Denny Hamlin isn’t talking about pressure this week. He’s talking about perspective.
At 44 years old, the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran has seen just about everything in NASCAR’s biggest stage. Triumph, heartbreak, you name it.
But now, as he arrives at Phoenix Raceway for yet another shot at the one thing missing from his résumé, Hamlin’s thoughts drift somewhere more personal.
To his dad.
“I know for a fact this is my last chance for my dad to see it. I don’t want him going and never getting to see the moment.”
Hamlin hasn’t taken that for granted, visiting his father when he can, despite preparing for the biggest race of his life.
“It was fantastic,” Hamlin said. “To be able to just kind of during my weekly routine going over there and seeing him, it just makes the moments happier, right? We’re not talking about what could happen, we talked about what did happen. Certainly at that point it was a great moment for us to be able to share that time. Most of the time I try to make sure our baby is with him, he gets to spend as much time with him as possible.”
It’s a small window into a side of Hamlin most don’t see, the son who still makes time for his father in the middle of a championship chase, the racer who still knows who helped make it all possible.
Hamlin has been chasing this championship for nearly two decades, and the journey has tested every ounce of his resolve.
He’s been the villain, the fan favorite, the one who “should have had one by now.” But in this moment, his tone feels softer.
There’s gratitude for his team, for his crew chiefs over the years, and for the people who’ve stuck beside him.
He remembers early days when Chris Gayle—now the leader of his No. 11 car—went with him to Maine to look at the very first truck he’d race in NASCAR.
He laughs about that memory now, realizing just how long this road has been.
And yet, after 700-plus Cup starts and 60 wins, Hamlin knows what this weekend could mean. Not just for his career, but for those closest to him.
“It’s definitely bigger than all of them,” he said of what a title would represent. “I think certainly to me the most emotional, sentimental win I had was my last. I just can’t think of another that meant as much to me as that one. Certainly this weekend could trump that. I’m aware of the moment and the gravity of the situation.”
This time, he’s not forcing it. He’s not overthinking setups or chasing perfection.
Winning Las Vegas a few weeks ago locked him into Phoenix early, giving him time to prepare and to breathe.
“It’s allowed this week, I’m not having to cram for a test,” Hamlin said. “That way, this week is less stress-oriented. It’s more relaxing and fun. That to me has been the biggest thing that I feel like is helpful to me, is getting in a good mental space.”
Still, even in his calm, there’s an underlying understanding: the window is closing.
“I think it would probably be me just simply because of the time left,” Hamlin admitted when asked which of the Championship 4 feels the most pressure. “Is this my last opportunity or not? You always have to seize the moment right there in front of you.”
That moment, if it finally comes Sunday, won’t just belong to Denny Hamlin.
It’ll belong to the kid from Virginia who watched his dad wrench on cars and believed this life was possible. It’ll belong to the family that’s followed every lap, every heartbreak, every almost. It’ll belong to the man who still drops by his dad’s house during the week, because no matter how many trophies he chases, that connection is what really matters.
And if Hamlin finally wins his first Cup Series championship at Phoenix, he already knows who it’s for.
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