NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. issues Denny Hamlin Mount Rushmore verdict

NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. has heaped praise on Denny Hamlin following his victory at Las Vegas on Sunday, even suggesting that in a few years, he could be considered for the sport's Mount Rushmore.

In any sport in the United States, the Mount Rushmore debate is a popular one, with fans often engaging in discourse about who the greatest athletes to ever grace their respective field were or are.

Hamlin might not have a championship win under his belt, but he further cemented his legacy at Las Vegas on Sunday, with his Cup Series win tally now sitting at 61, bumping Kevin Harvick off the top-10 all-time win list and taking 10th spot outright.

"My name stands out amongst...there’s the legends of the sport," Hamlin said on the names he sits among on the frontstretch in Vegas. "I feel very fortunate to be on the list.

"Those guys were far more talented than I have ever thought about being. I just work really hard. I still to this day work really hard at my craft to try to continue to get better."

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Denny Hamlin has Mount Rushmore potential

The above was very humble from Hamlin, but Earnhardt Jr. is having none of it, making his stance on Hamlin's talent and legacy very clear on this week's Dale Jr. Download podcast.

“Denny Hamlin is my pick for the championship this year,” Earnhardt Jr. said, before going on to answer a question about what he makes of Hamlin being able to continue winning as he gets older.

“So, Denny gets out of his car, and I've heard him say this before, he gets out of the car and he says, ‘I'm not as good as all those guys [above him on the all-time win list], I gotta work harder’. I don’t believe he’s correct.

“I believe he's working hard. I do believe he's as good as some of those guys. I think that he's better than quite possibly a Cale Yarborough, some of those big names that he’s looked up to, right?

“A couple more years, you might put him on the Mount Rushmore,” Earhardt Jr. continued. “I do believe talent-wise, he ranks way higher than he wants to admit.

“There are anomalies in our history of drivers who didn't fall off. A lot of guys tend to fall off around the same time frame, in those early 40s, mid 40s, they're toast, and he's not doing that, he's an anomaly.”

NASCAR Cup Series all-time win list

Here is how the top 10 on the all-time wins list shapes up following Hamlin's Las Vegas victory.

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