“It Doesn’t Mean SH*T”: Denny Hamlin on Psychology Behind Seemingly Stupid NASCAR Behaviour

It is very common in NASCAR for tensions to run high toward the end of a race and see cars bump and push each other in the hopes of gaining a spot or two. These attempts often result in drivers having problems with each other in the pit lanes after the checkered flag is waved. Though Joe Gibbs Racing superstar Denny Hamlin is often in one of these spots, he doesn’t believe that it makes any sense to be so.

He said on Actions Detrimental after winning the 2024 Busch Light Clash earlier this month, “You hear them [drivers] say, ‘I don’t know why this person was knocking me out of the way’, for 6th place with 3 laps to go. We are not gonna win. We are battling for 6th! But at that moment you’re like, ‘I wanna get top-5!’. It doesn’t mean s***.” 

NASCAR’s point system awards drivers based on their finishing positions in every Cup Series race. With 40 points being the highest one can get, the last five cars to get into the line get 1 point each. So, in a regular points race the final position that a driver attains does matter a lot. However, Hamlin’s contention was with the Clash, a non-points race, in mind.

He continued, “We are just so much smarter after we take off the helmet. In the sense that we are like, ‘Probably shouldn’t have done that’, or whatever it might have been. But we just are always battling for every spot because we think one spot matters and in the Clash it really doesn’t.”

The importance of finishing position in the Daytona 500 and Dwayne Johnson’s show of support to Hamlin

Following the Busch Light Clash, the Daytona 500 was scheduled to be run on Sunday, February 18. Due to weather-related issues, the race has been pushed and is now set to begin at 4:30 p.m. ET on Monday. Hamlin will be starting the race from 8th on the grid when Dwayne “Rock” Johnson gives the command for drivers to start the engine.

As Hamlin will agree, the upcoming race is one in which the finishing position will matter the most for what it means in addition to points is a share of the $28 million purse.

Ahead of the scheduled race, Johnson spoke of Hamlin and said, “One of the cool things that being a great bad guy and a great villain offers — and this is my advice to Denny, is not only do you embrace it but you also get the opportunity to say and do a lot of things that people can’t.” He continued comparing his image in the world of wrestling with that of Hamlin in NASCAR and showed a strong sign of support for the JGR star’s effort.

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