Denny Hamlin’s 2025 season ended in heartbreak, but it seems he has gone back to where it all began to clear his head. Just days after his title hopes were dashed at Phoenix, he shared an Instagram post that spoke volumes without saying much, walking through an open field surrounded by thick brush alongside his daughters. The post was tagged Amelia County, Virginia. It was a return to his roots.
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Long before private jets and playoff pressure, Amelia Motor Raceway was where Hamlin’s journey took shape. His parents bought him his first go-kart when he was eight and hauled it to the track on a Wednesday practice night.
By the weekend, Hamlin was racing and winning. Those laps in rural Virginia were the spark that ignited a lifelong goal of speed. Though the track has long been shuttered, Hamlin has never hidden its significance, often recalling it as the birthplace of his racing dreams.
NASCAR reporter Taylor Kitchen noted that the Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s tagged location likely means he revisited the now-defunct raceway. Fans who came across it on social media opined that it could mean he is either considering leaving the sport altogether or trying to reignite that fire within him after what was a difficult Championship 4 weekend.
One fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “It kinda feels like Carl Edwards pt 2 is coming,” while another fan stated, “He’s either retiring or going on a villain arch revenge tour in 2026.”
Another took a scene from the animated film Cars 3, where the main character, Lightning McQueen, is an aging racer who must adapt to new technology and a new generation of faster cars, saying, “Cars 3 vibes and we know what Lightning did.”
One fan also said, “Racers… I’m talking about pure f*cking racers here. We all go back to karts and shitty out-of-the-way tracks in dudes’ backyards and us running shit parts. These, and @dennyhamlin will back me up here, these days are the best days of every racer that’s ever raced.”
After the Phoenix finale, Hamlin admitted he did not feel like driving a race again, at least for now, a confession that worried his supporters. But voices from the sport’s old guard, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin, and others, have urged patience, believing Hamlin just needs time to rediscover his fire.
His quiet return to Amelia County may well be part of that process. For a driver who has spent decades chasing perfection under the brightest lights, standing again where it all began could be the reminder he needs that he is still the same kid who raced for the pure love of it.
