Denny Hamlin through the years
By RJ Kraft | Saturday, February 17, 2018
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Denny Hamlin made his NASCAR national series debut in 2004 at Indianapolis Raceway Park in a NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series event. He finished 10th in the race. In that same year, he made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut with Joe Gibbs Racing. He made his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut in 2005 at Kansas with JGR.
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Denny Hamlin's car owner J.D. Gibbs (seen here in 2009) is credited by the driver with giving him his first opportunity at Joe Gibbs Racing. In a Twitter video in 2017, Hamlin said, 'he's the one who actually gave me my first opportunity with Joe Gibbs Racing. We went to a test at Hickory Motor Speedway, called his dad up, they signed me about 13 years ago.'
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A sweep of the Pocono races from the pole position highlighted Hamlin's rookie year in 2006. Those two wins along with 20 top 10s saw Hamlin finish third in the season standings. Hamlin also took home the Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors for the 2006 season.
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Hamlin won at New Hampshire in the summer of 2007 and spent much of the summer stretch running second in the standings. However, two finishes of 29th-or-worse in the first three playoff races effectively ended his title hopes.
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In Hamlin's career, he has had quite the success on the short tracks of the schedule. He even hosted the Denny Hamlin Short-Track Challenge for several years. In 2008, he scored his first Martinsville win in the sport's top series. For his career, he has five wins at 'the Paperclip' – his most at any track on the circuit.
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The 2009 season saw Hamlin earn his first win at his home track of Richmond. He dominated the fall race, leading 299 of a possible 400 laps for the victory. He won four races that season and led his most laps in a season (1380).
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The 2010 season marked Hamlin's best to date. He won eight races covering nearly every variety of track type on the schedule. Hamlin also led in the point standings for the first time in his career. Entering the final race of the year at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Hamlin carried a 15-point lead but ended up 39 points behind champion Jimmie Johnson (following Johnson’s runner-up and Hamlin's 14th-place result). The runner-up finish in the standings marked the closest Hamlin has come to a championship.
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A win at Martinsville in a 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race put Hamlin in select company as a driver to win in all three NASCAR national series. To date, he is one of 31 drivers to accomplish this.
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The 2012 season saw Hamlin notch five race wins including a victory in the Bristol night race that summer. The season also marked the third time in four years that Hamlin led over 1,000 laps.
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In 2013, Hamlin and girlfriend Jordan Fish welcomed daughter Taylor into the world. She has been a fixture by her dad’s side at the track nearly ever since (seen here in 2015).
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The early-season action in 2013 involved an incident with Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano at Bristol. The following week at Auto Club Speedway the two raced each hard in the closing lap for the win when contact sent Hamlin into the inside wall. The JGR driver suffered a back injury that kept him sidelined for four races. This is a look at the wrecked No. 11 after the California race.
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The 2013 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series fall race Hamlin ran at Martinsville saw the Air Jordan logo on the hood of his truck. The Jumpman logo has been a staple on Hamlin’s fire suit in recent years. Hamlin is known to be a big basketball fan, hosting the 'Hoop Group' (a basketball league involving NASCAR folks) at his home court and also is a member of the 'Golf Guys.' (a golf group of NASCAR folks)
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Entering the 2013 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Hamlin had yet to notch a win on the season – something he had done in every full-time season. Hamlin got the victory in Miami, leading 72 laps to keep his victory streak in tact for another season.
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The 2014 playoffs saw tempers flare aplenty with Hamlin very heated with Brad Keselowski following the Charlotte playoff race. Hamlin found success in navigating the new elimination-style format making it through to the Championship 4. Hamlin held the lead with nine laps to go but couldn't hold off eventual champion Kevin Harvick on fresher tires. He finished third behind Harvick and Ryan Newman in the standings.
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Hamlin qualified for the 2015 playoffs with a win at Martinsville and made an early statement at Chicago. He came alive late thanks to a gutsy call to stay out following a late caution. He grabbed the lead with five laps to go and held on for the win. The victory locked him into the Round of 12 and came 12 days after he tore the ACL in his right leg playing basketball. He went on to be eliminated from the playoffs in the Round of 12.
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Denny Hamlin won the sport's crown jewel event to open the 2016 season by capturing the Daytona 500. Hamlin surged late to beat Martin Truex Jr.’s by 0.010 – the closest-finish in the event. The victory snapped a 23-year drought for JGR in the race as well. A letter Hamlin wrote in elementary school that his mom posted to Twitter the next week revealed more on his aspirations to win the sport's biggest race at a young age.
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Coming into the 2016 season, Hamlin had yet to win on a road course. He nearly won at Sonoma but came on the wrong side of a last-lap battle with Tony Stewart. At Watkins Glen though, Hamlin would not be denied. He made it into the Round of 8 of the playoffs before being eliminated.
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Denny Hamlin had been vocal about not being a fan of lobsters. So following his July victory at New Hampshire, crew chief Mike Wheeler had some fun at the driver's expense in Victory Lane as a lobster is the traditional prize for the winning driver.
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In August of 2017, Hamlin and girlfriend Jordan Fish welcomed daughter Molly Gold Hamlin into the fold. Daughter Taylor is seen here holding the baby.
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Battling for a win and a locked in spot for the Championship 4, Hamlin and Chase Elliott made contact on Lap 498 that would have a ripple effect for the rest of the season. Hamlin took the bumper to the No. 24 and sent the then-leader Elliott up the track, leading to a spin and a caution. Elliott confronted Hamlin after the race on the track and the pair had words.
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Hamlin and Chase Elliott found themselves racing each other at Phoenix. Hamlin had led 193 laps and looked to be in position to advance to the Championship 4. The team raced side-by-side with some contact and the racing eventually forced Hamlin out of room and into the wall. A tire rub later sent Hamlin into the wall and ended his title dreams for the season. But this rivalry is sure to continue into 2018 as Hamlin said during Champion’s Week: 'The way we race each other has been set and will be set for a while.'
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In 2018, Hamlin earned four Busch Pole Awards and did make the playoffs. However, the 2018 season was his first winless full-time campaign in the sport's top series.
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Hamlin got the 2019 Monster Energy Series season off to a great start by winning the Daytona 500 -- his second triumph in the "Great American Race." Hamlin dedicated the victory to J.D. Gibbs, the son of team owner Joe Gibbs who passed away earlier in the year. The ultimate tribute was made even more special when Joe Gibbs Racing finished 1-2-3 in the race as Kyle Busch and Erik Jones came home second and third, respectively.
