Denny Hamlin reveals why he didn’t have a viral soundbite after Bristol win

Denny Hamlin “beat your favorite driver” in Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Whereas Hamlin typically reminds the live crowd of this following his wins, it was a little different after this one. Hamlin didn’t have a WWE promo queued up for the crowd at Bristol, which came as a slight surprise.

Speaking on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast after the race, Hamlin explained why he held off on any viral soundbites to cap off the win at Bristol.

“I didn’t, no,” Hamlin said. “Thought that the fans had mixed reviews. I wouldn’t say they were overwhelmingly [negative]. … It was fine, I’m still adhering to my dad’s wishes of not saying it, so I was fine just kind of reminding them I’m No. 1.”

Hamlin previously said he was retiring the phrase after getting a text from his dad requesting him to do so. Apparently, papa Hamlin thought it was too cocky.

“So, I gave them the, ‘I beat your favorite driver,’ again. Which, breaking news, I always say that at least once in every podcast, I’m going to have to retire it. I’m going to retire the, ‘I beat all your favorite drivers,’ because I got a text, and those of you [that] saw the Netflix special, with my dad. He sent me a text and he said, ‘Son, you’ve got to stop that. I don’t like it. It’s just too cocky.’ I’m going to listen to dad on this one. So, we’re going to retire it,” Hamlin said. “That’s the last time I think — jokes are always funnier the first time you say it, not the second or third or whatever anyway. So, we’ll come up with something new next time around.

“But ‘I beat your favorite driver, all of them,’ is officially going to go down in the history books. It’s done.”

So, maybe we won’t hear that exact one again but rest assured, Hamlin will have something else in the chamber when he inevitably wins again.

“For another day. It ain’t gonna be our last win, I can tell you that,” Hamlin said.

Denny Hamlin outlasts field in tire management race at Bristol

In what turned out to be a tire management race, Hamlin and his team did the best job of doing just that — managing the tires. Hamlin picked up his second consecutive win at Bristol and 52nd overall. He led a race-high 163 laps, outlasting Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. to earn the victory.

“That’s what I grew up here doing in the short tracks in the Mid Atlantic, South Boston, Martinsville. Once it became a tire management race, I really liked our chances. Obviously, the veteran in Martin, he knew how to do it as well. We just had a great car, great team,” Hamlin said. “The pit crew just did a phenomenal job all day. Can’t say enough about them.”