Jeff Gordon-Denny Hamlin Feud: NASCAR Legend Comes Clean on Statement Criticizing JGR Driver

An interesting storyline from the 2023 season was the feud over driver personalities between Denny Hamlin and Jeff Gordon. For all the open criticisms and villainy that Hamlin was displaying, Gordon expressed that he wouldn’t want any of his drivers at Hendrick Motorsports behaving that way. His terming of Hamlin’s actions as a “distraction” did not sit well with the Joe Gibbs Racing star and he was forced to hit back with his own shots.

Months after the debate on the subject Gordon recently clarified his take, appearing on the Dale Jr. Download. The question of what he considered acceptable behavior for his drivers was discussed with Dale Jr., and the 4X Cup Series champion answered, “Love to see guys have personality. I go back to my career and it came through opportunities, the things that I did with Pepsi.”

He continued, “The way we do things is definitely at a high professional level to get the most out of the race team and the race car. So to me, there’s a fine line between showing your personality, being professional, and then doing things that, you know, kind of create conflict.” Gordon’s take lined up with his previous idea that having a personality as brash as Hamlin did could be detrimental to the team.

“Thank god I don’t drive for him”: Denny Hamlin’s criticism of Gordon’s opinion

The bout between the two icons Gordon and Hamlin began when the former appeared on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and expressed that he respected how the latter was building his brand but just wouldn’t want any of his drivers at the HMS compound following the path.

Hamlin said on his podcast in response, “What he’s saying is that, ‘I like it, but I don’t like my guys to do it.’ Well, that sounds like a guy that I don’t want to go to war with. Like, I’ll go to war, but you get upfront.” He continued that Gordon’s thought was how you stunt NASCAR’s growth.

Hamlin has largely accepted and blanketed himself with the image of a villain that has been cast on him over these last few years. He was harshly critical of NASCAR and a few fellow contenders on his Actions Detrimental in 2023 and doesn’t appear to be changing gears anytime soon. 

He was staunch in his beliefs when he said: “I will never run my team saying things like that. That’s his opinion. He’s allowed to have that opinion. But certainly think that that’s the absolute wrong way to go if you want star power in this sport.”

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• Dale Earnhardt Jr.
• Denny Hamlin
• Jeff Gordon