The most important voice in NASCAR

Love him or hate him, Denny Hamlin is the most important voice in NASCAR. You may not like him on the racetrack. You may not like him off the track. But his perspective and the statements he is making are significant and should not be ignored.

Denny Hamlin is both a driver and an owner. He has driven in the NASCAR Cup Series since replacing Jason Leffler at Joe Gibbs Racing in the Fall of 2005. Hamlin has been at Joe Gibbs Racing for his entire Cup Series career, driving the No. 11 car. Despite never winning a championship, Hamlin has 54 Cup Series Victories (12^th all-time), three Daytona 500 victories (tied for third all-time), and four Championship appearances. He is one of the best drivers of his generation and arguably the best active driver in the Cup Series.

Hamlin has been an owner in the Cup Series since 2021. In the Fall of 2020, it was announced that he and NBA great, Michael Jordan, would form 23XI Racing and compete full-time in the Cup Series. The team grew from one full-time car in 2021 to two full-time cars in 2022 and currently fields the No. 23 Toyota driven by Bubba Wallace and the No. 45 Toyota driven by Tyler Reddick. For a brand-new team in NASCAR, 23XI Racing has experienced significant success, winning six races in its first four years of operation, and putting both drivers in the Cup Series Playoffs last fall. Additionally, with the completion of its stat-of-the-art, 114,00 square-foot race facility, dubbed “AIRSPEED,” 23XI Racing has demonstrated its long-term commitment to success and the NASCAR Cup Series.

As an active driver and team owner, Hamlin has a rare platform and perspective. His experience in the sport spans two decades and three different platforms of cars (Gen 5, Gen 6, and Gen 7). As one who drove – and won – in three generations of race cars, he can speak on the best and worst qualities of each generation, including what made racing better or worse. It seems that Hamlin has a keen ability to do just that. He often reflects on the differences between the cars now verses then and what characteristics of the current NextGen that could be changed or tweaked to promote a better racing product.

Conversely, as an owner, Hamlin is mindful of the challenges of running a race team. Like many owners, he understands the large financial burden of bringing cars to the track each week, and the impact that he and his fellow team owners have made in NASCAR.

In the recent negotiations between NASCAR and the race teams over a new charter agreement, Hamlin has been outspoken in his demand for a revenue structure that provides race teams with a larger piece of the revenue pie. His frustration with the charter negotiation erupted into controversy when he engaged Speedway Motorsports President Marcus Smith in a feud on the X platform. Such an exchange is indicative of his enthusiasm for the sport and the high expectations he has for NASCAR and the track owners.

To be clear, I am not saying Denny is right on all things NASCAR. He is outspoken about what he believes, and his perspective is well reasoned and clearly articulated. Currently, he is the most visible ambassador of the sport. He owns a race team with, arguably, the greatest athlete of all time. He was a featured driver in the NASCAR Netflix series.

If you don’t like him as a race car driver, that’s fine. But don’t overlook or undervalue what he brings to the table off the track. Denny Hamlin is determined to make NASCAR better. For that he should be applauded.

Zech Yoder is a local resident, an attorney at Adler Attorneys in Noblesville, and a lifelong race fan.