Denny Hamlin ran the risk of not progressing to the Cup Series Round of 12 after terrible outings in Atlanta and Watkins Glen. Saturday’s Bristol Night Race was the only chance of redemption he had. Fortunately, a fourth-place finish in the 500-lapper put him through the gates and kept his hopes of a championship alive. The heavy sigh of relief picked up some jest from his fiancée, Jordan Fish.
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She took to Instagram and put a picture of their dogs, Milo and Lulu, to tease what the mood was like in the Hamlin household after all the action. Milo can be seen lazily resting on the couch watching the NFL on TV. Fish tagged Hamlin and wrote, “@dennyhamlin assumed position for the rest of the day.” Lulu, on the other hand, sits in front of the couch with eyes filled with expectation.
She related herself to the pup and wrote, “Me patiently waiting for him to look in my general direction.” She followed it up with another story that shows Milo battling heavy sleep with the TV remote by his side. The updates from the living room sure tickle a funny bone. And Hamlin does deserve a day of sleepy NFL coverage considering the extreme day that he had in Bristol.
The No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team had gone into the short oval expecting it to produce a heavy tire fall-off race similar to the one it did in Spring. But it sprung a surprise and nullified the car setup changes that crew Chris Gabehart had done. They still managed to hold their own and controlled the day. Although not as good as Kyle Larson, they did just enough to progress.
Lulu gets to stay with the Hamlins following Bristol race
The pup Lulu came into the Hamlin family last June when the driver’s daughters found her under the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. But the future of the dog has been in doubt ever since because Hamlin’s results on the track began falling just as soon as she was brought into the house.
The driver then began a joke after his stumbles in Atlanta and Watkins Glen that he was going to rehome Lulu, much to the disappointment of Taylor and Molly. But the pup received a reprieve after Hamlin secured his spot in the Round of 12 through the Bristol race. And some heartwarming scenes played out at the victory lane.
Taylor summoned Gabehart standing in front of the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE and asked, “Chris, can Lulu still stay though?” The chief responded, “Close enough. Close enough. She survives another week.” The girl then walked away with her fists in the air cheering, “Let’s go, dog! Let’s go!”
Hamlin too took to Instagram and shared pictures of the dog and his daughters. He wrote, “Lulu can stay for now. On to the round of 12.” Quite contrary to what the driver initially believed, Lulu might just be the lucky charm that he missed all these years in his attempts to win a championship.
