Honest, unbiased opinions wanted?

Question

Denny Hamlin, previous to Kyle going to JGR was pretty much a non-existant speck on the track to me, I never hated him, but I was never his fan either, oblivious to his existance, is more like it.

I have to admit, since Kyle's arrival at JGR he's started growing on me a little.

Here's what I need help with, all these posts commenting on how horrible a person he is.

As most of you know, I kinda have a thing for the rebels, the renegades, the loud, obnoxious types.

My question is, is he really THAT bad?

Do people dislike him for all the reasons they dislike Rowdy?

It seems like Kyle's fans don't like him either, what makes him so different from Kyle?

What am I not seeing?

Answer 1

i hate them but they make it interesting

Answer 2

What "fluffy" said. I'll ad Denny has a bigger immature mouth than Kyle.

Answer 3

Denny is a really bad crybaby. As bad as Busch or worse.

Answer 4

Kyle makes agressive moves to be disliked.

Denny makes stupid moves to be disliked.

Answer 5

I have never liked Denny, even when everyone went crazy for him.

But, here is my theory.  Everything went to his head.  He is arrogant and cocky, forgetting he is still pretty new to the sport.  This is his 3rd season and he thinks he can demand respect worthy of Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart.  And, it is not just his on-track side that inflated.  Even off the track.  He dumped his long time girlfriend after his rookie year and is now quite the womanizer.  

I guess the difference between Kyle and Denny is that Kyle always had the attitude.  Denny didn't acquire it until his sophomore year (or at least show it until then).  And, Kyle wins.  Denny doesn't.  Denny can't back his mouth up.

Answer 6

I've always kind of liked Denny but he is hot headed (alot of the time he's way out of line) but my teenage daughter has loved him from when he first started and he just kind of grow on me from then! And it didn't hurt that he was Tony's team mate either!! The one thing I wish he'd do is think before he reacts but hey he'll learn (or get paid pack LOL)

Answer 7

I think that a good many people are just lumping him in with the Kyle hate.  I myself do not like or dislike him but I have a real problem with what he said after the race about the Nationwide drivers shouldn't race him so hard because he is a cup driver it wasn't that long ago that Denny was a rookie and he needs to remember that before he opens his mouth next time.

Answer 8

I don't dislike him. He is human just like anyone else and people are allowed to make mistakes. There hasn't ever been a driver that has teed someone off in one form or fashion. They all make mistakes and all drivers have their critics .

Answer 9

Denny? I don't know... he's just... I don't know... he's kinda sissy like?  lol

Mama's boy kinda?... maybe?

Shrub, on the other hand?... He's cool , I quess? He just looks a little ???... Whats the word I'm looking for?.......

Answer 10

well  all honestly i really only liked tony on that team

but Denny did so class back last year when tony ran into him and Denny just said if tony blaming me than i guess it was my fault.i have also come to this conclusion they are all a like but in different personalities!

tony- blames other people,but now says i guess it was my fault. aggressive, and ignorant, oh and tony i think is bi-polar ( or appears to be )

kyle- takes the blame, aggressive, and ignorant at times

Denny blames others, aggressive and ignorant

they all have one thing in common there all aggressive the bad mother-F's of nascar and i am proud to have them on the Joe Gibbs Racing team......besides if we were all the same racing would be so boring!  all these personalities make the Gibbs organization work!

Answer 11

Hey its NASCAR!...people love and hate people thats just the sport..Like Jeff Gordon..some people could give u a million reasons they hate him and some could give u a million reasons why they love him..thats whats so great about the sport!..who cares what people think..i mean think about it...Dale Earnhardt Sr had people who loved him and then people who hated him...thats the way the sport is and thats why so many people love it....well and that there are cars goin 190 mph around a track..lol

Answer 12

I don't know if there is a simple answer for this. Look at all the people who dislike Jeff Gordon, or the people who disliked Dale sr. When I go to races seems like every driver gets booed by someone. There are people out there who don't like a driver because of what make car he drives. Thats part of what makes this sport so great you can hate on a driver.

