Latest / Kenny Wallace Media / Denny Hamlin Explains His Lawsuit vs NASCAR
Transcript
- 0:00With the lawsuit, obviously you don't know how people are going
- 0:02to react. So from your perspective, what
- 0:04has been the reaction that you've gotten this week?
- 0:09I, you know, I feel like the reactions all been positive on
- 0:13on our end. Of course, you know, I think
- 0:15that, you know, my Jordan, he sent me an awesome clip from the
- 0:22Moneyball where I think John Henry's saying, you know, the
- 0:26first one through the wall always gets bloody.
- 0:29But in the end, it's because you're threatening, you know,
- 0:33status quo and you're threatening people's jobs and
- 0:35things like that. And I, I just hope that it's not
- 0:38seen that way. Just seeing that, you know, this
- 0:41is certainly an opportunity for us to, you know, try to promote
- 0:45change in the sport that's positive for everyone and that's
- 0:48teams, drivers, fans, everyone. And so, you know, I feel like
- 0:53certainly on our end, it's actually been, you know, good
- 0:57for me because this, you know, this is not like we just decided
- 1:00one day we woke up and this is going to happen.
- 1:02This has been on the plate for a while.
- 1:05And certainly from my standpoint, it allows me
- 1:07actually more relief to focus on the 11 car.
- 1:11And you know, everything I've got to do there because it's out
- 1:14and it's done, and now there's other people able to speak upon
- 1:16it from the legality standpoint. Bob Hackers, Fox Sports How do
- 1:21you win a championship when you're suing NASCAR?
- 1:26You know, I think it's pretty simple.
- 1:28You just got to prepare the best that you can, do the best job
- 1:31that you can on Sunday. I think that, you know, I would
- 1:38really kind of, it's more of a question for my team and I would
- 1:42ask them, has their driver never not been prepared?
- 1:46Has he never given 100%? Never, never.
- 1:52I, you know, certainly I talked about it probably a year or so
- 1:55ago when it came down to this and I started becoming more
- 2:00comfortable with whatever the result is.
- 2:01Because I knew that you, no matter what, whether I win a
- 2:06championship or not, I always was going to make sure I could
- 2:08sleep at night knowing that I gave it my all for my team.
- 2:14And certainly there's been some circumstances over time that I
- 2:19haven't been able to control, but I've I've learned to not let
- 2:22those those situations affect me.
- 2:27Certainly this is a situation I can control, but I always give
- 2:32the team proper preparation and make sure that when I get in the
- 2:38race car on Sunday, they know through my actions on the track
- 2:43that I'm 100% in it and focused. Dustin Long, NBC Sports Denny,
- 2:48you've talked in the past about how you feel like you've been
- 2:51able to do well in chaotic situations and and how you've
- 2:55kind of been able to rise above outside looking in, this would
- 2:59seem to be perhaps the most chaotic situation.
- 3:02How does this compare with what you had to go through at
- 3:04different times in the past? And you talk about showing your
- 3:09team you're being prepared. Is there any more that you have
- 3:12to do or feel like you have to do because of the stakes of the
- 3:17moment in the situation that you're going through now off
- 3:20track? Yeah, I would say, Dustin, that
- 3:22they're pretty. It's pretty similar.
- 3:24I mean, you know, if it was kind of personal issues, she wants
- 3:28you to give up the mic. If it was, you know, personal
- 3:33issues in the past or rivalries with other drivers, that always
- 3:38takes a certain amount of time of your mental focus, right?
- 3:44But I've also always been one of those who has doesn't want to be
- 3:48consumed with this 24 hours a day.
- 3:51Like the driving aspect of it. I would get burnt out if I race
- 3:56as much as Kyle Larson or Kyle Busch or, you know, that's just
- 4:00not my style of coming out of here and competing.
- 4:06Make no mistake that the competitor in me, you don't
- 4:11think that I want to come out here and win this weekend more
- 4:14than any like this. That's what I fuel myself on is
- 4:19making the 18 foot putt on 18 to win the match like that.
