In 2013, Denny Hamlin pulled out of his testing sessions for NASCAR’s Gen 6 car at Daytona for personal reasons. His girlfriend, Jordan Fish, was due to give birth at the time and Hamlin didn’t want to miss it at any cost.
Fish gave birth to their daughter, Taylor Hamlin, on January 20th, 2013. Leading up to that, Hamlin didn’t want to be out of North Carolina to miss the birth of his baby. Thus, he was at Daytona International Speedway for just one day before heading out to be with his wife.
Hamlin spoke about cutting short the tests at Daytona on January 10, after the day’s testing. He said (via USAToday),
“I didn’t want to leave her home alone at any point during the night. These things can come at any time and she’s due right about now.”
Hamlin’s second daughter, Molly, was born in 2017.
Earlier this year in February, Denny Hamlin and Jordan Fish announced their engagement after many years of dating. On the Instagram post announcing their engagement, Fish took a playful jibe at Hamlin’s lack of championships in NASCAR as she joked that she now has more rings than her fiancee.
Denny Hamlin, all time-great or a modern-great in NASCAR?
While many regard Denny Hamlin as a true modern great of NASCAR, his place in the sport’s history books still has one big lingering absence, a championship victory. Since his debut as a full-timer in 2006 with Joe Gibbs Racing, Hamlin has time and time again showed his talent and prowess as a championship contender.
However, while he has come close numerous times to winning the elusive Cup title, he has never been able to cross that final hurdle. Having said that, his career is laced with multiple crowning moments.
Notably, he has 54 wins at the highest level of the sport, which ties him with Lee Petty in 13th place on the all-time list. Hamlin has also won the Daytona 500, the biggest and most coveted race in NASCAR, thrice. He also has three Southern 500 wins, a Coke 600 win, and the most wins at Pocono and Kansas in NASCAR’s history.
Apart from his exploits as a driver, in the last few years, Hamlin has also proved his prowess as an owner in the garage. Hamlin’s team, 23XI Racing, which he co-owns with NBA legend Michael Jordan, has quickly established itself as one of the fastest-growing forces in the sport. The team debuted in the 2021 Daytona 500 as a one-car organization.
But since then, Denny Hamlin’s 23XI has covered a lot of ground in NASCAR. It’s currently a two-car organization which is heavily rumored to become a three-car team in 2025. Hamlin’s driver Tyler Reddick also won the 2024 NASCAR Regular Season Championship along with making the Championship 4 at Phoenix earlier this season.
All in all, Denny Hamlin has proved his mettle both as a driver and as an owner in NASCAR. But some would argue that what still separates him from the all-time greatness in the sport is his lack of a championship.
