Denny Hamlin has a message for his critics, and it's plain and simple. The more criticism he receives and the more trolls rise, they work as a motivation for him. At least that is what Hamlin has recently said, and shown with his performance on track.

During the Pocono race weekend, Hamlin was asked about the source of his immense motivation. There, naming Michael Jordan, his co-owner at the 23XI Racing, Hamlin stated that the former's preseason challenge fanned the flames to his rise.

Further explaining his mindset on tackling hate from trolls, Hamlin said (via Cup Scene on YouTube):

"It's booze or it's trolls on social media, like, it's just that's fuel for me. They don't know they're just fueling me. That's bad. If you're rooting against me, you're not doing it the right way."

Coming back to the motivational speech that Michael Jordan gave to 23XI before the season, Hamlin added:

"So I just at that point when he (Jordan) said he was interested to see what happens (after a tough offseason), like I considered that a challenge at that point."

Denny Hamlin arrived in the season with a rollercoaster of emotions. Nearly a month after losing his Cup Series championship by a whisker to Kyle Larson last year, he lost his father. Both incidents shook him enormously, but the Joe Gibbs Racing driver came back stronger.

With three back-to-back wins at Nashville, Michigan, and Pocono, Hamlin has defined dominance in a new way. Taking away the limelight from his driver at 23XI Racing, Tyler Reddick, Hamlin is now a threat to him in the regular season championship and, of course, in the Cup Series title battle.

Denny Hamlin Relishes "Special" Pocono Triumph

Denny Hamlin emerged victorious at Pocono on Sunday for the eighth time in his Cup career. Thanks to a bit of luck, when his teammate Christopher Bell's fuel ran out, Hamlin took charge of the race and won it.

For the 45-year-old, the 2.5-mile "Tricky Triangle" has always been a happy hunting ground, and also where he took his first Cup win on June 11, 2006.

"First win here, so special here. Pocono has mastered the fan experience from the crowd in the stands to the infield here," Hamlin told the media after the race. "Just so happy for this whole Joe Gibbs Racing team. The pit crew is flawless right now. We got it all going."

After 16 races, Denny Hamlin is trailing the NASCAR Cup Series regular season championship by 19 points to Tyler Reddick. The gap stood at over 100 points a few races ago.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Sabyasachi Biswas

Edited by

Yash Kotak