Gotta think he would like to have that one back.
NASCAR on FOX analyst, and retired Cup Series driver, Clint Bowyer made a comment during an interview with Denny Hamlin ahead of today’s Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway that had fans cringing and blasting the announcer as “tone deaf” given all that Hamlin has been through over the past few months.
Hamlin, of course, lost his father in a house fire at his North Carolina home last December that also left his mother hospitalized. The cause of the fire was never determined, but just this week his mother made an emotional plea to county officials for more funding for the fire department after firefighters had trouble extinguishing the blaze due to a lack of water:
The driver of the #11 car for Joe Gibbs Racing admitted that the death of his father left him questioning whether he even wanted to return to the car this season. But Hamlin has been off to a fast start in 2026, scoring an emotional win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway earlier this month and celebrating with his mother Mary Lou Hamlin in victory lane.
Hamlin came into Martinsville in 4th place in the points standings, and qualified first for today’s race. And not only that but 23XI Racing, the team co-owned by Hamlin along with Michael Jordan, has already won four races this season with driver Tyler Reddick and has two cars in the top 3 in points standings.
Not a bad start to the season for Hamlin – which is the point Bowyer was trying to make while interviewing the driver ahead of the race, although he probably could have phrased it better:
“Anything that’s attached to you right now is on fire.”
Yikes…not a great word choice there. And fans were quick to point out the unfortunate comment from the outspoken Bowyer:
No way bowyer said that to Hamlin on the in car interview fireable offense tbh
— GOOOOO DAWGS! (@iamjoshelliott) March 29, 2026
Now, obviously I don’t think Bowyer meant anything by it. He’s always been a guy with no filter, and his personality is part of the reason he’s in the booth for FOX in the first place. And it even appeared that he caught himself as he was saying it and realized how it would come across.
But man, just a really unfortunate choice of words there.
