"They sold everything they had": Denny Hamlin gets emotional about his parents' sacrifices behind his NASCAR success

It was an emotional 60th career NASCAR Cup Series win for Denny Hamlin on Sunday at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The driver of the #11 expressed how he wanted to reach the 60-win milestone for his dad, who has been recently battling illness, and reflected on how his father helped him reach this point in his career.

In the post-race press conference, the 44-year-old detailed how his dad introduced him to racing and helped finance his career. Hamlin was five years old the first time his dad took him to a race. When he began getting behind the wheel, Hamlin had a helping hand from his father, despite the financial hardships it caused at times. Between his dad fighting illness and everything he's done for his racing career, it was important to Hamlin to reach 60 NASCAR Cup wins.

"They sold everything they had. We almost lost our house a couple of times. Just tried to keep it all going. I'm glad he was able to see 60. That was super important to me," Denny Hamlin said. (0:24 onwards)

Denny Hamlin overtook Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe in the closing laps to take the checkered flag on Sunday at Las Vegas. The JGR driver tied Kevin Harvick for 10th on the NASCAR Cup Series all-time wins list with 60 apiece. The victory on Sunday was also the Virginia native's sixth win of the 2025 season, a series-high.

The win secured Hamlin's spot in this year's Championship 4 race at the Phoenix Raceway. It is his first Championship 4 appearance since 2021. Hamlin is still chasing his first NASCAR Cup Series championship in his 21st season of full-time competition. The closest he came to the title was in 2010 when he finished runner-up in the standings to Jimmie Johnson.

Denny Hamlin expects to be nervous "at some point" ahead of championship race

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Denny Hamlin made it known that he never gets nervous before getting behind the wheel in a NASCAR Cup Series car. However, ahead of his Championship 4 appearance in a few weeks, the driver of the #11 expects to have some nerves as he seeks his first Cup championship.

Motorsports insider Bob Pockrass asked the Joe Gibbs Racing star about potential nerves heading into Phoenix. Hamlin admitted that he expects to feel them at some point with the threat of it possibly being his final opportunity to win a championship. Yet, if it doesn't work out, Hamlin said he'll be satisfied with his 2025 season.

Here's what Denny Hamlin said in the post-race press conference about nerves:

"Truthfully, I don't get nervous anymore, but I will at some point. It will kick in where it's like, 'Is this my chance to do it?' Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but I just know that I'm going to do it, do the work, and I just hope it works out. If it doesn't, I'm going to be OK with it." (0:14 onwards)

Denny Hamlin is amid his 21st full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series. He's spent all 21 seasons piloting the #11 JGR Toyota.

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Edited by John Breeden