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Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was recently rectified by his colleague over the pronunciation of his fiancee's NCAA Division team.
The 43-year-old driver is fresh from his sixth Cup Series weekend at the Circuit of the Americas, coming home with a P14 finish. Hamlin stands at P4 in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series drivers standings, with a win at the Bristol Motor Speedway, one top-5, and two top-10s.
Ahead of his next run, the Toyota Owners 400 at the Richmond Raceway, Denny Hamlin revealed his bracket for the ongoing NCAA Division basketball tournament.
Bracketing is a system wherein people opt for teams having a higher probability of winning and jot them down on a tree-type chart. Hamlin did the same and even bragged about seven of his picks progressing toward the pinnacle spot, with team Purdue raking in the maximum points.
Not only the Florida native but his fiancee, Jordan Fish, too, tried her hands at selecting brackets. She mispronounced the name of her choice of basketball team, which was apparently mocked by Hamlin. However, Hamlin got schooled by one of his colleagues, as he made the same error.
Hamlin opened up during the Actions Detrimental podcast, shedding light on fiancee's "De-que-nes" team revelation, saying (via X):
"She [Jordan] said, 'I picked the de-que-nes team.' I said, 'Doo-kayne'?. She's like, 'Oh yeah.'"
This is where Hamlin was corrected by the co-host who said:
"No! You're wrong too. Its Duquesne."
Denny Hamlin weighs in on his relationship with his long-serving crew chief
Since his debut in NASCAR in 2005 with Joe Gibbs Racing, Denny Hamlin has worked with a variety of crew chiefs. Back in 2018, the JGR driver experienced a significant setback as his Cup Series season concluded with a winless run. However, with his latest aide Chris Gabehart joining the squad in 2019, the duo has clinched noteworthy achievements together.
Gabehart helped Hamlin win the Daytona 500 in his debut year as crew chief. The dominance continued into the 2020 race at the Daytona International Speedway as well. The duo's notable successes include winning the Southern 500 in 2021, the Coca-Cola 600 in 2022, and many more.
While speaking with NASCAR star Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin shared Chris Gabehart's contribution in ending his winless streak and recouping his overall career. He said (via Fox on X) [1:03]:
"I don't think there's any secret that Chris has rejuvenated my career. I think he's just the guy who has really pushed me to get better. But I think of him like a head coach, I'm the quarterback, he's the head coach. That is my job, to run whatever play he tells me."
