Denny Hamlin recently revealed how Dale Earnhardt Jr. convinced him to form Action’s Destructive. Hamlin’s podcast has become one of NASCAR’s most successful podcasts since its launch in early 2023.
And it all started when Dale Jr. saw an opportunity in Denny Hamlin’s media interactions. In a recent conversation with Kenny Wallace, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver talked about how Earnhardt Jr. pitched him the idea for his own show.
“I think Dale Jr. realized that I was making headlines every weekend in terms of media appearances. There were hot topics around security stuff, next generation, competition, etc. And what you saw were little snippets of these articles that quoted passages of what I said, and it wasn’t the full context of what I was talking about. And he said, ‘Hey, I get what you’re saying, I get what you’re talking about. I don’t think the fans understand you. I think you need a forum and a platform to explain that, but if you have to talk about a hot topic in sports, that takes more than 20 minutes,'” Hamlin revealed. [21:5]
The No. 11 driver claimed Earnhardt applied enough pressure to convince him. But Hamlin was initially skeptical when he asked Junior about his commitment and how much he would have to spend on the show. Junior told him that he would set everything up, and Hamlin was told that he would get the highlights of the race as soon as it finished, and all the commentary from the drivers to keep him up to date on what was going on, to which Hamlin agreed.
Denny Hamlin explains why the nature of Actions Detrimental isn’t and won’t be safe opinions
Denny Hamlin further spoke about Action Detrimental, claiming that the show “changed the dynamic” after a year and a half. Hamlin said he felt his voice carried weight in the sport because he cleared up misconceptions about NASCAR. Hamlin also explained why the nature of the show’s content is relatively unsafe and of this nature: “People think it’s not, but NASCAR listens to what’s going on on social media.
That’s why I’ve always said, ‘My show is not based on fact.’ My show is based on opinion. Whatever the subject, I’ll give you my opinion.” “I get paid to talk about hot topics in sports. I have conflicts of interest and I have to comment on things that I’m uncomfortable with at times. But that’s what I’m paid to do,” Hamlin said.
He added that he doesn’t just speak to be heard, he speaks because that’s his job. In fact, Denny Hamlin claims he’s juggling three big jobs right now: driver, car owner and media representative. But despite the nature of the conversations and opinions on Actions Detrimental, Hamlin said he and NASCAR are closer than people think. He told NASCAR how good his podcast is for the sport, revealing that 80% of the time they liked what he had to say, but 20% of the time they “hated” it.
Still, Denny Hamlin maintained that NASCAR had to endure the criticism because listeners listened to his honest opinions. And if he were to abandon honesty and play it safe, Actions Detrimental listeners would stop listening.
