A little bit of Twitter beef has turned into a real-life moment, it appears, between Denny Hamlin and Mamba Smith at Daytona. The NASCAR Chief Hype Officer and Joe Gibbs Racing driver went back and forth over a hot take by Smith last week.
Following Richmond, Mamba Smith said the point of the championship wasn’t to “crown the best driver.” Of course, Denny Halmin and others took issue with that framing.
During driver intros, which Mamba usually takes care of for the Cup Series, he got one over on Hamlin. The old-fashioned fakeout handshake. Then the drama spilled back over to the Internet.
“[You’re] so cool bro,” Hamlin replied. “Don’t let the ratios get to you.”
“See you on the stage next week Champ,” Mamba replied. Denny hit back.
“[It’s] 3x Southern 500 champ to you. Make sure you get it right when you say my name.”
“You’ll get what you get, smile, and do your princess wave regardless,” Mamba replied for the final word. A little chippy over there on Twitter, folks.
This is probably not as serious as it looks/sounds. These are two guys that talk about the sport each week and have very different thoughts on how things work in NASCAR.
The championship format and the playoffs are controversial. NASCAR fans can’t agree on anything, and definitely don’t agree on the championship. There is likely nothing the sport can do that everyone will agree with.
Denny Hamlin remains critic of NASCAR Playoffs
There is a lot that Denny Hamlin disagrees with when it comes to NASCAR. The NASCAR Playoffs are one of the biggest topics of contention. That’s not just for Hamlin, but for the racing community as a whole.
Darlington and the Southern 500 mark the beginning of the postseason. That’s good news for Hamlin. As he pointed out, he is a three-time winner in the event and was also the winner at Darlington earlier this season.
Getting off to a strong start in the playoffs will be a big boost for any driver able to do it. Winning gets you to the Round of 12 automatically. The tracks line up well for Hamlin and his skills, too. Darlington, Gateway, and Bristol. Five wins at Darlington, four at Bristol, and in three Gateway races, Hamlin has been P2 twice.
Denny Hamlin had a lackluster Daytona. He might not agree with the championship format. But that doesn’t change the fact that he is racing to win the championship. Is this the year Denny gets it done?
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