"Fans are speaking with their remotes": Denny Hamlin points to deeper NASCAR viewership concerns following drop in Richmond ratings 

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin recently shared his thoughts on NASCAR's declining viewership. Following that, NASCAR analyst Jeff Gluck shared the stats of the Richmond race and compared them to last year's race viewership.

The 2025 Cook Out 400 was held on Saturday, August 16, and the NASCAR analyst revealed that the race got only 1.39 million viewers. On the other hand, the 2024 race at the 0.75-mile race was held on Sunday, August 11, 2024, and witnessed a viewership of 2.22 million. The 2025 race saw a 37% drop in television viewership after being moved a day ahead.

Reflecting on the same, a fan expressed her take on the matter, writing:

"I think at least half a million more would have tuned in considering last week’s race got 1.85mil and that was on a road course which usually gets less viewers."

Following this, Gluck stated:

"I assumed he was talking about a Sunday night race. You have the numbers — how often has a scheduled Sunday night race gotten under 2 million?"

Denny Hamlin supported the NASCAR fan and tweeted:

"I was talking about Sunday. I think Cindy is correct in her concerns. Its my concern as well and I think the problem is much bigger than hitting the exact perfect time window every week."

Continuing further, Hamlin replied to an X user asking about the obsession with viewership and wrote:

"That fans are speaking with their remotes and we gotta stop making excuses of why."

Denny Hamlin

@dennyhamlin

@RachelG48NYY @jeff_gluck That fans are speaking with their remotes and we gotta stop making excuses of why.

Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon won the 400-lap race with a lead of 107 laps and a margin of 2.471 seconds. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin parked his #11 Toyota Camry XSE among the top-ten drivers, securing a solid P10 finish.

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"Toughest line to walk": Denny Hamlin shared his take on the intense battle with his teammate at Dover Motor Speedway

NASCAR Cup Series veteran driver Denny Hamlin secured his fourth win of the season at Dover Motor Speedway. However, this win was not a piece of cake for the Joe Gibbs driver, as he had an intense battle with his teammate, Chase Briscoe, during the closing laps of the race.

Recalling the heated moment, the #11 Toyota Camry XSE driver shared his thoughts on the same (via YouTube, 01:04 onwards):

"Yeah, that's the toughest, it's the toughest line to walk truthfully because if it is someone else, you don't mind running them up in the fuzz, right? If it's a teammate, you gotta sit down, you gotta see that guy tomorrow afternoon. So it's just a little different in that aspect."

"But, you know, when we went back, right before we went back, me and Chris were walking back to our cars and I said, "Just don't wipe me out." I was just, you know, I was afraid with him on, you know, we got old tires. I don't know what the grip level of the track is. I just didn't want JGR to clean itself out and then, you know, somebody else win it," he added.

Denny Hamlin ranks third in the Cup Series points table with 766 points. He has secured four wins, 13 top-10, and 11 top-five finishes with one pole position in 24 starts this season. Additionally, he has led 555 laps with an average finish of 13.417.