Daily Dose of Denny: Hamlin Signs Endorsement Deal with Michael Jordan

Denny Hamlin has made no secret of his love of basketball.

Hamlin is a Charlotte Bobcats season ticket holder and tore his ACL last January during a pick up basketball game which resulted in surgery the following March. He's also become good friends with Bobcats owner and NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, who has tweeted the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota several times before races.

During Thursday's NASCAR Media Day it was announced that Hamlin had become the latest athlete to sign an endorsement deal with NIKE's Jordan Brand, joining the likes of New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and Miami Heat star Dwayne Wade, and bringing the iconic brand that began in 1985 to NASCAR.

"It's a big deal for myself and really NASCAR," Hamlin explained. "The Jordan Brand has never been in NASCAR before. It is a dream come true for me. To me the Jordan Brand represents excellence in sports."

"He's always been an avid motorsports fan. He just never knew the right situation to get into NASCAR, and he felt like I was the right representative for him," Hamlin said, noting that Jordan has owned Michael Jordan Motorsports, which competes in AMA Superbikes, since 2004.

Hamlin will be sporting the iconic "Jumpman" logo on his gloves and his firesuit but not his shoes- not until fireproof Jordans are created, at least. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver also added that he would like to see the brand come out with a line of apparel geared toward race fans.

"Denny's confidence and passion for racing along with his determination for excellence on the track make him a valuable addition to the Jordan Brand. We look forward to working with Denny as he continues to take his success to the next level," Jordan said in a statement.

Weekend schedule for 11 February 2011- 12 February 2011:

On Friday, Hamlin and his fellow competitors will take to the track for two sessions of Budweiser Shootout practice- first at 5 pm ET and then at 6:30 pm ET, both on SPEED, followed by the Budweiser Shootout Selection Show at 8:30 pm ET.

Saturday will see the teams host two sessions of Daytona 500 practice at 11:30 am ET and then at 2 pm ET, both on SPEED and then to kick off to the 2011 season with the Budweiser Shootout coming on at 8 pm ET on FOX.

Thanks to SB Nation, NASCAR.com, Yahoo, the Seattle Times and ESPN for the information and quotes used in this piece.

Daily Dose of Denny: Pocono Preview

Since winning back to back races at Pocono and Michigan earlier this season, Denny Hamlin has finished in the top ten just once; an eighth place finish at Chicagoland Speedway.

After the rough last few weeks he’s had, what better place to return to the track he’s dominated on so much in his career?

Hamlin got his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win at the Pocono Raceway in the 2006 Pocono 500. He would sweep both the poles and the races at the Tricky Triangle that year, and has since won at the track two other times. He has six top fives and seven top tens, and has never had a DNF.

It’ll be a busy weekend for the man third in the points standings; not only is Hamlin looking to sweep the Cup races at Pocono, he’ll also try and sweep the weekend by competing in the first ever Camping World Truck Series event at the track. Hamlin will start third for Saturday’s Pocono Mountains 125. That race will air on SPEED beginning at one PM ET on Saturday.

On Friday Hamlin ended the only Cup practice of the day second behind defending champion Jimmie Johnson, and qualified for the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 in the third position. The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota has been struggling a bit with the handling of his car, and ended the second practice of the weekend on Saturday morning 22nd on the charts.
Hamlin will be pitting in the third pit stall on pit road, in between Carl Edwards and A.J. Allmendinger. The Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at the Pocono Raceway begins at one PM ET on ESPN.

Thanks to Jayski, Racing Reference and NASCAR on SPEED for the information used.

Daily Dose of Denny: More on Hamlin's Fine; Twitter Involved, Fans Speak Out

"Anybody that follows me on Twitter knows I'm opinionated, and that's what people follow me for, is just for the quotes on there."

It's Friday, Team Denny, which means the drivers are at track and beginning the weekend's on track activities, as well as addressing the media after what's been a busy and controversial news week in NASCAR.

Denny Hamlin confirmed on Friday that he was in fact one the two drivers fined by NASCAR for making negative comments about the sport. The other was Ryan Newman.

According to Hamlin, he was penalized for remarks made on his Twitter page and that the sanctioning body had a log of comments made by the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota that they weren't happy with.

Among the comments looked down upon included a conversation Hamlin had on Twiter with SB Nation's Jeff Gluck, debating the controversial "debris" cautions we've seen so much this year that come late in the race to bunch up the field. Hamlin has mentioned more than once this year that he believe these cautions are created by NASCAR to make the end of the races more interesting. Hamlin also said NASCAR didn't approve of direct (private) messages he sent to an unknown party.

“I told them over and over, ‘What if I don’t agree with something? What do you want me to say? Do you want me to lie and tell something that I don’t really truly believe in, because I’ve never been brought up to do that,’” he said.

“They said, ‘No, but there’s different ways to do it.’ … [The fine] was big enough, for sure, [that] if I am in the heat of the moment, I for sure will pull the reins back.”

The driver also said he's "not too upset about it."

This is a sentiment drivers, fans and NASCAR media members have been discussing all year long. So why was Hamlin fined for opinions shared by many in the NASCAR Community?

