Danny Hamlin, or I should say, the reigning Daytona 500 winner.

Yeah, it was uh that's a good feeling. That's a good title to have. It's something that you'll have uh for really for the rest of your life on your resume. So anytime I get introduced from here on out, it's gonna be a Daytona 500 champion. So yeah, really cool.

How'd you get your nickname?

Uh I got my nickname Bubba from my sister the day I was born. We really don't know why. Um but it's kinda stuck and it's different so I'm all about being different.

Now, we're in front of your hauler right now in California. How's it feel to be back?

I love coming out here. It's uh always nice weather for one. And we've been out here all week. Good to be here in California. It's been like a long stretch. Yeah. Uh but yes, definitely ready to get home, but we got some unfinished business to do before that.

And what's the business you got to take care of?

You got to win. This is the the actual race hauler. So a lot of team guys, you know, roughly 20 or so team members from the 11 FedEx team uh or sport clips team, go out to the race track every single week. This is their home and this is where they work. I work inside the car. I'll go out there and make a few laps, feel the car out, see what the adjustments did. There is no on-board computer like there is in F1 or or any kind of open wheel. We are the on-board computer in NASCAR. So we they're relying on our information to go out and make the car faster. Let's go in here. As you can see, so the cars are actually above uh here. So they have a ramp that goes up. And then we have a backup car in case we wrecked it in practice. Each one of the uh crew members has their own locker, as you can see, this is for the pit crew here. When we do prepare food, sits here. There's a lot of spare parts in here. So this is an extra engine that we keep inside uh with two cars, engines, all the spare parts. Uh we constantly fight uh all the time trying to cut the weight down on the on the haulers cuz they they weigh so much. Every nut and bolt that's on the car, we have a spare of.

Okay. And when I say spare, like ten of. Could you actually switch roles with a crew guy and do all of this?

Uh, I used to have to do all that when I was younger and and working on my own race car. But now, it's like, okay, let the professionals handle it. You just go out there and drive and do what you do. Up in here, is where all the important people work. Uh we're gonna let them uh be but uh the crew chief and then engineers and everything and and they'll be talking about constantly about all right, well this is what his feedback is, what can we do to improve the car?

So if this is their home away from home, you probably have a mobile home here, parked somewhere.

We live there, you know, four to five days, sometimes a week. So I I spend arguably as much time inside that bus. Although I've never been in it while it's been moving. I've had it for eight years now. We fly from one place to the uh to the next uh and it's just uh the driver takes it where it's gotta go. Our whole team flies back and forth. So you know, we jump on the team plane, we're able to debrief with our team, what we did throughout that day, and then work uh, you know, at the shop during the week and and get ready for the next race and then we fly back out and meet everyone back out here again.

Not a bad perk. Every time I've met you, you are kind, you're sweet, you say really great things.

That's thank you for that. That's because we don't race against each other on the track.

So why do you have this like bad boy, obnoxious

I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm different. I put a helmet on, my my mindset changes when I when I race. But I think that's that's the competitive atmosphere, right? And you're a competitor, you you want to go out there and win. The number one goal when you get on the race track is to win.

Your character on Snapchat, social media kind of breeds a new fresh air to NASCAR, huh?

It's a little different, you know, and like I said earlier, I'm all about being different. But sometimes it's kinda misconstrued and then taken a different way. So it's kinda hard to play that fine line, you know? I'm all about being myself and that's what everybody tells me to do is, you know, don't change for anybody. But then it's like, do I need to kinda tone it down or what? But at the end of the day, I'm like, ah, it's all right, it's me.

You recently married, but you're not a newlywed anymore.

No, no. We're a year and a half into it. Yeah, yeah. They think they thought we couldn't do it. But here we are.

How's it going?

It's been awesome. It's nice to have someone there that you can bounce things off of and talk about things after, you know, a a race or something like that. It's nice to have that support.

You do drive a car for a living, a race car. Ain't that cool?

It's cool. It's like the dream job for me. I said I always wanted to be since I was six, you know, I just wanted to drive race cars and it's cool to to live that out.

Did you ever think, oh my goodness, I'm gonna have to have a nine to five at a desk?

There was times in my career that that things weren't going as well as I wanted them to be. And you start thinking, okay, is there a backup plan? And I personally didn't have a backup plan.

You didn't?

No, because I put all my eggs in one basket and I thought, you know, I kinda had to do that. And there's there's different ways of looking at this. But for me, I think if you put 100% into something, that's your best chance of succeeding in that.

You just tweeted out a photo of when you were in elementary school of saying how when you grew up, you want to win the Daytona 500.

Never in a million years would I thought it would have came true. But uh I I I forgot I'd actually written it until I think about two, three years ago, my mom showed me that letter. I was like, oh yeah, I forgot I wrote that. In the letter, I wrote that I wanted to win it I think in 1998. So I was many, many years off, uh like 18 years off. But uh, hey, at least I got it done at some point.

Okay, I'm gonna do a rapid fire quiz with you. First thing that comes to your mind, ready? Hidden talent.

Drumming.

You know what I can do? You know those you ever seen those globes that you there's a golf ball on the inside that you have to put the golf ball on the tee? I can do that.

Talent you wish you had?

A singer. I wish I could sing.

Ah. Right. Don't got it. No. Heck no. That's why I drum. I don't really have another talent outside of racing. And I don't really but I don't care.

Would you want to be a better bowler? Golfer? Tennis player?

I'm not good at any of those.

A Yodeler. Yeah. If I can be a better Yodeler, I'd be better.

That's a Yodeler. Uh one person you can always count on?

The madre, of course. I had to give her some plug there, so.

Love that. Go mom.

That's right. I can always count on my wife. And I can always count on my team. I know it's not one person. But it's nice to have a team behind you that is constantly there. They work their guts off on my race car all the time and how we work together and and we're we win together and we lose together. And I think that's that's something that you can lean on a lot.

First kiss.

Second grade. Ah, I remember that one.

What was her name?

Oh, I don't remember that. Brittany, my wife.

Stop it.

Mhm. Yeah.

Were you her first kiss?

No.

Who plays you in a movie?

Will Smith would be good.

Not a bad choice. He's a badass. Who would play me in a movie? Pick one. Who?

Matthew McConaughey.

Thank you. Yes. Matthew McConaughey.

He's cool enough, dude. I would accept that Matthew McConaughey I would allow him to play me in a movie.

What did you have for breakfast this morning?

I had a banana and an avocado.

Eggs and toast. That's pretty much what I always have for breakfast. It's simple, easy, can be made in five minutes.

Uh Burger King. I eat like crap. And I love it.

The honesty is genius.

Mhm. Oh yeah, everybody thinks I eat healthy and all this stuff. And I'm like, no. Not really.

And then what do you eat for dinner?

Uh Cheez-It. That's about it. And a Coke. That's it.