Denny Hamlin chases monster largemouth bass in Texas with Bassmaster pro Chris Zaldain

Denny Hamlin spends most weekends trying to go faster than everyone else.

But apparently, when he’s not behind the wheel of a race car, he’d rather slow things down. Way, way down.

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The NASCAR star has become increasingly obsessed with bass fishing over the past year, and his latest trip with Bassmaster Elite Series pro Chris Zaldain suggests we can probably stop calling this a casual hobby.

Hamlin recently joined Zaldain at Camelot Bell Ranch in Texas, where the two spent the day chasing monster largemouth bass. They found them, too.

Zaldain documented the trip for his “Zaldaingerous” YouTube channel, with Hamlin and their fishing buddy Charlie Wend moving between lakes on the private ranch in search of trophy fish.

Hamlin started his day with bass weighing 5.15 and 5.13 pounds before later hauling in a 6.12-pounder. He eventually topped himself with a 7.3-pound largemouth before having to wrap up his day and catch a flight back to North Carolina.

Not bad for a guy whose day job doesn’t involve a fishing rod.

Hamlin and Zaldain worked the shallow grass early with ChatterBaits and swimming worms before moving offshore to scope for bigger fish in deeper water. Zaldain coached Hamlin on tracking his lure on the sonar screen and playing a game of keep-away with the bass — snapping the bait away just as a fish tracked it to mimic fleeing prey and trigger a bite.

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Hamlin apparently caught on pretty quickly.

The afternoon bite became more difficult, with several big fish simply mouthing the baits. Hamlin lost one estimated at more than 7 pounds, while Charlie lost another believed to be over 8.

Then, with Hamlin already gone and just a couple minutes remaining in the trip, Charlie hooked the fish everyone had been looking for: an 11-pound, 6-ounce largemouth.

Fishing started as something of an offseason escape for Hamlin before escalating in a hurry.

Last September, Hamlin talked with former NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick about his newfound love of fishing and why spending hours on the water had become so appealing.

“I mean, it’s teaching me patience,” Hamlin said. “You can go out there for hours and hours and just keep casting and not even get a bite. But it teaches me patience.”

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For someone who has spent more than two decades making split-second decisions at roughly 200 mph, waiting around for a largemouth to cooperate is probably about as dramatic a change of pace as you can get.

And Hamlin didn’t exactly ease into his new hobby.

By December, he had purchased a Nitro Z20 XL bass boat from Bass Pro Shops, a model with a base price of $67,995.

“As you guys have seen over the last few months, I’ve gotten into fishing quite a bit,” Hamlin said while showing off his new ride on Instagram. “Of course, I had to go to Bass Pro for my brand new fishing boat. Ended up getting a Nitro Z20 XL here. It’s got pretty much everything on it that you could want.”

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Naturally, the NASCAR driver also made sure his boat had a Hot Foot throttle.

“I’ve got a gas pedal,” Hamlin said.

Of course he does.

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