Denny Hamlin blames ‘politics’ for Jimmie Johnson’s Hall of Fame controversy

Jimmie Johnson not getting a unanimous Hall of Fame entry prompted multiple controversies in the NASCAR community.

Denny Hamlin blames ‘politics’ for Jimmie Johnson’s Hall of Fame controversy

Denny Hamlin (Credits: IMAGO) and Jimmie Johnson (Credits: @Legacymc/Twitter)

Joe Gibbs Racing vetran Denny Hamlin is not ready to let go of the unjustifiable snub of Jimmie Johnson by four Hall of Fame voters that denied his unanimous entry. The seven times Cup champion could have been the unanimous first-ballot entry, making history. The result shocked most of the racing community, as JJ was expected to be the most deserving of anyone.

The 23XI Racing co-owner, Denny Hamlin, was one of the many NASCAR personalities to go berserk on social media following the announcement. He, via his official X account, demanded the sanctioning body remove the ones who voted against Johnson from the panel and asked for more transparency.

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Now, while talking about the same in his podcast, he pointed out that he has insider knowledge that members on the voting board champion their friend’s entry to the HOF by campaigning for them during the procedure. He pointed out that this political game deprived the Legacy MC co-owner of the milestone.

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“It’s all political, and this is someone, and I’ve heard from people that have been in that room that some of the guys that have been around a very long time, who go around the table and politik for their friends to get on the Hall of Fame. At lunchtime, they’ll go around and politik for their buddies. And so, I don’t like it for sure,” Hamlin said in the Action Detrimental podcast.

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Denny Hamlin calls the members who voted against Jimmie Johnson petty

Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin (Credits: @Joegibsracing/Twitter)

Hamlin didn’t stop his words there and pointed out that the panel members’ decision made no sense and said the parties involved didn’t take the responsibility seriously. He added that there isn’t any driver on the list that deserves the milestone than Jimmie Johnson.

“It’s not just for a champion like Jimmie, you know, it just doesn’t make any sense, and to me, you’re not taking that responsibility seriously because, and I understand that there are other people that are deserving, but not as deserving as a seven-time, 80-win champion. I just, I can’t make sense of it, other than someone’s just being very petty,” Hamlin said.

He added that it’s understandable seven times champions Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt got into the first class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame without a unanimous vote. After all, they had the whole NASCAR history to fight against. Not Johnson, as every nominee against him had never come close to matching his success.

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