- 4:24I lived for those moments. So certainly everyone that knows
- 4:29me personally will tell you that, you know, these moments,
- 4:31I, you typically will get more out of Denny in these moments
- 4:35because I, I hate to lose and, and certainly will not justify
- 4:41any excuses to losing. And so I'm going to give it all
- 4:46I can. And I would say to answer your
- 4:48question directly, it it's, it's very similar.
- 4:51And yes, it's a big thing when you think about it, but this
- 4:58isn't a responsibility. I'm I'm taking all myself,
- 5:01right? And you know, we have a team
- 5:03that that handles this now and they're now speaking upon it and
- 5:07acting upon it. So it's really we just either
- 5:11works been done from my standpoint.
- 5:13Now it's just you left. Let them do their work and if
- 5:16things will work themselves out. So is there anything?
- 5:18Else you have. To do for your team history, but
- 5:22anything else I have to do for my team, everybody's.
- 5:24Human, so they're. Going, yeah, you know, of
- 5:26course, yeah. I mean, I think Chris is a great
- 5:29leader for our team and he makes sure, he makes sure that I am
- 5:34prepared and no matter what. I've had many things that have
- 5:39been conflicting on my schedule for quite some time.
- 5:44But always if a request comes at the 11 team, it supersedes
- 5:48anything else. Crystal tell you, I'll cancel
- 5:52whatever I have to cancel to make sure the 11 team gets what
- 5:55they need from me first. And so, you know, like this
- 5:59week, you know, going to Charlotte and checking out the
- 6:01track and stuff. I mean, this is hours before,
- 6:04you know, a big moment. It doesn't matter.
- 6:06It's that's what they needed for me.
- 6:07They needed me to get my eyes on it, process it.
- 6:10What do you think? What do we need?
- 6:12What are we going to fight here? That's part of the process of
- 6:16being good in the sport. And I, I'm always going to make
- 6:18sure I get that. Steven Toronto, CBS Sports
- 6:20Denny, this has been going on between the team owners in
- 6:24NASCAR, obviously for some time. And, you know, the team owners
- 6:27have, you know, had what they've wanted.
- 6:29NASCAR has had has made clear where they stand.
- 6:33You know, you talked about wanting to find the solution
- 6:36that works for everyone, but in the context of Motorsports, the
- 6:40cautionary tale and you know, situations like this is what
- 6:43happened in an open wheel with the IRL CART thing.
- 6:45I don't know how much at liberty you are to talk on things like
- 6:49this, and I hope I'm not speaking out of turn, but how do
- 6:52you think you avoid a situation where in the outcome of this, no
- 6:56one wins and everyone loses? Yeah, I'm not really sure and
- 7:00really can't speak to that part of it, but I think that it's
- 7:03been stated in statements by Michael Jordan that he loves
- 7:07NASCAR. We obviously invested heavily in
- 7:09NASCAR. I'm reinvested what I, you know,
- 7:13got out of this sport as a driver, back into it as an
- 7:16owner. So certainly we love the sport,
- 7:19would just love to see change as well.
- 7:21Thanks, Daddy. Jordan.
- 7:25Jordan Bianchi, Athletic you, your team has invested a lot of
- 7:28money, charters building, you know, personnel, etcetera,
- 7:30etcetera. With all the commitment that
- 7:32you've made on the financial end, do you feel like those
- 7:34contributions and that investment is appreciated enough
- 7:37by the other side? Probably not.
- 7:49I just think this going this going to be a deal.
- 7:51We're 2311 in front row have to walk on egg shells.
- 7:54But I think I almost think that they're they're martyrs.
- 8:00That's an ugly saying, but that means they're they're willing to
- 8:03kill themselves to get this right.
- 8:06And that that that's that's a tough thing to say, but that's
- 8:09the only thing that comes to mind.
- 8:11I believe Michael Jordan in front row.
- 8:13I believe they're willing to whip their own ass.
- 8:16They don't try to, you know, because if this don't go good,
- 8:19it hey, the worst scenario is those two can't race anymore and
- 8:23they have to sell their shops and get out of racing.
- 8:25That's the worst scenario. All right, everybody.