It is hard to appease NASCAR fans, especially if you're a driver who has gotten on the fans' bad side, but Denny Hamlin has managed to do so with his latest frustrations over the NASCAR Hall of Fame voters.
Hamlin is one such driver who has heard a lot more boos than cheers lately, but that didn't stop him from sharing the same opinion as the majority of fans on the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2024 announcement.
Not surprisingly, Jimmie Johnson was named to the Hall of Fame, as he deserved to be a first-ballot induction. The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion left racing tied with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for the most all-time titles.
However, many were shocked to hear that he wasn't a unanimous choice by the 58-member selection committee.
Denny Hamlin Sounds Off On Jimmie Johnson's Snub
Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
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That is where Hamlin shared his blunt opinion on the subject, as he took to the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to voice his frustration with the NASCAR Hall of Fame voting panel.
Not unanimous. What a joke a disgrace to one of the sports greatest ever.
Make it public who said no and remove them from the voting panel..
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) August 2, 2023
"Not unanimous. What a joke a disgrace to one of the sports greatest ever," Hamlin posted Wednesday.
Hamlin and Johnson are remembered as fierce rivals, as the two famously dueled for the 2010 NASCAR Cup championship, which ultimately went to Johnson. Despite that rivalry, Hamlin was more than willing to go to bat for Johnson. He also said the names of those who voted against Johnson should be made public and have their voting privileges removed.
That sentiment was shared by many in the NASCAR media, and even other racers including IndyCar's Conor Daly.
Daly responded to Hamlin's post by saying that Johnson not getting a unanimous vote adds to his already-growing doubt about humanity.
"There are many things I see in life that make me lose more faith in humanity," Daly tweeted. "The fact that JJ didn't get a unanimous vote is one more of those things."
It shouldn't come as much of a surprise though, as Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Richard Petty weren't unanimous selections either. That is hard to believe, given that those drivers are arguably NASCAR's Mount Rushmore.
It was quite a shock to many, as nearly everyone thought it was a foregone conclusion that the seven-time champion was going to be a unanimous selection.
It's unclear why Johnson wasn't a unanimous selection, but there's a real possibility that four esteemed members of the voting panel held a grudge.
