NASCAR star Denny Hamlin admits he thrives on playing the villain

NASCAR legend Denny Hamlin has said that he 'loves' the feeling that comes with playing the villain during Cup Series weekends.

The 44-year-old is enjoying a spectacular season, having claimed three wins and seven top-five finishes, currently sat in third in the Cup Series standings.

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Having never won the series before but coming close on multiple occasions, Hamlin is once again in the fight to secure the top prize in NASCAR come the end of the season.

Alongside his role as a racer, Hamlin also co-owns the 23XI Racing team with Michael Jordan, a team that has been involved in an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR for the past few months.

In December, 23XI won a preliminary injunction that allowed them to race with chartered status for 2025 but, despite that, NASCAR appealed this, and last week, a federal appeals court overturned the previous ruling.

It means that, strictly speaking, NASCAR could strip Hamlin's team - and Front Row Motorsports - of their charters at any time.

Hamlin has not let that affect his racing performances with Joe Gibbs Racing, however, with it appearing as though the ongoing chaos is actually fuelling his good form.

Hamlin chases first championship

Hamlin holds the record for the most wins in the NASCAR Cup Series without winning a championship, and has added three more to that record this year in Virginia, Darlington and Michigan.

That brings his total tally across his career up to 57, and the 44-year-old doesn't seem to be in the mood to stop anytime soon.

Speaking to media after his recent victory at the Firekeepers Casino 400, Hamlin said of his 'villain' persona: "It’s a lot of fun for me, I love making people feel a certain way.

"Positive or negative, I do not care. All the fans that I’ve been face to face with have been very respectful, what they say outside on the other side of the fence, free rein. Do whatever you want to do, say whatever you want to say. They’ve been very respectful in the small arena.

"I do have a lot of fun with it. I do thrive on it just simply because you feel like you’ve got 60,000 people that are rooting against you. When you have that, it just feels really, really good and gratifying to prove them wrong.

"I love that feeling. It makes these wins more gratifying to me."

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