Fan Reactions to Zack Wheeler\u2019s Hendrick Motorsports Hat<\/strong><\/p>\nFans couldn\u2019t contain themselves when Zack Wheeler stepped out in that Hendrick Motorsports cap, and their reactions on social media were pure gold. One fan quipped, \u201cWheeler to the 5 confirmed.\u201d It\u2019s a cheeky joke, playing off the idea that Wheeler\u2019s joining Kyle Larson\u2019s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team. Of course, Wheeler\u2019s a pitcher, not a driver, but the sight of him in HMS gear had fans dreaming up a wild driver swap for laughs.<\/p>\n
Another fan chimed in, \u201cBowman\u2019s seat just got hotter.\u201d This one\u2019s poking fun at Alex Bowman, driver of Hendrick\u2019s No. 48, who\u2019s faced heat for inconsistent results and injuries over the past two seasons. Wheeler\u2019s cap sparked playful speculation that he\u2019s gunning for Bowman\u2019s ride, adding fuel to the ongoing chatter about Bowman\u2019s job security in a lighthearted way.<\/p>\n
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\u201cLong lost cousin of Russ Wheeler?\u201d another fan teased, tying Zack to Russ Wheeler, the fictional NASCAR driver from the 1990 movie Days of Thunder. The shared last name and racing gear made it an easy jab, with fans chuckling at the idea of Wheeler as a Hollywood-style racer.<\/p>\n
One comment nailed the crossover vibe: \u201cZack Wheeler and Jordan Davis are two Philly athletes that are huge NASCAR fans. Davis is typically wearing a Gordon or Chase Elliott shirt. I\u2019m pretty sure Wheeler is a Larson fan.\u201d This one\u2019s spot-on, Wheeler\u2019s been seen in NASCAR merch before, and Philly\u2019s Jordan Davis, an Eagles defensive tackle, often sports Jeff Gordon or Chase Elliott gear. Fans figure Wheeler\u2019s HMS hat points to him being a Kyle Larson supporter, tying him to the No. 5\u2019s star driver.<\/p>\n
A Mets fan couldn\u2019t resist a dig: \u201cThe man has good taste in racing at least. Should still be a MET, dammit! Even though they are gone\u2026F the Wilpons again anyways.\u201d Wheeler\u2019s early career with the New York Mets still stings for some who blame the Wilson Family\u2019s ownership for his exit. His Hendrick hat earns him props for \u201ctaste,\u201d but the Mets\u2019 loyalty runs deep.<\/p>\n
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Finally, one fan went full NASCAR parody, \u201cYeah it was a great day out there, got to thank the guys back at the shop for giving me a great glove and ball today. The Citizens Bank machine was strong today, Iooking forvward to going out and doing it again next time.\u201d Mimicking a driver\u2019s post-race interview, this gem imagines Wheeler thanking his \u201cshop\u201d for a stellar pitching performance, blending NASCAR\u2019s lingo with his shutout win at Citizens Bank Park. It\u2019s the kind of playful crossover that has fans hyped for more NASCAR-MLB mashups.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NASCAR and MLB have been mixing it up for years, and the crossovers have always been a hit…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":31201,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[1406,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-31200","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-nascar","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114780796657548700","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31200\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}