Denny Hamlin's Twitter feud further proves his villain role

NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin. Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Denny Hamlin's Twitter feud with Marcus Smith is latest example of him playing the heel

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated 4/5/24

In recent years, Denny Hamlin has taken to the part of the heel in NASCAR.

Whether it's trading paint with Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman at Martinsville, moving Ross Chastain and Kyle Larson into the wall for wins or trying to vehemently deny things on his podcast, the Cup Series veteran has embraced the villain role in a sport desperate for one.

On Thursday night, he decided to take aim at a premier NASCAR executive.

Hamlin called out Marcus Smith, head of Speedway Motorsports, for what seems to be a poor repave at the Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. The road course seemed to have its new pavement already coming up near turn 11.

When Hamlin saw the photo, he wasn't shy about voicing his opinion.

In a series of since deleted tweets, Smith fired back at Hamlin, even calling out the 43 year-old driver for his lack of a Cup Series title. While the exchange between the two was eventually taken down, screenshots of the social media feud surfaced early on Friday morning.

Hamlin obviously seemed upset about the reconfigurations of both Texas Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway, both of which were overseen by Smith.

The two then traded personal blows, with Hamlin saying Smith would "blow everything his dad gave him," in reference to Smith's father, the late NASCAR Hall of Famer Bruton Smith, who started SMI. Hamlin was then called out for his lack of a championship by Smith, which seemed to end the debate.

On Friday, both parties issued apologies on social media, with Smith complimenting Hamlin and Hamlin posting that the argument "got more personal than it should have for sure."

Regardless of who "won" Thursday evening's social media battle, it further proves that Hamlin has no boundaries as far as being the main villain in NASCAR.

If you need someone to rough a fellow driver up on the racetrack, he's your man. If you need him to trade blows with top brass on social media, he's also your man.

NASCAR fans will forever be conflicted on Hamlin, but one thing is for sure: he seems to be even faster than he was before since embracing the role of the heel.

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