Denny Hamlin hasn’t lost his competitive edge. Simply put, it has been dormant for a few months—and understandably so.
In 2025, Hamlin, 45, made a wholehearted effort to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship. His preparation was superb, and so was his performance in the title event at Phoenix Raceway.
Hamlin led 208 of 319 laps, won the second stage and was three laps away from a dominant victory when the championship was snatched from his grasp by an untimely caution.
After that disappointment came heartache, when Hamlin’s father, Dennis Hamlin, died from injuries suffered in a housefire on Dec. 28. His mother, Mary Lou Hamlin, was severely injured in the blaze.
As a consequence, Hamlin is working his way into the current season, but he’s confident he’ll be ready by the time the new 10-race Chase championship format arrives in September.
“We’re kind of getting back into the swing of things,” Hamlin said Wednesday during DAYTONA 500 Media Day interviews at Daytona International Speedway. “Certainly, would be lying if I said I was as highly motivated as I have been in years past, but I think that—I said it last week—it would just take some time.
“And I think that every day at the race track is certainly getting there. I know I’m way too competitive to just go through the motions. So, as we get on the racetrack, go through practices and qualifying, we’re slowly getting there.”
Recently, Hamlin has leaned heavily on team owner Joe Gibbs—never more so than the night his father died.
“I mean, Joe beat me to the hospital the night of,” Hamlin said. “The guy is just unbelievable in how he is as a leader, and obviously he has been through it (with the loss of sons J.D. Gibbs and Coy Gibbs).
“So, my connection really on that personal level is more so with Joe, and it’s always been that way since he kind of took over as my at-track dad.”
No doubt Hamlin’s competitive nature will kick in on Sunday when he tries to win his fourth DAYTONA 500, a number only Richard Petty (seven victories) and Cale Yarborough (four victories) have accomplished.
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