LAS VEGAS — Fathers and sons tie past with present, providing the pivotal links in NASCAR through the Pettys, Allisons, Bakers, Jarretts, Earnhardts and Elliotts.
But such a relationship is just as strong for a son whose father didn’t compete in NASCAR but passed down a love of auto racing.
Denny Hamlin completed a dramatic comeback with tears, a quivering voice and a dedication to his ailing father Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“I want to say hi to my dad,” Hamlin said as his voice nearly cracked in his interview on USA Network.
Joe Gibbs Racing star rallies from a mediocre pit stop to earn win after the final restart.
It was his father who got Hamlin into motorsports and made the financial sacrifices to keep his son racing until it became too expensive, beginning Hamlin’s path to Sunday’s emotional moment.
After passing Kyle Larson and streaking past teammate Chase Briscoe for the lead within the final five laps, Hamlin became the first driver to secure a spot in next month’s championship race in Phoenix. It will be the 44-year-old’s fifth such appearance as he seeks his first Cup title.
Hamlin’s victory tied him with Kevin Harvick for 10th on the all-time Cup victory list at 60 but it wouldn’t have happened without his family’s support and that of another son and father.
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J.D. Gibbs, the late son of car owner Joe Gibbs, pushed his father to hire Hamlin more than 20 years ago. J.D. Gibbs had been at a test to see other drivers but was impressed by Hamlin, who was there setting up the car for others to run.
Eventually, J.D. Gibbs convinced his father to sign Hamlin, who has driven for no other Cup team in his 719 Cup starts.
“My dad said to J.D. a long time ago that ‘He’s yours now. I got him to this point but look after (him),’” Hamlin said Sunday. “J.D. was my road dad, my track dad. When J.D. passed, it’s more of Joe now.
“I think that father figures are really, really important to make sure you do the right things. They’re the ones that kind of keep you in the lane of life. They are your bumpers. I know I do outlandish things and say outlandish things at times, but I always know that eventually I have to answer to the higher power. And on earth here it is Joe. So I always appreciate that lets me be me. He never asks me to change and probably should at times.
“I see him as family. The relationship and bond is really, really close. So I’m just very grateful for what his family has done for me. … Everything I got I owe to the Gibbs family.
“I’ve got two dads. One is at home and one is here.”
Joe Gibbs Racing star qualifies for Championship 4 with his 60th career victory.
Hamlin gives his father another chance to see his son win a championship. But Hamlin’s quest also helps keep JD Gibbs’ memory alive. J.D. Gibbs died in January 2019 at age 49.
A month later Hamlin won the second of his three Daytona 500s.
“The race after J.D. went to be with the Lord, it is for me the greatest sporting evert I was ever in,” said Joe Gibbs, a three-time Super Bowl winning coach who is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and NASCAR Hall of Fame.
The celebration that took place Sunday seemed intended for another driver before Hamlin’s late charge.
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Briscoe led on the final restart with 14 laps but he had only two fresh tires. Larson, who was on four fresh tires, moved to second 12 laps from the finish. Hamlin got to third a lap later and that complicated Larson’s bid for the win.
“I was trying all I could to take (Hamlin’s) lines away while also staying on offense,” Larson said. “It was tough to manage from my position because he was quite a bit faster than me. I was quite a bit faster than (Briscoe).”
With his 60th career victory, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver earns his fifth berth in the Championship 4.
Hamlin ran along the wall to pass Larson and briefly got by before Larson pulled back in front of him briefly.
“He still got to my outside in (Turns) 3 and 4,” Larson said. “I drove him really hard in (Turns) 1 and 2 and cleared myself off of 2 and easily could have crashed myself, so I was being pretty risky on my end.”
But it wasn’t enough. Hamlin got by Larson and then charged past Briscoe with four laps to go.
“I did say a prayer into (Turn) 3 with two to go for no caution,” Hamlin said. “I try not to ask for prayers for things that really don’t matter, like competition (smiling). I needed to see this one through all the way. So I borrowed, asked for a favor on this one.”
When the checkered flag waved, Hamlin had secured the emotional win.
He later saw his father texted him. Hamlin looks forward to the conversation they will have.
What does Hamlin plan to tell his dad when they talk?
“Just thank him,” Hamlin said, “for sacrificing really his and my mom’s life to chase around my dreams.”
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