Report: Denny Hamlin bursts into tears amid testimony for 23XI, FRM vs. NASCAR lawsuit

The first day of the NASCAR antitrust lawsuit is in the books. Denny Hamlin gave part of his testimony on the stand today. During his testimony, Hamlin reportedly burst into tears and got emotional as he talked about his path to the Cup Series and professional stock car racing.

Day 1 of a 10-day trial is over. Jury selection, opening statements, and part of Denny Hamlin’s testimony all went down today. We are up and running, and this trial is going to go by very quickly, all things considered.

Toby Christie of Racing America reported that Hamlin was overcome with emotion and shed tears during his testimony. “Hamlin was super emotional and burst into tears in the opening minutes of his testimony as he recalled his path to the [NASCAR] Cup Series as a driver.”

This is going to be a very emotional trial overall. Both sides have already had highly sensitive and personal thoughts and feelings put out to the public. Now, some of those thoughts and feelings will be used to argue both sides of this antitrust case.

Denny Hamlin has been fairly open and vocal throughout the lawsuit process. Over the weekend, Hamlin took aim at Ryan McGee of ESPN as well as Mike Forde of NASCAR for an article he disagreed with. Now, he’s testifying in federal court.

Judge Kenneth Bell is going to attempt to keep things civil between the two sides. He already got onto both legal teams earlier today.

Denny Hamlin, Curtis Polk barred from courtroom

Invoking a rule regarding witnesses being present for other testimony, NASCAR was able to temporarily bar Denny Hamlin and Curtis Polk from the courtroom. Well, in theory. The ruling only barred Hamlin and Polk from being present until their testimony was over. With Hamlin testifying first, he could be back in the courtroom for the rest of the trial.

The request from NASCAR is a typical request in trials. It is used to avoid letting witnesses hear other testimony, thus changing their own testimony when they are later questioned. Michael Jordan will be present throughout the trial as the corporate representative of 23XI Racing.

There will be many ups and downs over the 10 days. Denny Hamlin is going to be discussed quite a bit during this trial. Both in his own testimony and in other testimony, we will hear plenty about Hamlin, his career, and his ownership of 23XI.