The NASCAR community is mourning the loss of a driver’s father.
Denny Hamlin’s father – Dennis – was killed in a house fire at his Gaston County home Sunday night.
What You Need To Know
The NASCAR community is reeling from loss
Driver Denny Hamlin’s father died after Hamlin’s mother pulled him out of their burning Gaston County home Sunday night
Hamlin’s mother was badly burned and is still receiving medical treatment
Hamlin is an anticipated Hall of Famer, and his father is credited with helping him establish his career
Hamlin’s mother was badly burned and is still receiving medical treatment.
Firefighters got to the home on Blacksnake Road to battle the blaze about 6 p.m. Video from Sunday’s fire shows flames destroying the Hamlins’ home and when firefighters arrived, Dennis and Mary Lou Hamlin were already outside.
The chief of the Lucia-Riverbend Fire Department, David Toomey, said Mary Lou Hamlin pulled Dennis Hamlin out of the home to save him.
“I don’t want to get emotional, but you do when you hear that the woman tried to drag her husband out, and he didn’t make it,” the chief said. “Yeah, it’s very sad. My heart goes out to them.”
Just two months before Dennis Hamlin died, his son – Denny – dedicated his 60th cup series race win to his dad.
Denny Hamlin was first introduced to racing by his dad when he was just 5 years old.
When Hamlin decided to pursue racing professionally, his dad started their own racing team and made huge sacrifices to help his son accomplish his goals.
Those sacrifices are what the NASCAR community is remembering as they honor Dennis Hamlin’s life.
Denny Hamlin celebrates in Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Sunday, May 29, 2022, in Concord, N.C. (AP File Photo/Matt Kelley)
Dennis Hamlin wasn’t able to travel to a race in Las Vegas, his son telling the Associated Press that his dad had a serious illness and was dying.
Dennis and Mary Lou Hamlin dedicated their lives to helping Denny succeed, taking out two mortgages on their home and selling several classic cars to help Denny pursue his racing career, something Winston Kelley – the executive director of the NASCAR Hall of Fame – admires.
“Denny’s parents, to me, are the quintessential parents that wanted to help their child reach their dreams,” Kelley said. “And they did everything, anything and everything that they could to help them get to that point.”
Michael Minando lives a few doors down from the Hamlins and met them in the neighborhood.
“They were good people,” he said.
Neighbors said the Hamlins’ home was full of memorabilia from Denny’s NASCAR career, and the garage was filled with classic cars.
Firefighters said they were able to save the memorabilia and up to seven cars. But the pain of losing Dennis Hamlin is being felt throughout the NASCAR community.
“Dennis and Mary Lou were always there supporting Danny from the time, you know, he started in the entry levels of NASCAR to be able to support them. So they were a part of that family and are and always will be a part of the family.”
Emergency officials said Mary Lou Hamlin is being at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Burn Center.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Kelley said he usually doesn’t speculate if someone will get into the Hall of Fame, but he said he’s confident Denny Hamlin will be a NASCAR Hall of Famer when he retires.
And he’s confident Hamlin will thank his parents in his acceptance speech when that happens.
NASCAR released the following statement after Dennis Hamlin’s death:
“NASCAR extends its deepest condolences to Denny Hamlin and the entire Hamlin family. Dennis Hamlin instilled a love of racing in his son, and sacrificed greatly to develop Denny into a world-class talent in the sport. We also continue to offer our thoughts and prayers to Denny’s mother, Mary Lou, and hope for her full recovery.”
The NASCAR community is also still reeling from the loss of retired driver Greg Biffle and his family, who were killed on Dec. 18 when a Cessna C550 plane they were traveling in crashed.