Answer 13

As noted every opinion has their own bias in it.  I am a long time NASCAR fan (from the King Petty days) and I don't like most of the drivers who make too much of themselves.  This includes both of these drivers.  I did not like Junior, but he seems to be growing up and giving credit to his team, while taking blame for mistakes mostly on himself!  You might guess that I like Jeff and Jimmy among others.  I respect the massive talent of Tony S, but he really needs to keep his emotions more under control.

Answer 14

Kyle has talent, he is an arrogant punk and he wrecked Dale Jr blatantly at Richmond, but he is good and has grown some since going to JGR. denny hamlin is a whiny little beeotch and always has been. He's like your little brother's eddie haskell little friend who lies and connives and at the end is---oh! that wasn't my fault. so-and-so this and that etc etc. He's an embarrassment to true Virginian racers.

Answer 15

I am not a Kyle Busch fan, but Kyle doesn't seem the type to think things should just be handed to him. He is cocky yes, arrogant yes, but of utmost importance, he can race, race hard, and win. Denny is arrogant, cocky, and he can't back it up at all, which makes it almost hypocritical.

Answer 16

i don't know if honest, unbiased opinions are possible - aren't all opinions biased in some way?

denny has grown on me a little since his move to jgr, but not in a good way.  tony really grew on me in a good way - i've listened and paid more attention to what HE actually says and does (not what the media says about him, like i used to).

denny isn't all that bad, but he's not all that bright in front of a camera, and that hurts him.  kyle's in-your-face at times, but that's part of the "show" - he's not like that unless he's in a firesuit.  kyle's arrogant beyond belief, and only half-jokingly.  but he's got the talent to back it up.  

since kyle has come along, i feel like denny tried changing his image to match those of his teammates.  he used to be the "aw-shucks" kind of kid who practiced for races by playing video games of them. it seems now like he's trying too hard to be a "bad boy" on the level of tony and kyle, but he's not as good at the whole verbal sparring thing as they are. and when he tries, especially in interviews, it shows.

that's my honest, as-unbiased-as-i-can-be, opinion.

Answer 17

No truthfully he is not that bad but he has to learn to control his anger on the track and in interviews.. he speaks first then thinks about what he said later and is sorry....by then the media has blown it all apart!

I do not think that Kyle and Denny are anything alike., period.

some fans are jealous of Kyle's talent and say things against him they really do not mean to, but rather than to congratulate him on his success..they believe he is arrogant but in my opinion he is a racer and races to win, like the saying goes.."if you not 1st, you are last"...

In my opinion, maybe Kyle's Fans think Denny is trying to "mock his style"..and it is not working and that is why he is disliked.

I am a Jr Fan as well as many others including Kyle and what I am seeing is talent and consistency.

Answer 18

I began liking Dennis 2 years ago when he first came on the scene. I have never seen anything he's done that warners all this trash talk. Every interview I've seen with him has been honest and considerate.

Answer 19

There are 3 instances that stand out for me against Denny.  But these may be biased, I don't know!

The one that was posted earlier - I had forgotten about it actually.  The You Tube one with Kyle Petty.  I don't know who was right or wrong, but what he SAID is what I didn't like.  

Then, the one 3 weeks ago where he knew he had a cut tire (or tire going down, whatever you want to call it) and was losing positions by the second...yet he didn't pit so he could bring out the caution instead which set Kyle up for the win.

Was the Kyle spinning Jr. out on the same race?  I am thinking now it was??  

And then of course, two weeks ago with Brad.  Again, not necessarily the stuff on the race track, but the stuff he said after.  

Obviously, NASCAR didn't fine anyone since they said they were going to allow more Driver Contact on Purpose this year (though of course that isn't exactly how they worded it).  

I am sure it's been said many many times before, but a couple of people (maybe even YOU?) responded to one of my questions earlier.  

It's Denny's sense of entitlement he seems to have.  He really puts it out there that he truly believes he is entitled to things that just don't exist!!!

I have the biggest problem with Denny out of any the current drivers...and yes, that includes Kyle, too!

Answer 20

I met him and got an autograph and can say nothing but good things about him, one lady took a picture with a digital camera and accidentally erased it so he went back to take another, a real gentleman.