcus Smith get into heated exchange over Speedway Motorsports 'budget' repaving
While you were sleeping, Denny Hamlin and Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith engaged a war of words on X.
Hamlin, fresh off his victory at Richmond Raceway this past Sunday, got things started when he responded to a photo shared by NASCAR on Reddit which showed the newly repaved track surface at Sonoma Raceway coming up on Turn 11. The issue forced the cancelation of SRO America testing at the racetrack, which just so happens to be one of 11 racetracks owned by Speedway Motorsports.
Hamlin offered a scathing review of Smith’s company.
“When paving on a budget goes wrong,” Hamlin wrote. “NWB will be next.”
Though Hamlin fired that off at 11:42 p.m. ET, Smith decided he had time to respond. The two went head-to-head past midnight.
“This is a great post from somebody who doesn’t know all the information,” Smith responded. “Ignorance on display for the world to see! (I will delete this tweet when @DennyHamlin sends me a text or gives me a call directly to ask why this is happening.)”
“You don’t need to delete,” Hamlin tweeted. “We’ve seen your reconfig record.”
Hamlin is a 53-time winner in the Cup Series and one of NASCAR‘s most consistent drivers. However, he’s never won a Cup Series championship. Wanna guess what Smith took aim at next?
“Following up on my previous post, our team at Speedway Motorsports has an amazing track record for working to exceed expectations. Your nonchalant post is insult to hundreds of people that are dedicated to exceeding expectations for the Racing community, and @NASCAR fans around the world. You’re a negative comments would carry a lot more weight if you had a championship to back them up,” Smith posted. “Good luck in your quest for 2024.”
Marcus Smith apologizes after X spat with Denny Hamlin
Smith continued: “Yes we take risks, sometimes they work sometimes they don’t. We’ve seen your attempt of the championship as well. When you have a chance, maybe you could give me some golf tips.”
Hamlin had a tip for Smith, but it didn’t exactly involve golf…
“Heres your tip,” Hamlin stated. “Let someone else run your business before you blow everything your dad gave you.”
At 12:45 a.m., one hour after their jousting began, Smith fired the last shot.
“So proud of my dad! Hall of famer!” Smith wrote. “If he had a Twitter/X account, I don’t think his comment would be family friendly. So listen here, almost @NASCAR Champion, you keep working at it and one day you’re gonna get a big trophy! Thanks for the tip!”
As of Friday morning, all of Smith’s tweets directed at Hamlin have been deleted. In their place, an apology.
“As of Friday morning, all of Smith’s tweets directed at Hamlin have been deleted,” Smith posted. “In their place, is an apology. Following up on my previous posts, I take a lot of pride in the dedication and hard work our teammates put forth to make @NASCAR the very best it can be and I shouldn’t let social media conversations get personal, so I deleted those posts. @dennyhamlin is a passionate driver and team owner and I’m truly looking forward to seeing him drive for a championship this year.
“Our team is working hard to fix some pavement issues @racesonoma and we will get it right. Let’s keep the positive momentum going in 2024!”