Victor and villain: Denny Hamlin keeps winning despite new role as NASCAR's most polarizing driver

Denny Hamlin was booed in celebration again.

The Joe Gibbs Racing superstar, a driver whose 52 wins in the Cup Series rank as the 13th-most in NASCAR history, heard another heaping of disapproval and contempt when he climbed from his No. 11 Toyota at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday.

Victor and villain.

Hamlin stopped short of egging the hostile crowd on this time, though. After winning his second consecutive victory at the famed short track — fourth overall inside the concrete coliseum — Hamlin skipped his catchphrase “I just beat your favorite driver” and simply flashed his pointer finger in every direction to remind everyone who finished No. 1.