Following his disappointing exit in the Round of 8, Denny Hamlin was subject to scrutiny once again because he still has not won a Cup Series Championship. Eddie Gossage, the former track president of Texas Motor Speedway, had some pretty scathing comments saying that Hamlin lacks focus and intelligence. He claimed to have been told this by a crew chief and two crew members, so, is there an objective truth to these comments?
Lacks Focus
What those who told Gossage were likely referring to with this were how many different things Denny Hamlin is involved in. He is a busy guy as most race car drivers are. However, his professional life is more complicated than many others are.
Hamlin co-owns a race team, 23XI Racing with Michael Jordan. Hamlin also has a podcast, Actions Detrimental, that starts or contributes to many NASCAR conversations. He also has two kids, so, he has to balance time with family as many race car drivers do.
He’s involved in a lot of different things. Now, there is obviously nothing wrong with a driver spending his time away from the race team he drives for doing things that Denny Hamlin is doing. Some drivers elect to spend their free time away from the race track, but Hamlin likes to be involved in many things at the race track.
Again, since Hamlin started 23XI Racing in 2021, he has made a Championship 4 in 2021, and he is a Hail Melon and a power steering failure away from likely making two more. He’s still found ways to win races, so, is it really fair to say he is not focused enough on his driving team? On the outside looking in, however, he does have his hand in many places.
Lacks Intelligence
Now, this probably was not Eddie Gossage saying that Denny Hamlin has a low IQ. Just listen to an episode of Actions Detrimental, and you will see that Hamlin is not a dumb human being. What likely is being questioned here is Hamlin’s emotional intelligence and handling of the conflict between himself and drivers.
Hamlin is known for being intentionally controversial, and he has put himself in not great situations before. The shining example of this would be Phoenix earlier this year when he decided to exact his revenge on Ross Chastain. This happened as both drivers were fighting well in the top 10, but they fell back because of this late in an early season race. A questionable retaliation tactic.
Hamlin was later penalized for admitting it on Actions Detrimental. Hamlin also put himself on the wrong side of the fanbase after wrecking Chase Elliott at Martinsville in 2017. Elliott retaliated two races alter at Phoenix, and that cost Hamlin a Championship 4 spot.
Well, Hamlin has been in some tough situations that have cost him Championship opportunities, and some of it has been because of his own actions. Of course, as was evidenced by the last couple of years, not all of it has been because of his bad decisions. Some of it has been because of things that happened out of his control as a driver. However, he has made some questionable decisions.
Eddie Gossage is an interesting person in the racing industry. He is a big personality, and he truly was a throwback type of track president. He was not afraid to push the envelope, and he has contacts in the racing industry.
He has been in the sport long enough that he knows people either currently in the garage or people who have been in that garage for a long time. He knows people. However, Gossage is also someone who has been a bit of a wild personality. This is a guy who gave Dale Earnhardt Jr. a horse as a retirement gift.
He is also not totally well-liked in the NASCAR fanbase for being the track president during the highly criticized reconfiguration of Texas Motor Speedway. Now, how much influence he really had over that may not be as big as some people claim. However, as a result of that and his antics, people tend to take his opinions with a grain of salt.
Regardless, he is someone with connections in the racing industry. He knows people, and those people likely know more than the general population knows.
Overall, it’s impossible to really tell whether or not these comments are accurate. There could be some truth to them, but, ultimately, we do not know.
Two NASCAR Cup Series crew members for Ross Chastain’s No. 1 team were suspended following the race at Circuit of the Americas
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On February 17, Ubisoft released a trailer that confirmed that NASCAR would be included in The Crew Motorfest’s next season update. Details were limited at the time, but in a press release issued today, Ubisoft revealed the full details of the update ahead of its March 4 launch.
Ubisoft says drafting will affect car speed and help save fuel, implying that drafting will be a huge factor in the game, at least with these cars. You can check out this and much more on Ubisoft’s official post linked below
Earlier this Tuesday, the official The Crew Motorfest account clarified confusion around the NASCAR bundles. The Crew Credit (CC) bundles only include cosmetic team liveries, not additional cars. The 3 base Next Gen cars (Ford Mustang Dark Horse, Toyota Camry XSE, and Chevrolet ZL1) are part of the free Season 9 update and can be purchased separately.
Mitch Rasmussen, NASCAR’s Senior Director of Interactive, said in the press release:
We’re excited to bring our iconic brand to life in The Crew Motorfest. This collaboration represents another important step in our strategy to bring NASCAR into the digital spaces and places where next generation fans spend their time, giving players new ways to interact with the culture and communities they love.
The content arrives as part of Year 3 Season 9 and is officially licensed by NASCAR. You can watch the first trailer and learn more in the article linked below
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Four road courses on the schedule, and somehow that’s enough to spark one of the biggest debates in the garage. After recent comments from Brad Keselowski questioning the business value of road racing, the conversation has picked up serious steam. Is NASCAR leaning too far into it, or is the current balance about right?
There are valid points on both sides, from sponsorship realities to fan traditions to competitive diversity. Some tracks have gained traction. Others have struggled. The question isn’t just whether road courses belong, but how many make sense within a 36-race season. It’s less about extremes and more about direction. And with future schedule changes always looming, this debate probably isn’t settled anytime soon.
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