Denny Hamlin has had plenty of disagreements with a myriad of people during his NASCAR career, even his team owner for the No. 11 Toyota.
During the latest episode of Harvick’s Happy Hour, Hamlin sat down for an interview with Kevin Harvick, where he elaborated on the the biggest disagreement he’s ever had with his team owner in Joe Gibbs, and this one won’t surprise you.
“Oh, man, I mean, there’s been a lot of times he’s been really ticked off at me,” Hamlin stated. “The lip starts quivering. But, I’m trying to remember one in particular, but I know that we’ve had some knockdown, drag outs over some pit crew stuff at times. Where, you know, in that room of of the competition meeting, I’ll get pretty critical.
“And, you know, he knows how hard they’re working, because he’s out there during pitstop practice watching them, and he’s sticking up for his guys. Right? And so, there’s been times, he’s taken exception to me, in some comments.”
It’s understandable for Hamlin to get frustrated with his crew at times, but it’s interesting in pulling back the curtain you see they have a strong supporter in Gibbs. That’s part of what makes the veteran owner easy to root for, and why there’s so much goodwill that he’s built up over his time in NASCAR.
While Hamlin and Gibbs have been working together for what seems like forever, their relationship keeps receiving new wrinkles. Continuing during the interview, Harvick asked Hamlin how the two get along nowadays, and it’s evident the No. 11 wheelman is more important to the operation than ever.
“It’s good,” Hamlin added. “I mean, I’ve you know, kind of taken Ty [Gibbs] under my wing. I’d say that you know, as a mentor, I’m probably more of a mentor to Ty than any of the other Gibbs drivers. We travel together. We do a lot of talking. He’s obviously a young up and coming driver. But I know it’s very important for Joe, is Ty’s success. And I think that, you know, he really leans on me to be that, you know, kind of adult figure for Ty here at this racetrack. Obviously that family has gone through some tough times over the years. And so that’s something that I definitely take very seriously is that, you know, this is a kid that’s going to be in the sport for a very long time. He’s going to lead the legacy of Joe Gibbs Racing as a driver for many, many years. What can I do to help him? And knowing that one day, when I turn them the keys, my team will be competing against them.
“It’s my job to give back to the Gibbs family, because they’ve been so good to me over the course of my career. They’re the ones that took a chance on me. I mean, I had nothing when I came in and signed with Joe Gibbs Racing. They believed in me and my ability, and they stuck it out with me when things weren’t all that great at times. So it’s a family. I always thought that, you know, while my dad never really traveled that much anymore, Gibbs was my at-track family. And if I can be that for Ty in any of the other Gibbs families, and then that’d be great.”
It’s evident leaving a legacy and giving back is very important to Denny Hamlin. We’ll see if he can end his career at Joe Gibbs Racing with a title, before he’s done behind the wheel of the No. 11 in the future.
The post Denny Hamlin describes biggest disagreement he’s ever had with Joe Gibbs appeared first on On3.
