Denny Hamlin would ‘absolutely’ feel slighted if he were Jimmie Johnson regarding NASCAR Hall of Fame

Denny Hamlin still has a bone to pick with those voting for NASCAR‘s Hall of Fame. The driver continued to sound off on individuals who left Jimmie Johnson off their ballot, arguing the seven-time Cup Series champion should have been a unanimous selection.

In early August, Hamlin fired off a tweet blasting the voters who kept Johnson off the ballot. He referred to their decision as a “joke” and a “disgrace” to one of the best the sport has seen.

This week, Hamlin doubled down on his remarks in his Actions Detrimental podcast.

“Last week, I made kind of a big deal about Jimmie not getting in unanimous,” Hamlin said. “The argument is that Richard Petty wasn’t unanimous, Dale Earnhardt wasn’t unanimous. Yeah, but you had the entire history of NASCAR on the ballot. There were so many people to choose from and so many deserving people.

“To me, I believe, NASCAR needs to be transparent.”

Johnson won seven Cup Series titles, tied for most in the sport’s history. That includes a string of five-straight from 2006-10. He also produced 83 wins and 374 finishes inside the top-10.

“I understand that there’s other people that are deserving, right? But not as deserving as a seven-time (NASCAR Cup Series), 80-win champion,” Hamlin said.

“There’s absolutely zero reason that Jimmie Johnson should be left off anyone’s ballot. I just would like to see NASCAR revamp how they do it going forward.”

Later in the episode, Hamlin was asked if he would feel slighted if he was in Johnson’s position.

“Of course. Absolutely,” Hamlin said. “I mean, if I accomplished what he did? Absolutely. It’s not even close. It’s like Dale Earnhardt not being unanimous. But again, he was on a ballot with Richard Petty and everyone else.”

Hamlin said that Johnson would never admit to being upset about not securing 100% of the vote. And he’s correct. He acted as if it didn’t bother him when asked.

“It doesn’t matter,” Johnson said. “Nope. It doesn’t.”

Johnson received induction along with crew chief Chad Knaus. The two formed a lethal combination for years on the track, and it’s a unique opportunity for the combo to enter the Hall of Fame together.

But Knaus agrees with Hamlin. He believes Johnson should be a unanimous selection.

“If this man right here isn’t an unanimous vote, I don’t know if anybody ever will be,” Knaus said, via Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports. “He’s the nicest guy. The best race-car driver to ever sit in a NASCAR race car. He’s a huge contributor to our sport… He is the ideal picture of what a Hall of Fame inductee.”

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