Denny Hamlin’s father died and his mother remains hospitalized after a fire at their home Sunday night.
The parents of the NASCAR Cup Series star “suffered catastrophic injuries while escaping the flames,” according to a news release from the Gaston County office of emergency management and fire services.
Dennis Hamlin, 75, died of his injuries at a local hospital while Mary Lou, 69, was transferred to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Burn Center in Winston-Salem, where she is actively being treated.
Dennis Hamlin had been terminally ill and could not travel to Phoenix in November to see Hamlin race for the 2025 Cup title. Hamlin, who finished second in the championship to Kyle Larson, had said he believed it would be the last time his father would be alive to see him race for a title.
It was Hamlin’s parents who sacrificed financially to get Hamlin started in racing.
“He’s the one that got me into racing,” Denny Hamlin said after his 60th career Cup victory in October at Las Vegas. “He just took me to a racetrack when I was 5 [and] then made all the sacrifices financially to keep me going.
“Sold everything they had. We almost lost our house a couple times, just tried to keep it all going.”
Hamlin’s parents did not have the financial means to support Hamlin beyond racing at the grassroots level. His father owned a trailer and hitch store in Virginia; his mother worked in insurance.
“My parents had no money [for racing],” Denny said after the Vegas win. “My parents had very normal jobs, but they found a way. That way is a path I would never recommend anybody taking. Every credit card that comes to the mail — okay, we’ll use it.
“Asking people to help. Second and third mortgaging the house. All these things. The arguments I had to listen to — I’m in my room, and my mom and dad are going at it. One is saying, ‘I can’t do it anymore.’ The other one saying, ‘Please, just one more week.’ It’s great it’s all paid off.”
Hamlin got his break when the late J.D. Gibbs, son of Joe Gibbs, saw him shaking down cars — at track-record speed — at a test for the team’s diversity program. Hamlin competed in one season of the Xfinity Series and got seven Cup starts in 2005 after the firing of Jason Leffler. That earned him the full-time role starting in 2006, and he has driven for JGR ever since with 60 victories and seven finishes of second or third in the Cup standings.
Hamlin also co-owns 23XI Racing with basketball legend Michael Jordan. The organization has won nine Cup races in its five seasons. Two of its drivers, Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace, made the playoffs this year.
One of the more well-known drivers thanks to his success, outspokenness and his podcast, Hamlin was one of the faces of the team’s antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR. Joined by Front Row Motorsports, 23XI Racing waged a contentious lawsuit with NASCAR that eventually settled after eight days of trial earlier this month.
Terms were not disclosed but the suing teams received a financial settlement and the charter agreement for all teams was revised to include several provisions the teams had asked for in negotiations but didn’t get when 13 of the 15 organizations agreed to terms in September 2024.
Mary Lou Hamlin attended the opening days of the trial, including during Hamlin’s testimony. She has been one of his biggest supporters and has operated his fan club.
The Hamlin home was a 3,724-square foot home built in 2015 and owned by the driver’s real estate company, according to public records. Several fire departments were dispatched to the home at 6:19 p.m. ET on Sunday and arrived at 6:27 pm. “to find a two-story home mostly engulfed, with flames showing through the entire attic,” according to the news release.
Because of the extent of fire and resulting structural collapse, the cause is currently undetermined. The investigation is ongoing.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him @bobpockrass.
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