Denny Hamlin Rolls Back the Years Giving an Insight Into His Bond With Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Denny Hamlin has often been vocal about his love and respect for Dale Earnhardt Jr. But who would have figured that his affinity for the icon ran way back before even he was just a rookie in Trucks? Junior recently posted a picture of his 2004 Daytona 500 trophy on social media and Hamlin responded by revealing a sweet little gesture that he’d done for him after the award ceremony back then.

Junior’s post read, “Amy decided to clean up the 2004 Daytona trophy and it still had red Gatorade on it. 20 years. Looks good as new.” The Harley J. Earl trophy did look as flawless as it comes, save the two-decade-old spill of Gatorade. Memories recalled, Hamlin drove to the reply section and posted a picture from the 2004 Daytona Awards ceremony in which he can be seen standing alongside a row of people next to Junior.

I carried it to your bus shortly after https://t.co/ueDeZQrLFO pic.twitter.com/HxwrGorawZ

— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) January 25, 2024

Hamlin captioned the photograph, “I carried it to your bus shortly after, ” revealing his role as the trophy caddy that day. At the time of the race, Hamlin was yet to make his debut appearance in any of NASCAR’s top tiers. However, he had already established a friendship with Junior through online racing, which led to him being invited to Daytona as a guest.

In an interview last year, Hamlin had spoken about the day and said how Junior had him staying with Martin Truex Jr., Josh Snider (Junior’s friend), and a few others in a small townhouse. It was shortly after the race that Hamlin signed on as a development driver for Joe Gibbs Racing and officially set his NASCAR career in motion.

When Denny Hamlin thought carrying Dale Jr.’s trophy had jinxed him

The 2004 race was the first of the two Daytona 500s that Junior won in his career (Second, 2014). Hamlin himself fared better at the fixture, having captured the flag thrice so far (2016, 2019, and 2020). Talking to Fox Sports before he won his second Harley J. Earl trophy, Hamlin expressed how being Dale Jr.’s guest was his favorite Daytona memory.

He reasoned, “He [Dale Jr.] called me over there and gave me a big hug, which was so cool. I was just a late-model driver at the time and I had no reason to be there.” Adding the thoughts that he had as he carried the trophy back to Junior’s bus, he said, “How awesome is this? I can’t believe I am carrying the Daytona 500 trophy!'”

Hamlin claimed that for the longest time, he thought it was a jinx and that he would never win one for himself because he touched it first. But 12 years later, he did win the Daytona 500. And now, he has three of those.

So perhaps it wasn’t a jinx after all.