Not even a tough offseason could keep Denny Hamlin down

It would be understandably difficult for most people to get out of bed in the morning after going through what Denny Hamlin went through in a two-month span from November to December 2025. 

The NASCAR Cup Series driver heartbreakingly lost the 2025 championship and saw the team he co-owns in 23XI Racing be at the forefront of an intense legal battle with NASCAR. 

Hamlin also lost his father, Dennis, who was battling a terminal illness, in a house fire in December. His mother was sent to the hospital. 

And yet, with his daughters and mother by his side, Hamlin rolled into victory lane at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, having led 134 of 267 laps in the Pennzoil 400 to take his first victory of 2026 and the 61st of his Cup Series career. 

The victory gives Hamlin sole possession of 10th on NASCAR's all-time wins list.

It was an emotional victory for Hamlin, who dedicated his October 2025 win at Las Vegas, which punched his ticket to NASCAR's championship race, to his then-ill father.

Win at Las Vegas proves Denny Hamlin's greatness

Hamlin is also now only the fifth driver to win a Cup Series race in 20 different seasons, joining Richard Petty, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt and Bobby Allison.

"There were a lot of different things through the offseason that were really, really tough," Hamlin said Sunday. "I mean, I showed up at Bowman Gray. I ran the race. Still just up until a couple weeks ago, not fully locked in to what I need to do, got to do. That’s just natural. I mean, everyone has to go through stuff."

"I think for me ultimately, I said it before, promise to Joe Gibbs, that family, that I’d fulfill my obligations to them. Then the thrill of going out there and getting more wins. That to me is what drives me. It makes me work as hard as I do at this."