Denny Hamlin went through a lot in the months building up to the 2026 season, with a long-awaited title slipping through his fingers last year in Phoenix, and then losing his dad to a tragic house fire. No one would blame him had he chosen to step aside, or at least taken the year to recover.
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Instead, Hamlin came back and went straight back to work in the NASCAR Cup Series. Through five starts this season, he has stayed near the front of the field in every race except the opener at Daytona International Speedway. The run reached a high point at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where Hamlin led 134 of 267 laps and won the Pennzoil 400 on Sunday.
Speaking after the win, Hamlin explained why he chose to keep racing despite the weight he carried through the off-season. “Well, I mean, ultimately I’m still a competitor, right? And, you know, everyone’s got to go through that process, the grieving process,” he began.
“And just there were a lot of different things through the offseason. It was, you know, really, really tough. And, yeah, I mean, I showed up at Bowman Gray. I ran the race.”
Hamlin admitted that the loss affected him deeply. Even after the new season started, he admitted he wasn’t fully mentally present yet. Still, he found reasons to stay the course. He understands that “Everyone has to go through stuff.”
Despite that struggle, two things pushed him to keep going. “It’s promise to Joe Gibbs and that family that I’d fulfill my obligations to them. And then the thrill of going out there and getting more wins. That to me is what drives me, and it makes me work as hard as I do at this.”
And the winner is… @DennyHamlin @LVMotorSpeedway
A rejuvenated Hamlin drove to victory Sun. after a speeding penalty that put him in the rear and following an off-season that included loosing his father in a tragic house fire.
In the Deadline Room he was asked how he was… pic.twitter.com/IWiMKzkIeE
— Claire B Lang (@ClaireBLang) March 16, 2026
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver also spoke of the loss as part of a road everyone must travel at some point. Yet those moments do not erase who a person is at their core. For the JGR ace, that identity has remained steady since the first time he strapped into a race car. He is still the driver who shows up to race and chase wins.
That belief is why he calls the sport his life’s work. For Hamlin, stepping aside in the face of grief was never the first thought. Climbing back into the car and going racing became his way of moving forward.
