Dennis Hamlin, the father of NASCAR star driver Denny Hamlin, died after sustaining “catastrophic injuries” in a house fire on Sunday in North Carolina, authorities said. He was 75.
Mary Lou Hamlin, Dennis’ wife and Denny’s mother, was also injured in the fire. Both Dennis and Mary Lou were transported to a hospital, where Dennis later died of his injuries, according to a news release from the Emergency Management and Fire Services Department in Gaston, North Carolina.
Firefighters were dispatched to scene in Stanley, North Carolina, at 6:19 p.m. and found the Hamlin’s home “mostly engulfed, with flames showing through the entire attic,” according to the release. Dennis and Mary Lou were outside the home when authorities arrived on the scene, but “both had suffered catastrophic injuries while escaping the flames,” EMFSD said.
Mary Lou is currently being treated at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Burn Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The cause of the fire is currently undetermined due to the extent of the fire and the structural collapse of the home, authorities said. An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.
Dennis Hamlin’s death comes two months after Denny dedicated his most recent NASCAR win to him after placing first at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October. Denny was emotional after notching his 60th career win, noting that his father had been ill in recent months.
“You know, he’s just not doing well,” Hamlin said after the race, AP reports. “He’s the one that got me into racing and took me to a racetrack when I was five. Then made all the sacrifices financially to keep me going, sold everything we had, we almost lost our house a couple times to just try to keep it going.
“I’m glad he was able to see 60. That was so important to me,” he added.