LAS VEGAS — Denny Hamlin celebrated his 60th career NASCAR Cup Series victory with a legendary burnout and tears.
“I knew there was no chance I was holding it back,’ he said after winning the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a dramatic surge over the final 10 laps on Sunday, Oct. 12. “Just let it go.’’
The more Hamlin shared, the clearer it became those were not simply tears of joy.
Hamlin said his parents almost lost the family’s home because they sacrificed so much supporting Hamlin’s dream of becoming a NASCAR driver. Hamlin also relayed that his 75-year-old father is ill.
“He’s the one that got me into racing and just took me to a racetrack when I was five and then made all the sacrifices financially to keep me going,’’ Hamlin said during his post-race news conference. “Sold everything they had and we almost lost our house a couple times and just tried to keep it all going. And so I’m glad he was able to see 60.’
Nearly losing the family home wasn’t the only painful memory Hamlin shared.
“I mean, the arguments I had to listen to, I’m in my room,’’ he said. “My mom and dad are just going at it, one saying, ‘I can’t do it anymore.’ The other saying, ‘Please, just one more week.’
“It’s great that it’s all paid off and certainly they’ve got the life now that they deserve before I decided to do this.’’
The sacrifices have led Hamlin to not only to 60 career victories, including three at the Daytona 500, but credentials that surely will get him inducted into the Hall of Fame. But Hamlin did not endorse the path his family took to get him to this point.
“My parents had no money,’ Hamlin said. “My parents had very normal jobs, but they found a way. Now that way is a path that I would never recommend anybody taking. It’s every credit card that comes through the mail – OK, we’ll use it. Asking people to help, and second and third mortgage on the house and just all these things.’’
Hamlin had another reason to be emotional over Sunday’s momentous 60th victory. It guaranteed Hamlin a berth in the NASCAR Championship 4, where he will compete against three yet-to-be-determined drivers in the championship race at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 2 as he seeks his first career Cup title a few weeks before his 45th birthday.
‘I just know how much work it took for this to happen,” he said.
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