{"id":489735,"date":"2026-02-21T10:36:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T10:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/489735\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T10:36:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T10:36:13","slug":"north-carolina-fire-that-killed-nascar-driver-denny-hamlins-father-ruled-accidental-cause-unknown-winnipeg-free-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/489735\/","title":{"rendered":"North Carolina fire that killed NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin\u2019s father ruled accidental; cause unknown \u2013 Winnipeg Free Press"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>GASTONIA, N.C. (AP) \u2014 The North Carolina house fire that killed NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin\u2019s father and injured his mother has been ruled accidental but it\u2019s still unclear what started it.<\/p>\n<p>A report released by Gaston County Emergency Management &amp; Fire Services said the Dec. 28 fire at the two-story home originated in a bedroom, but the \u201ccause of ignition\u201d is \u201cundetermined.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Otherwise, the investigation determined the fire as accidental, Gaston County spokesperson Adam Gaub wrote in an email Friday.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/6998ef9c10563cd746df1576jpeg.jpg\" data-pswp- data-pswp-width=\"3000\" data-pswp-height=\"2000\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/6998ef9c10563cd746df1576jpeg.jpg\" alt=\"FILE - This photo provided by Lucia-Riverbend Fire Department shows firefighters battling a house fire, Dec. 28, 2025, in Stanley, N.C. (Brian Lee Weyeneth\/Lucia-Riverbend Fire Department via AP, File)\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFILE &#8211; This photo provided by Lucia-Riverbend Fire Department shows firefighters battling a house fire, Dec. 28, 2025, in Stanley, N.C. (Brian Lee Weyeneth\/Lucia-Riverbend Fire Department via AP, File)<\/p>\n<p>Hamlin\u2019s parents, Dennis and Mary Lou Hamlin were found outside the home the evening of the fire suffering from catastrophic injuries, officials said. Dennis Hamlin, 75, later died, while his wife survived.<\/p>\n<p>The home, located near Stanley about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Charlotte, was owned by a company that listed Denny Hamlin as its manager, according to government records.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n<p class=\"frequency\">Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n<p>On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a class=\"email-subscribe-link button the-warmup inline-block-logged-in\">Sign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/theWarm-up-tile.jpg\" alt=\"Sign up for The Warm-Up\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Dennis Hamlin was already seriously ill last year, his son previously said.<\/p>\n<p>Denny Hamlin is a leading driver in NASCAR\u2019s top circuit, having won 60 NASCAR Cup Series races, including the Daytona 500 three times. Hamlin and Michael Jordan co-own the car driven by Tyler Reddick that won this year\u2019s Daytona 500 last weekend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GASTONIA, N.C. (AP) \u2014 The North Carolina house fire that killed NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin\u2019s father and injured&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":489736,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-489735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=489735"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489735\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/489736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=489735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=489735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=489735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}