AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Dennis Hamlin took out multiple mortgages on his Virginia home, maxed out every credit card and nearly went broke trying to get his son into NASCAR.
Denny Hamlin made it 21 years ago — driving for Joe Gibbs, no less! — and his resume boasts 60 career wins, three Daytona 500s among that tally. There’s not much left for his son to do at 44 years old.
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Except win a championship, of course. Denny Hamlin is widely considered the greatest driver to never win the Cup and goes into Phoenix Raceway as the sympathetic favorite to win the championship in NASCAR’s winner-take-all finale.
Dennis Hamlin will not be here. He’s too sick to travel.
Hamlin says his father is dying.
“I know for a fact this is my last chance for my dad to see it. I don’t want him going and never getting to see the moment,” Hamlin told The Associated Press of his dad, now 75 and battling a serious illness.
Hamlin had long come to terms with his championship heartbreaks and made new goals — tops of the list was hitting 60 wins. When it became clear Hamlin could potentially reach it this year, the race for that milestone became more urgent.
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And when Hamlin won at Las Vegas in September to grab the first of four championship berths, he openly wept as he collected the checkered flag that moved him into a tie for 10th on NASCAR’s all-time list.
He was still emotional two hours after the race as he reflected on all the sacrifices his parents made and the financial leverages they did so their son could chase his childhood dream. Hamlin was going to wait to get home to North Carolina and celebrate with his dad in person.
“He was just so happy and he always tells me I’m the best, no matter if I win or not, he always says I’m the best,” Hamlin said. “He’s a big hype guy and I sat in his garage and talked with him, he’s got all my old memorabilia and it’s just good to reminisce. He’s a reminiscent guy and right now I am just cherishing those hours that I have with them each week.”
He races against fellow Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe, as well as Hendrick Motorsports drivers Kyle Larson and William Byron, and the highest finisher Sunday will win the title. It’s an even split between the winningest championship teams in NASCAR, and a battle between Chevrolet and Toyota.
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Larson is the only driver with a previous championship. Byron is back in the championship race for the third consecutive year, while Briscoe is making his debut in his first season driving for Gibbs.
Hamlin isn’t sure if the other drivers would be happy if he wins, but he suspects good friend Larson might be OK with it. Larson told The Associated Press if he doesn’t win, he’d be pleased with a Hamlin championship.
“He’s a deserving champion and nearing the end of his career, so if I couldn’t win, I’d love to see him because you’d think he’d have one on his resume. He deserves it,” Larson told the AP. “I could see how (his dad) absolutely gives extra motivation, and I think sympathy goes a long way. It’s not going to stop me from wanting to beat him, but there’s a lot of reasons a Denny Hamlin championship would feel good.
“I truly think everybody in the sport would be happy, probably even the folks at NASCAR.”
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See, Hamlin drives for Gibbs but teamed with NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan in 2020 to form 23XI, the team that launched in 2021. They didn’t like the deal offered after two years of contentious negotiations on new charter agreements, refused along with Front Row Racing to sign the agreements, and sued instead.
The lawsuit is contentious and ugly, mediation so far hasn’t worked but talks continue as NASCAR claims it very much wants to settle before the Dec. 1 trial.
Hamlin — backed by Jordan’s resolve not to give in — is happy to let the case go to trial. He says NASCAR chairman Jim France shakes his hand before each court proceeding, that he’s treated fairly at the track by NASCAR officials, and doesn’t believe NASCAR will try any tricks to interfere with his ability to have an equal shot at the title.
But even if NASCAR wanted to enter some gamesmanship with the No. 11 team, Hamlin has a history of his own self-sabotage in these situations.
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This is realistically his sixth wide-open look at the title, and he’s notoriously squandered them all away: Hamlin spun in the 2010 finale, had a bad pit stop in 2014, overheated because the team put too much tape on the front grille in 2019, and then strategy or lack of speed on the No. 11 Toyota cost him in 2020 and 2021.
This year is his first back in the championship four in four seasons, and comes in a year in which he’s won a series-high six races and performed extremely well with new crew chief Chris Gayle, who was forced upon him in an offseason reorganization at Gibbs that pushed Chris Gabehart, the crew chief who has extracted the most out of Hamlin in these later years of his career, into a management role.
Hamlin was outspoken about the change he never asked for and didn’t have great confidence in Gayle. But, he left it up to Gayle to find his footing with the No. 11 and now Gayle is farther in the playoffs than he’d ever been before.
Hamlin now feels some regret over his harsh criticism when JGR first took Gabehart from him and has learned to trust and feel extremely comfortable with Gayle.
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And, hopefully, win that elusive title and then return to North Carolina to again sit in the garage with his dad and talk about the race. But this time would be unlike any other.
Jordan in 2024 gave Dennis Hamlin an autographed cigar enclosed in a glass case. It came with a note that said “Break it when we win the championship.” Dennis Hamlin explained it in an episode of the Netflix series NASCAR: Full Speed.
“I’m supposed to break that and smoke that cigar. That’s what I’m going to do,” Dennis Hamlin said on the show. “I’d give everything I have, every car in this garage, the house, whatever, if I could make that happen.”
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
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