“I never felt like he gave me very much credit”: When Denny Hamlin opened up about his ‘tiff’ with Darrell Waltrip

NASCAR veteran Denny Hamlin has never been shy about speaking his mind, and he once opened up about a brief ‘tiff’ he had with NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip during the 2011 season. The reason was recognition for Hamlin’s accomplishments behind the wheel of the iconic #11 car number.

During an interview with Jeff Gluck during the 2011 NASCAR Cup Series season, Denny Hamlin revealed that he never felt fully appreciated by the three-time Cup Series champion Waltrip for his performance and achievements behind the wheel of the #11 car.

Here’s what the Joe Gibbs Racing driver said:

“I kind of had a tiff with Darrell Waltrip at the beginning of the year. All I ever heard about was the 11 car was a couple wins away from being the most winning car number. Given I’m in a very elite group when it comes to that – I look at the drivers who raced it before me, and Darrell definitely had his fair share of wins in it. But I never felt like Darrell gave me very much credit, you know?”

The #11 car number is one of the most storied legacies in NASCAR history. Cale Yarborough is one of the drivers who has previously raced in the #11 car number with Junior Johnson & Associates and dominated in the 1970s. After him, Darrell Waltrip’s golden era came in the 1980s behind that car number.

Denny Hamlin is a current long and successful driver of the #11 car. He has spent two decades driving the #11 for Joe Gibbs Racing, clinching 60 Cup Series wins, and the NASCAR veteran has built his own legacy behind the wheel of #11 over the years, from his emotional Daytona 500 victories to countless playoff runs.

---

“That’s a guy I would like to model myself after”: Denny Hamlin once revealed his model driver while growing up

Denny Hamlin once reflected on how he sees similarities between his driving style and that of former NASCAR champion Matt Kenseth. Speaking to Jeff Gluck in 2011, he named Kenseth as his model driver while growing up and described both of them as passive drivers.

In the aforementioned interview, Hamlin said:

“I’d say probably Matt Kenseth. I think my style is very similar to his in the sense I’m a bit more passive on the racetrack, I guess you could say. He was a guy that, until last year, never won a ton of races but was just ultra-consistent. And that’s what I was for the first four years of my career – I was the guy who was always just there and solid, every week. He never tore up a lot of equipment, so I was like, ‘You know, that’s a guy I would like to model myself after.’”

Matt Kenseth ended his nearly two-decade-long NASCAR Cup career with 39 wins, 331 top-10 finishes, the 2003 championship, and induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2023.