Denny Hamlin calls on 'cutthroat' NASCAR teams to unite

Denny Hamlin has called on NASCAR and its teams to come together for the sake of the sport's future.

The 23XI Racing co-owner spent much of last year locked in a bitter court case with the sport, eventually reaching a settlement which he and his team hope will ensure the future of the sport.

Speaking to The Athletic ahead of the new season, Hamlin revealed that he believes things are finally moving in the right direction – but he wants to see less backbiting and squabbling between teams in favor of collective movement in the right direction.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver admitted that getting NASCAR back to its rightful place in the American sporting landscape won't be an overnight process, but seemed cautiously optimistic about the future.

Hamlin: NASCAR teams are cutthroat

The 45-year-old said: “I’ve looked at the inner strategy of NASCAR of what they put out to us to get back to where we were, and I think it’s the right strategy. This is not going to be something that we’re going to see right away; it’s something that could take time within the garage.

"The proof will be in the pudding that the sport and the teams have said they wanted to do for the last decade. While it is more collaborative or was more collaborative than it was in the 1990s, it’s still nowhere nearly as collaborative as other sports are.

“(The teams are) just so cutthroat on what’s best for our team, and this team doesn’t like this splitter, and this team doesn’t like this transaxle. It’s all dumb stuff that gets talked about that doesn’t push the sport forward. We have to talk about things that are going to grow the sport collectively, and everyone has to get on that same page.”

Hamlin and co. will return to points-paying NASCAR action this week at Daytona, with the Great American Race kicking off a 36-race calendar which will run until the season finale at Homestead in November.