Instead of a taunt, Denny Hamlin gave fans a choice after winning Sunday’s Cup playoff race at World Wide Technology Raceway.
“You can either get on the bandwagon,” he told them, “or you can get run over by it.”
Sparked by his series-high fifth victory of the season — moving him into the second round of the playoffs for a seventh consecutive season — Hamlin relished the moment with fans on the frontstretch.
It is a special place for him.
Two years ago, Hamlin agitated some fans when he told them after winning the Bristol night race: “I beat your favorite driver … all of them.”
Gayle said that attitude has allowed him to push Hamlin this season.
“It’s more Denny allowing me to come in and to have a little different input than maybe what happened before,” Gayle said. “There’s a base there of things that happened. I feel like he’s given me a lot of flexibility to do that. There have been some places where he wasn’t as good, places where he’s really good.
“I didn’t need to change things at places he was good. I could have a little more liberty to come in and do some stuff at some other places that have shown some improvement. Sometimes it hasn’t. Iowa sticks out. We weren’t very good at Iowa. He’s given me enough leeway and doesn’t feel like he needs to take the rope on that and control what I do.
“I think that’s the good part for me. I’ve noticed that we may not agree on everything, but we can sit down afterwards and have a conversation about it. He’s very levelheaded. I’ll explain my point of view, his point of view. Maybe we’ll come to an agreement that we should to something different next time, maybe we wouldn’t.
“It’s good to have those kind of conversations and know that I’m not necessarily going to hear about it on a podcast or anything else. That’s just between he and I, we’re going to move on. He’s still going to be behind me the next week. It’s not going to change his effort level or his perception of what’s happening behind the scenes.”
Sudhir Choudhary
Website: https://tvnworld.com
Sudhir Choudhary is the Founder, CEO, and Editor‑in‑Chief of The Vagabond News, a global media platform under Meridian Multiventures Pvt. Ltd. He is recognized for editorial leadership, brand integrity, and factual accuracy, building TVN into a trusted voice in journalism. Beyond media, he leads ventures like BabyNBeauty.com, Glow & Grow, Thai Royal Properties, and Investers Friend, reflecting his vision for scalable, trustworthy platforms.