We asked Team Denny followers and NASCAR fans in general to send their thoughts to our e-mail address, TeamDenny11@gmail.com, and here were the responses:

I am very upset at NASCAR and the fine they imposed on Denny. The bad thing is when my daughter and I have watched races together in the past few years we always get upset because NASCAR will call a debris caution when there is no debris on the track. If a popular driver (and I won't name names) would be a lap down and would be in line for the lucky dog then lo and behold there would be a debris caution. It would just be done so that person could be back on the lead lap. Then NASCAR started having debris cautions at the end just to put excitement back in the sport. The economy is bad enough, everyone is having a hard enough time financially. Get real NASCAR, imposing a fine on a driver for stating facts? I think NASCAR has hurt themselves more than they have hurt the #11 team. I know it has helped Denny's foundation because I, for one, made a donation to his foundation yesterday.
Go DH and just know us Grandma's are behind you 100%.

Susan, aka @FoxFire3

Regarding the fine, I WAS ok with it at first. I could see where NASCAR was coming from. However, I thought it was odd that it was a 'secret' fine. I thought it was for the debris caution comment. If it was in fact for Direct Messages sent, then that's just WRONG. And that would also explain why the fine was a secret. Direct Messages are private and fining him for private messages that he sent is down right dirty. It they can fine for private direct messages, I guess they will start fining the drivers for scanner conversations.

Cindy Shepard, AKA @cmsplus2

Hi!

Just saw your tweet about blogging our thoughts on the whole fine situation so here it goes,
I think its ridiculous. I believe they are just saying what most of the fans are thinking and/or saying as well!

Especially to find out that Nascar was reading Denny's tweets and/or DM's. Just a real shame to use that against him. I hope he continues to speak his mind. He will probably think twice about what he says, but I say keep talking!

Jamie AKA @pookiechuck

First let me say that one of the reasons I love to see Denny race and hear his interviews is that he is very honest with his opinions and I think that is important. I don't believe that people should say things that people want to hear unless that is their opinions. Denny is extremely true to his career but also true as a person and that is how it should be. I always thought we had Freedom of Speech in the USA, but guess I was wrong on that fact. I sincerely hope that Denny doesn't change his voice about this, although I know he will have to think twice about what he says in public because of those HUGE fines that are being given out.

Dianna aka @diagar616

I can not believe that Nascar has become so petty that they are fining Denny for voicing his personal opinion. I was taught that we live in a free country & everyone has the right to voice their opinion (considering it's in the Bill of Rights). Apparently, that's not entirely true. Denny did nothing wrong & many other drivers have voiced much worse things about Nascar & the officials, yet either they were not fined or the fines were not as exorbitant as Denny's or Ryan's. Nascar is becoming too political! Denny is a great driver & is entitled to his opinion. I lost interest in Nascar not long after we lost Dale Sr. but Denny renewed my interest and no matter what, he will always be my hero, not only for his great driving skills but also for all of the good work he does away from the track. Denny's fans will stand behind him! And, Nascar needs to find something better to do than be so petty!!!

Terri Andrews, AKA @wildkat30596
　
　
I knew the minute the report came out that NASCAR drivers were fined, Denny would have been one of them. I just hope this doesn't prevent him from showing off his personality. He is right when he says he has more fans now because of his personality. I was a fan way before Twitter came into the picture, but his personality has made alot of NASCAR fans take notice of him in general. And, Denny is also right in the fact that drivers have said a lot worse than he (and Ryan) has just in this season alone.

I understand what NASCAR is saying, but really, what Denny and the other drivers are saying has nothing to do with why attendance at the tracks are down. I have never been to a race live (basically it's geographical due to living in California'a Central Valley) but I still watch it religiously every week, from Speed TV's coverage to whichever network is covering the race. Plus, I pay attention to TeamDenny on Twitter, mommalou and Jordan as well. Then there is PitCommand and DirectTV HotPass when Denny is on.

I don't know what the solution is, but outside of Denny being my favorite, there are certain drivers I don't like and I get disinterested in it real quick if they win, not that it has happened alot lately. Most of them I really do like just not as much as Denny.
BTW - I think the DHF idea was a fantastic way to show support to Denny and a very worthy cause! I applaud the person who started that!

Debbie Nelsonaka, AKA @Nellyjune　

For more information on Denny Hamlin's fines, you can read these articles from SB Nation, Scene Daily and Sports Illustrated.

Daily Dose of Denny: NASCAR Fines Hamlin for Debris Comments

Does NASCAR want drivers to be less outspoken, despite what they said before the season started?

Earlier this week the NASCAR world found out that two drivers had been fined, at least one up to $50,000, for comments that were negative about the sanctioning body.

One of those drivers is reportedly Ryan Newman. The other is Denny Hamlin.

After Hamlin won the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 at the Michigan International Speedway, he said this of the late race debris caution:

"I understand this is show business. We typically get [late-race cautions] every single week. I was thinking that if I didn't win the race because of a bad restart, I'd be angry because NASCAR changed the outcome.

"There is always debris that they could throw a legitimate caution for, but I think that sometimes they just kinda let it go when maybe things are getting mixed up, and other times, when things are spread out, let's tighten it back up. You don't have to be so smart to realize that these things are just by chance."

As we speak, several of the followers on the Team Denny Twitter page are sounding off on this fine; saying everything from NASCAR is ignoring the First Amendment, to hopes that Hamlin will remain outspoken, among other things.

Follower Lori Toney (who you can see on Twitter here) has suggested that we get 5,000 fans to donate $10 (though of course donations of ANY size are welcome!) to the Denny Hamlin Foundation. That way the amount of Denny's fine goes to a very, very worthy cause.

For more information on the Denny Hamlin Foundation and how YOU can donate, please click here.

Thanks to Yahoo! Sports, the Associated Press, and ESPN for the information used in this posting.