How Denny Hamlin’s Parents Helped Him Handle Championship Heartbreak and Pass That Lesson to His Daughters

With the excitement of the Championship 4 now toned down and Kyle Larson’s brilliance appreciated, focus has shifted to the loser of the day, Denny Hamlin, amid his gut-wrenching P2 finish in the final standings. For two decades, Hamlin has worked excruciatingly hard to achieve this dream. And at 44, this may have been his final chance. How does someone recover from that? As it turns out, his parents always had him prepared.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s father, Dennis, worked tirelessly to keep the family afloat, selling and repairing trailers to make ends meet. Living paycheck to paycheck, he never hesitated to trade comfort for opportunity. He sold off prized possessions, including a cherished collection of antique cars, just to buy his son’s tires, race fuel, and another chance to chase speed.

In the pressure of that struggle, Dennis — who’s reportedly very ill — and Hamlin’s mom, Mary, taught him how to weather the losses, which would inevitably come more often than victories in NASCAR.

That foundation of strength could be seen at Phoenix, even as Hamlin’s heart broke in front of millions. After 312 laps of near-perfection, a mistimed caution and pit call cost him both the race and a long-awaited Cup championship.

The #11 driver stepped out of his car, visibly crushed, P6 on the day but miles away from the title that had been his to lose. For Hamlin, the defeat cut deeper than a result sheet ever could.

Yet even in heartbreak, Hamlin showed the same quiet strength that his family had always embodied. When asked how he manages to hold his composure through such gut-wrenching, painful moments, Hamlin credited his parents for teaching him how to stay level-headed through both wins and defeats.

“Yeah, I think it’s probably my family’s level of emotions. When I walk in the bus and I see my mom, and I give her a hug for the first time, like right after, she’s just… it was essentially kind of the same reaction that I had in my post-race (from his fiancée). I think she was probably in shock as well, but she was just like, this is what it was meant to be.”

“And so I think that they’re really, I think if they have strong emotions one way or another that probably can funnel into me, but they do a good job of being pretty level. And, you know, again, my dad, you know, thought I was a champion well before this weekend, so I don’t think his opinion changed much,” he added.

Hamlin’s sense of grounding, he said, is something he’s now intent on passing down to his own children. After his post-race conversations with his parents, he made his way to his kids, seeking solace not in results, but in perspective.

Even as his fiancée, Taylor, vented her frustration over how the race had happened, Hamlin found calm in watching his children take it all in stride. “They didn’t let it bother them too much,” he said. So he told himself that even he should try to keep that same level of emotion for his kids.

He may have walked away empty-handed in Phoenix, but the strength instilled by his family remains the foundation of his legacy. And perhaps, in the eyes of his father, and now his children, he’s already a champion in every sense of the word.