Denny Hamlin airs it out on taunting Wolverines fans following win at Michigan

Denny Hamlin hasn’t been shy about his Ohio State fandom over the last year, and he’s been incorporating it into his NASCAR Cup Series career. First, he waved an “11 Against the World” flag out when he won at Martinsville Speedway, but then he took it to a new level after winning the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday.

In the backyard of the Michigan Wolverines, Hamlin, ever the antagonist, was seen doing the O-H-I-O chant during his celebration. That had to feel good for the Buckeyes fan in the veteran NASCAR wheelman. Speaking on the matter, Hamlin spoke about how the idea came together on Sunday.

“My friend Travis, he sent me a group text, it was the guys that we went to the (Ohio State) games with last year,” Hamlin explained, via Steven Taranto of CBS Sports. “I told him, ‘I’m gonna win today for you, Trav,’ and then the other friend said, ‘Oh, feeling pretty good about your car, huh?’ I was like, it was more just, you know, I took a picture with my friends who had the ‘11 Against the World,’ they had the bus in (turn) three and four. I sent it to the group chat of the guys.

“He was like, ‘Man, it’d feel good if you won, with that School Up North, like, right in their backyard.’ I said, ‘Well, I’m gonna do it for you.’ So, I did it just for my buddy Trav.”

Even though it might feel a bit villainous from Hamlin, he added that while he fancies Ohio State, he’s not a supreme hater when it comes to Michigan. Additionally, Michael Jordan’s publicist Estee Portnoy is a Michigan grad and Wolverines fan, and the 23XI Racing co-owner knows he has to walk a fine line on the matter.

“I have no (disdain for Michigan),” Hamlin added. “Michael’s publicist Estee — she hates it. She’s a Michigan grad and absolutely despises me doing this Ohio State stuff. So, I’ve got a little fine, tight tightrope I’ve got to walk a little bit. Me? I wasn’t smart enough to go to any college, so what do I care?”

Regardless, Hamlin couldn’t end the evening without one more shot at Michigan. There were a litany of student volunteers from the school in the Media Center after his win, and Hamlin hit them with a spicy one-liner: “Hopefully y’all can — at least you’re winning one game a year,” he joked.

As you can tell, Denny Hamlin hasn’t lost his fastball. He might’ve gained a ton of new fans in Columbus, but Ann Arbor will have no love for the veteran wheelman moving forward, you can take that to the bank.