You love to see it.
Denny Hamlin just scored his first NASCAR Cup Series win this season after taking the checkered flag at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – his first win since a devastating house fire claimed the life of his father and left his mother hospitalized back in December.
And to make things even more emotional, his mom Mary Lou was there to celebrate with him.
Hamlin had a strong car all day, but a speeding penalty on pit road on lap 84 left him back in the pack and forced him to make his way back to the front.
It turned out not to be an issue though, because the #11 car for Joe Gibbs Racing proved to be the best car on the track and Denny quickly made his way back to the front of the field, leading a race-high 134 laps en route to a victory in the Pennzoil 400.
Ironically, the win came at the same track where Hamlin had scored his 60th Cup Series win last fall, an emotional win as he spoke about what it meant for his ailing father to be able to see him reach a milestone in his career:
Tragically, Hamlin’s father Dennis was killed back in December in a house fire that also left his mother Mary Lou in the hospital.
But today, after an impressive burnout from Denny, he was able to celebrate with his mother and family in another emotional scene.
Denny was first joined by his daughter Taylor, who was wiping tears from her eyes as she hugged her dad. And then Mary Lou made her way to the track to join her son, who choked up as he spoke about what the win meant to him:
“This is a family sport, and my family obviously had so much sacrifice to help me get here. … It’s great that mom gets to see us. I know dad’s still saying, ‘That’s my boy.'”
It’s great to see Mary Lou back at the track and celebrating with her son after all the family has been through over the past few months – not even counting Denny’s heartbreaking loss in the championship race at Phoenix last fall.
There was a lot of talk about where he would even return this season after losing his father, who he had hoped would be around to see him win his first championship. But Hamlin says getting back in the car has helped him regain his passion for racing:
“I know it took a few weeks to feel like driving, and over the last couple weeks I’ve definitely regained my love of it, got refocused. These are great opportunities for us.”
Hamlin has spent much of his career playing the role of a villain in NASCAR, but it’s hard not to cheer for him these days knowing that he’s coming to the end of his racing career and still chasing his first championship, competing at such a high level despite all the heartbreak he’s had to deal with.
I definitely never thought I would be cheering for Hamlin, but even I managed to crack a smile today when he got to celebrate with his mom.
That’s what it’s all about.
