{"id":854410,"date":"2025-06-09T16:12:16","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T21:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/09\/bubba-wallaces-student-gives-try-out-for-denny-hamlins-inner-circle-and-falls-short-7\/"},"modified":"2025-06-09T16:12:16","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T21:12:16","slug":"bubba-wallaces-student-gives-try-out-for-denny-hamlins-inner-circle-and-falls-short-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/09\/bubba-wallaces-student-gives-try-out-for-denny-hamlins-inner-circle-and-falls-short-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Bubba Wallace\u2019s Student Gives Try-Out for Denny Hamlin\u2019s Inner Circle and Falls Short"},"content":{"rendered":"

Basketball <\/p>\n

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Denny Hamlin has his share of interests outside the track. Unlike Jimmie Johnson, the veteran won\u2019t jump on a bicycle and ride 50 miles, or lace up his running shoes and compete in a marathon like Jamie McMurray. But if you give him a basketball and a hoop, the Florida native will keep himself occupied for hours, which may go on to explain his long but successful partnership with NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, as the two met when Jordan was part owner of the Charlotte Hornets and Denny was a passionate fan cheering them on.<\/p>\n

This might also shed light on Denny Hamlin\u2019s famous \u2018hoop group\u2019, which Truck Series racer and Bubba Wallace\u2019s mentee, Rajah Caruth, attempted to join recently. However, the 22-year-old narrowly fell short of the \u2018requirements\u2019 despite putting on a good show.<\/p>\n

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Basketball Denny Hamlin outlines reasons for Caruth\u2019s rejection<\/h2>\n

It all started decades ago. Back in the mid-2000s, Denny Hamlin had just moved to Charlotte to become a full-time racing driver. Back then, he spent his free time playing basketball in a local league, home to many in the NASCAR circles. That love interest eventually led to the start of a five-team basketball league in 2016, which was held at North Carolina\u2019s Sun Energy Arena and was called the \u2018Hoop Group.\u2019<\/p>\n

Rajah Caruth recently attempted to join the \u2018league,\u2019 but narrowly fell short of the expectations. Sharing the reasons why on the Actions Detrimental podcast<\/a>, Denny Hamlin<\/a> said, \u201cHe came here and did a little Hoop Group tryout\u2026 He brought his dad. I think his dad was a hooper at some point. But Rajah [Caruth] fit right in. He was just not good enough to be perfect for the league\u2026 He had all the intangibles and skill set that we were looking for. But the list was long, we just wanted to get our eye on him, make sure if we put him on the sub list.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Hamlin listed the \u2018intangibles\u2019 that they were looking for, and most of them did not even involve being good at basketball. \u201cIn our league, we\u2019re not looking for great talent. We\u2019re looking for solid people who bring something to the table, and hey, are you gonna have a beer with us after?\u2026 A good vibes guy is what we\u2019re looking for.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Hamlin emphasized that Hoop Group is less about actual basketball skill, which Caruth has a lot of, but rather the personality you bring off the court. And sometimes, being too good at your Hoop Group tryouts might see you get cut. A chuckling Hamlin added, \u201cIf you come in and dunk, it\u2019s over. Your tryouts are over\u2026 It would be no fun watching them play\u2026 It\u2019s wildly entertaining because when someone goes for the game-winning layup, you just don\u2019t know whether it\u2019s going to go in or not.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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\"basketball<\/p>

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via Imago<\/p>\n

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While this league might not sound serious from the outside, trust us, it\u2019s way more competitive than you would think. We\u2019re not just talking about friends hanging out and playing a game of basketball. The \u2018Hoop Group\u2019 meets at Denny Hamlin\u2019s indoor court, and there are uniforms, referees, and even a trophy for the championship winner. Back in the day, games were held Monday after the Cup Series race, summer from March to June, and the likes of Ricky Stenhouse Jr.<\/a>, Bubba Wallace, Austin Dillon, as well as Rick Allen and Michael Waltrip used to participate.<\/p>\n

Rajah Caruth<\/a> hoped to be a part of the \u2018gang\u2019 but didn\u2019t make the cut. However, Denny Hamlin had nothing but praise for the 22-year-old, for his basketball skills as well as stellar driving. On Friday, Caruth won his second-ever Truck Series race at Nashville Superspeedway, locking himself into the playoffs after a hard-fought run while battling Corey Heim.<\/p>\n

Hamlin added, \u201cBut he [Rajah Caruth] was fun. Loved playing with him. He\u2019s a great kid, very inquisitive on how he can get better. Great to see that he\u2019s getting success in the Trucks that he\u2019s hoping to get.\u201d<\/em> Who knows, perhaps the Georgia native will break into the league later on and compete alongside his fellow NASCAR stars on a stage other than the racetrack.<\/p>\n

The \u2018Hoop Groupers\u2019 use their league to get some exercise and indulge in their competitive spirit. It\u2019s not just their shared interest in the sport, but bragging rights are also on the line, and on rare occasions, on-track rivalries spill over on the basketball court. Back in 2018, Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace<\/a> were involved in a crash at the Daytona 500, and the Alabama native didn\u2019t play in the league until they reconciled.<\/p>\n

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Basketball Hamlin\u2019s deep connection with basketball<\/h2>\n

Denny Hamlin\u2019s love for basketball goes back years. The 44-year-old had courtside season tickets to the Charlotte Bobcats\/Hornets for over 10 years, and his fianc\u00e9e Jordan Fish, who is currently expecting their third child, used to be a former cheerleader for the team. That\u2019s how the racer and Michael Jordan<\/a> became friends in the first place.<\/p>\n

The veteran recalled the interaction in 2019, saying, \u201cI was walking out at halftime. He stopped me and asked me about a race that happened a couple of weeks ago. I said, \u2018Wow, you watch NASCAR? He said, \u2018Yeah, take my number, we\u2019ll get up and go to a race or something sometime.\u2019 I remember him texting me for the whole second half. I was wondering, \u2018What the heck is going on?\u2019 I didn\u2019t realize he was as big of a racing fan as he was.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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After their chance encounter, Hamlin and Jordan were often pictured playing golf together. And back in 2014, the NBA Hall of Famer, along with his family, even flew into Florida to show their support towards the No. 11 driver, who was in the Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami. The racer also knows LeBron James<\/a>, and in 2018, the basketball star wore shoes with purple suede that had been cut out of Hamlin\u2019s racing shoes for the NBA finals. Now that\u2019s something to brag about, right?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a> Elroy Menjivar<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Basketball Denny Hamlin has his share of interests outside the track. Unlike Jimmie Johnson, the veteran won\u2019t jump on a bicycle and ride 50 miles, or lace up his running shoes and compete in a marathon like Jamie McMurray. But if you give him a basketball and a hoop, the Florida native will keep himself […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[16302],"class_list":{"0":"post-854410","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-business-news","7":"tag-nba"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=854410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854410\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=854410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=854410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=854410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}