Danny Hamlin’s race at EchoPark Speedway was a textbook example of Atlanta mayhem; despite being the top seed for the In-season challenge, he was caught in a massive wreck on lap 69 that claimed multiple playoff contenders. And a list of dark humor: Hamlin then took to social media to mock his own creation, the in-season challenge, even though it’s just day one of five. But some fans didn’t appreciate him for the chaos he helped blueprint.
When Hamlin’s voting body language spoke volumes, his X posts spoke louder, stirring up a storm among fans who felt his cheeky tone was too flippant for the carnage that unfolded. After all, you enjoy being trolled by the guy who created the playground and then wrecked the whole sandbox.
Hamlin’s $1M dream crashes and burns
Hamlin burst into this $1 million show as the number one seed, with bragging rights, bracket advantage, and momentum. Instead, he took off mid-pack and was swept up in Lap 69’s wreck along with heavy hitters like Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, and Ryan Blaney, among many others. His No. 11 Toyota didn’t last much longer, retiring in 31st place after the crash.
Wrecked, done, and suddenly out of contention before his match even began. But Denny Hamlin didn’t sulk; he trolled. Posting a relaxed selfie from inside the damaged car on X, he captioned it “fun meter peaked,” which was still okay. But it was another post that really made the fans fume. Learning that his opponent, Ty Dillon, advanced by default, he added: “NASCAR Playoffs 2.0.” The champion of cheek, out before the bell.
NASCAR playoffs 2.0
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) June 29, 2025
In the post-race interview, Hamlin gave a blunt rundown of his race, saying, “All of us were in the top line pushing off Turn 2, and some zigged, some zagged, most crashed. I don’t know. I was on the bumper of (Nemechek), and he was on the bumper of somebody else. We all were just pushing and speedway zigging and zagging, and we all crashed, so part of it. Now we go watch the rest of the race.”
Then, instead of sulking, he gave fans something to laugh and snarl over. But Hamlin’s self-deprecating trolling didn’t come without backlash. Some fans argued that mocking a tournament that just chewed up contenders felt more petty than playful.
Ty Dillon, the 36th seed, slept through the drama, kept his car clean, and leveraged Hamlin’s exit to slide into round two. The No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevy driver stayed clean, ran smart, and sprinted to an impressive eighth-place finish, eclipsing Hamlin, and they are in a head-to-head showdown. Ty Dillon had an impressive race, starting from the 14th position, slicing through the field and ending up sixth in stage two, and eventually landing in eighth. Ty Dillon didn’t choose to stay quiet; he also took to X, “For all you Denny [Hamlin] fans out there, I just knocked your favorite driver out.” Giving Denny Hamlin a taste of his own medicine after Hamlin made the “I just beat your favorite driver” comment.
But that wasn’t the concern for the fans. The No. 11’s comment set fire to the comment sections.
Fans dunk on Denny after social media comment
After wrecking out early in the first leg of the $1 million in-season challenge, a competition he championed, he took to X with sarcasm thicker than restrictive plate traffic. But instead of sympathy, fans served up a four-way pileup of their own in his replies. It all started with r/NASCAR on Reddit, which started a thread of replies, saying, “Anyone else getting tired of Denny Hamlin’s act?” That’s all the fans needed at that moment before they sharpened their knives.
One user was brutal; he wrote, “He’s a 40-year-old trolling for attention. Who cares?” Another chimed in, “Getting? I’ve been here for 10 years. He’s a p—.” Harsh? Maybe. But this wasn’t a one-lap grumble; it was a full-stage rant. Fans are just tired of Hamlin taking to social media seeking attention, especially when he was the one who was one of the culprits who sparked the crash in stage 2.
One of the more pointed critiques hit the core of Hamlin’s personality, saying, “Denny is salty. Which is funny. I will laugh at him!” To make things interesting, it was Chase Elliott who won the race and let’s just say HMS were thumping their chests after their favorite driver finally broke his winless streak. Now, we know the history between Hamlin and Elliott and fans rallying behind the HMS driver couldn’t help but laugh at the JGR driver for being salty on social media.
Still, some fans saw right through the drama and called the play before it even happened: “Just so you know, Hamlin does this because he knows he’s gonna get a reaction out of you. He’s trolling.” Sure, maybe he is. Maybe this is all part of Denny Hamlin’s brand, brilliant driver by day, chaos generator by night. But one thing is certain. This tournament may not have started as his brainchild, but the Internet made it everyone’s circus.
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