This time, the 44-year-old was overcome with emotion \u2014 and took his father\u2019s words to heart.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the point where I kind of give the fans some s\u2014, but not today,\u201d a tearful Hamlin said. \u201cI appreciate all of you so much \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
For Dad. \u2764\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/dAoAI8iILc<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 13, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Part of that emotion, Hamlin said later, was the way he won the race. The pure adrenaline of snatching away a win from his competition by putting the car on his back and racing from sixth to first in 14 laps, one of the best drives of his life, felt to him like hitting a game-winning shot in an NBA playoff game.<\/p>\n Another part was the significance of what he\u2019d just achieved. Las Vegas marked career win No. 60, which not only tied him for 10th on NASCAR\u2019s all-time wins list but thrust him into next month\u2019s championship race with a chance to finally win the title that has always eluded him.<\/p>\n But another part, the most meaningful, was the knowledge his dad was still around to watch that moment happen on TV. Dennis has been ailing from an undisclosed illness this year (\u201cjust not doing well, not feeling well,\u201d Denny said Sunday), and the driver has hinted multiple times that he has been racing with his dad in mind.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t imagine there\u2019s a win bigger for me than this one,\u201d Hamlin said. \u201cWith the family (health struggles), with the significance of it, now being back on top for most wins in the season, punching the ticket to the (Championship) 4, the fashion in which the last 10 laps played out \u2014 all of the above is why this means the most.\u201d<\/p>\n When he reached his phone after the race, Hamlin took a glance at the list of names who had texted him before entering the media center for his post-race news conference. There was former teammate Martin Truex Jr., popping up with the rarest of texts from a quiet man. There was Kevin Harvick, whom Hamlin had just tied for 10th on the wins list.<\/p>\n And there was a text from his dad, experiencing a moment of joy amidst his health struggles.<\/p>\n Hamlin didn\u2019t write back immediately; he wanted to wait until he got home to have a larger, more meaningful conversation with his father. But he certainly planned to reminisce when he got the chance.<\/p>\n In the Richmond, Va., suburbs, Dennis Hamlin owned and operated Chesterfield Trailer and Hitch \u2014 selling trailers and installing hitches for vehicles. The family poured the money from their business into Denny\u2019s racing career, often at extreme risk, and nearly lost their home on several occasions due to the financial pitfalls.<\/p>\n \u201cThat way is a path I would never recommend anybody taking,\u201d Hamlin said Sunday night. \u201cEvery credit card that comes to the mail, it\u2019s \u2018OK, we\u2019ll use it.\u2019 Asking people to help. Second and third mortgaging the house. The arguments I had to listen to; I\u2019m in my room, and my mom and dad are going at it. One is saying, \u2018I can\u2019t do it anymore.\u2019 The other one saying, \u2018Please, just one more week.’\u201d<\/p>\n \n Sunday\u2019s win meant something more for Denny Hamlin, whose father is battling an undisclosed illness. (Chris Graythen \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n It was often Dennis who felt the family should pull the plug financially. But each time, he relented. Denny ultimately made it pay off and had enough success on the Virginia short tracks to get noticed by J.D. Gibbs, the late son of team owner Joe Gibbs, who discovered Hamlin and brought him to NASCAR.<\/p>\n When Denny left for Charlotte, Dennis Hamlin told J.D.: He\u2019s yours now. You\u2019re responsible for him. I got him to this point, but look after him.<\/p>\n J.D. died in 2019 at age 49, and the father figure role shifted to Joe Gibbs, the three-time Super Bowl-winning head coach and team owner.<\/p>\n Their bond runs deep as well; in the first race after his death, Hamlin won the Daytona 500 \u2014 a moment Joe Gibbs said Sunday was \u201cthe greatest sporting event I was ever in.\u201d Hamlin\u2019s own son, born in June, is named\u00a0Jameson Drew \u2014 J.D.<\/p>\n And now, at an age when most drivers have either retired or stopped winning, Hamlin has gone to victory lane six times this season to ensure his father could witness him join the legends of the sport.<\/p>\n Tears from a brash trash-talker? It may have been surprising for fans watching at home, but a moment like Sunday brought emotions Hamlin knew he couldn\u2019t hold back.<\/p>\n \u201cJoe was here, Dad is at home watching,\u201d Hamlin said. \u201cCertainly love making both of them proud.\u201d<\/p>\n Penske problems<\/p>\n One day before his car blew a tire and crashed at Las Vegas, Ryan Blaney was asked about how the field will approach next week\u2019s crucial race at Talladega.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are going to be some guys who leave here in a must-win (situation), and Talladega is going to be at the top of their mind,\u201d Blaney said. \u201cHopefully we\u2019re not one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n Except he is one of them \u2014 along with his Team Penske teammate Joey Logano. Blaney finished last and Logano finished sixth on Sunday after a Hail Mary two-tire call didn\u2019t quite work, but the impact on the standings was the same: With two races remaining, Logano is 24 points below the cutoff line and Blaney is out by 31.<\/p>\n \u201cIt sucks for Penske that we\u2019re both in the same boat right now,\u201d Logano said. \u201cComing into the race, you can kind of look at and say, \u2018OK, Blaney is the point car (who can advance to the championship via points, without a win) and I\u2019m the must-win car. Now we\u2019re both must-win cars, so it\u2019s not a great spot to be in.\u201d<\/p>\n Huge playoff implications on Lap 72! @Blaney<\/a> has trouble and gets into the wall. pic.twitter.com\/MoCg5bEGHx<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Denny](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-2240669700-scaled.jpg\")
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