Denny Hamlin recalls incredible interaction with hometown NASCAR fan after heartbreaker

Denny Hamlin shared a great story about a recent interaction he had with a fan after falling short of winning the NASCAR Cup Series Championship. On the Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin recalled the interaction, which happened in his hometown in Virginia.

“I went to a breakfast place on the way to the airport,” Hamlin said while also mentioning he saw this guy there with his wife and mother. “As we get ready to leave, his mother is crying. I can see her kind of looking over, and she’s crying and whatnot. He was just telling me, ‘My son would just absolutely die to be here. We were somewhere this past weekend. I remember we told them to turn the race on, and everybody just be quiet because we want to focus on this race during this time.’

“He was just saying how happy his son was and his family was that things were going so well, and then equally how crushed his son was moments right after. But then he told me how much joy he brought his family during that time. His very simple message to me is that your racing brings my family joy.”

Denny Hamlin wanted to win the NASCAR championship for his team and family

As much as Denny Hamlin wanted to win the title for himself, he wanted to win it for the people who have supported him over the years. After sharing the story about the fan, Hamlin then revealed that he spoke to his team and family after the race at Phoenix earlier this month and told them that he “hated” he didn’t win it for them.

“It doesn’t change what I think about me, whether I have the trophy or not, I knew on that day I was better than everyone else was,” Hamlin said. “My car was better than everyone else. We did what we were supposed to do.”

Hamlin was one of the four drivers competing for a championship at Phoenix on Nov. 2. He was leading the other three drivers (Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Chase Briscoe) late in the race, but when Byron hit the wall on Lap 310, that led to a caution, and Larson led the four drivers after the restart and won his second title.

“Did the best I could,” Hamlin said after the race. “Everything I really prepared for happened today. I felt like we responded. Even losing track position at one point, just battling back. Did really well on restarts. Hadn’t been good on restarts for the bulk of the year.”