Denny Hamlin admits he took Kyle Busch’s NASCAR villain role: “It’s somewhat fun to me”

Dirty Mo Media shared a throwback clip from Denny Hamlin's Actions Detrimental podcast, featuring an interaction with Kyle Busch and his perception as NASCAR's villain. Hamlin noted that he has undertaken the 'villain role' in recent times.

Hamlin had a record-setting 2025 season, earning six wins and tying Kevin Harvick for tenth on the all-time wins list. It was also the year that Hamlin touched the 60-win mark. On the other hand, Hamlin had one too many scuffles with rival drivers.

His most contentious one was with his 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace, where Hamlin made contact with the Alabama native while he was leading the race. The minor skirmish allowed Chase Elliott to take the lead and eventually reach victory lane. Wallace admitted that he was 'disappointed' in Hamlin's move, but the two drivers later addressed the matter and made up behind the scenes.

During the podcast interview with Busch, Hamlin said,

"I've somewhat taken your villain role. It's somewhat fun to me." "When you can have the clout to be able to back up what you say, you can act the fool all you want because you can back it up. I have nothing to back it up right now, so I had to put the black hat on the shelf and pull off the white one," Busch retorted. "I'll never forget we were there for the NASCAR 75 Greatest Drivers thing," Denny Hamlin added, "Kyle is getting cheered and I just get, I mean, just booed out of the place. Carl [Edwards] is like. Wait a minute what happened since I've been gone. You know, Kyle's all of a sudden the good guy?

Denny Hamlin faced a fierce battle off-track as well. He became the central figure during the antitrust trial with NASCAR. He took the witness stand and provided an emotional testimony on his roots into the sport.

NASCAR's landmark settlement resolved a year-long affair, with Hamlin coming home with major concessions to bolster his team.

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Denny Hamlin calls for apology from NASCAR analysts following 23XI-FRM settlement

Denny Hamlin recently took to X and called out SiriusXM host Larry McReynolds for his critical takes of 23XI during the antitrust lawsuit. The veteran crew chief initially didn't believe that NASCAR was 'unfair' with the charter deal, noting how other teams like JGR and HMS signed off on it.

Following 23XI's settlement with NASCAR, Hamlin took aim at McReynolds' stance.

"Good morning. Now that the case is settled and the evidence is out will you or anyone on channel 90 be issuing an apology for what you all said about 23XI/FRM when the lawsuit was filed," Hamlin wrote in an X post.

Denny Hamlin was largely viewed as a saviour by NASCAR fans. When news of the settlement first broke, fans thanked Hamlin for standing up for them.

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Edited by Vignesh Kanna