After bagging his 60th NASCAR Cup Series win, Denny Hamlin wore his heart on his sleeve at Las Vegas, fighting back tears in a rare moment of raw emotion. Having chased that milestone for months, the usually composed veteran couldn’t hold back when it finally came to pass. Standing before the crowd, Hamlin spoke from the heart, thanking the fans with a sincerity few had ever seen from him.
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Reflecting on the tears that followed, Hamlin said, “I don’t know. I’m probably softer than what I put off. I maybe shed a tear during a love story on a movie or something if it’s a really emotional moment.” He added with a grin, “I’ll never let my kids see it. But I do have feelings. I know it’s hard to believe [smiling]. I don’t know.”
Given the win, he said, wasn’t about luck, it was the product of relentless grind and determination, “It just was so gratifying ’cause of all the things I talked about. Then I had the ball at the very end and made it. Like that’s just, maybe y’all played recreational sports as a kid, had that game-winning moment, but it’s just so big for me personally because this is what I do, this is what I’m paid to do. Yeah, I don’t know. It will take a few days for it all to sink in.”
That, Hamlin explained, is why there was no holding back; he knew he had to let the emotions flow. Heading into the weekend, Hamlin hadn’t pegged himself as the favorite. But when the chips were down in the final stage, a timely restart swung the door open. In those closing laps, he seized the moment, overtaking Kyle Larson and teammate Chase Briscoe to seal the deal.
Speaking to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Hamlin admitted the end was a blur. “I don’t know what happened. It’s all a blur,” he said. “That entire last 10 laps, I did not think whatsoever, I just did.”
He credited his No. 11 Toyota for being phenomenal, admiring how the car responded when it mattered most. For the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, though, this one hit closer to home than most. The win, he shared, was dedicated to his father, Dennis, who has been battling health issues, a victory not just for the driver, but for the man who first put him behind the wheel.
