John Hunter Nemechek fires back, flexes on Denny Hamlin after Daytona 500 stray

John Hunter Nemechek found himself in the crosshairs of Denny Hamlin‘s rant on the current state of superspeedway racing during Monday’s “Actions Detrimental” podcast.

Hamlin, who was a part of the wreck down the back straightaway on the final lap of Sunday’s Daytona 500, said Monday that NASCAR was “lucky” it was William Byron who escaped the carnage to win, and not a driver such as Nemechek. Hamlin explained why a Nemechek win would have caused people to view the Daytona 500 differently.

Nemechek, who finished fifth in the Great American Race, fired back at Hamlin on Wednesday.

On Actions Detrimental podcast (worth a listen) @dennyhamlin said too much luck & not enough skill determines #Daytona500 winner.

Hamlin: "let stars show their skills."
He had "nothing against" @JHNemechek but asked how would we feel if say a Nemechek was in the place of… pic.twitter.com/lPMK20I1px

— Claire B Lang (@ClaireBLang) February 19, 2025

“I don’t think I’ve ever listened to Denny’s podcast to be honest with you. But it’s interesting for Denny to say that,” Nemechek told Claire B. Lang. “I’ve always looked up to Denny and had a lot of respect for Denny. He was actually one of the guys I called, and we had a long chat about leaving the Cup Series in 2020 and going back to the Truck Series to revamp my career. So, I haven’t chatted with him about it. I literally just heard about it before hopping on here.

“I guess I get it from the perspective I haven’t necessarily made a name for myself in the Cup Series yet, but that’s what I’m here to do. I’m out on the racetrack racing as hard as I can. We were up front with Denny at the end. He was pushing me, and our car wasn’t super fast to lead the lane. But he stayed and committed to me. In that circumstance, I know he’s pissed about not winning the race. But like I said, I’m here to make a name for myself as well. Whether that’s winning the Daytona 500 or winning another race throughout the year.

“Yes, anybody can win the Daytona 500 or any superspeedway race in my opinion. But I would also say that you have to put yourself in the right position and you have to execute all day as a racecar driver. And there are a few guys who are really good at superspeedways and they’re the ones that are always up there. For my Cup career at Daytona especially, I finish relatively well every start. So, I’m not really sure why I was the example of that.”

Denny Hamlin broadsides John Hunter Nemechek, says NASCAR is ‘lucky’ William Byron won Daytona 500

Hamlin brought up Nemechek during a conversation about how much luck plays a role in deciding the outcome of superspeedway races. He brought up Byron going back-to-back in the Daytona 500, and how it at least legitimizes the race more than a Nemechek victory would have.

“I think we were really fortunate for William Byron to win that race, truthfully,” Hamlin said. “How do we feel if John Hunter Nemechek was in William Byron’s spot? … I think we got lucky on that front as far as promotion of the sport. William Byron legitimizes it because he won last year. And it’s like well, it’s clearly not a game of chance, he’s won two in a row.

“So, you’re going to have that argument. But I just think that had it been someone else, you probably have more of a woah, can we do something to fix this? And that’s not a knock on John Hunter, I just believe people would view it differently. And I think that people already don’t love what they’re seeing.”

Nemechek brought up Hamlin’s point about promotion of the sport and countered with some statistics. Nemechek has 1.41 million subscribers on YouTube; NASCAR has 1.37 million.

“From the standpoint of promoting the sport and things of that sort, William already has his name established from winning a bunch of races and being a championship contender. And I really haven’t had that shot yet in the NASCAR Cup Series,” Nemechek said. “Not really sure what he’s thinking or where his head is at with that. Part of me wants to say, screw you, Denny. At the same time, I also have to earn respect from those guys, and I get that.

“For myself, I feel like I do a great job promoting the sport. I’m not saying he said I don’t, but we’re No. 1 for NASCAR driver on YouTube as far as subscribers. I think we have like 1.4 million subscribers on YouTube and promote on there. I think we actually have more subscribers than NASCAR.”