Denny Hamlin’s post-race celebration after Sunday’s NASCAR race at Martinsville Speedway was inspired by Ohio State’s national championship run.
After finishing first in Sunday’s Cook Out 400, Hamlin – who drives the No. 11 car for Joe Gibbs Racing – celebrated his victory by waving an “11 Against the World” flag, a flag he said was inspired by the “Ohio Against the World” flag seen during Ohio State’s national championship run.
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— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) March 30, 2025
“My buddies, my Ohio State fans that I hung out with at the end of last year, we always had the Ohio State Against the World, so now it's the 11 Against the World,” Hamlin said in his post-race interview.
11 against the world.@dennyhamlin talks with @JamieLittleTV after his Martinsville win. pic.twitter.com/n5hdskSqSd
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 30, 2025
Hamlin, who has multiple close friends who are Buckeye fans, attended three Ohio State games last season – the Buckeyes’ home win over Indiana, their Cotton Bowl win over Texas and their national championship game win over Notre Dame. During the Cotton Bowl victory, Hamlin and his friends were seen on television waving an Ohio Against the World flag – the same flag that would later become part of the Buckeyes’ postgame celebration when Jack Sawyer and Will Howard held it up on stage.
NASCAR on ESPN IS BACK pic.twitter.com/i3aZxF6ZLh
— nascarcasm (@nascarcasm) January 11, 2025
Will Howard and Jack Sawyer holding the “Ohio Against the World” flag after the Cotton Bowl.
Just as it was for the Buckeyes in Dallas, the “Against the World” flag proved to be a good-luck charm for Hamlin on Sunday as he led 274 of the race’s 400 laps en route to his first victory of the season.
