NASCAR Driver Denny Hamlin Breaks Silence After Father’s Death in House Fire

NASCAR star Denny Hamlin is speaking out after the death of his father, Dennis Hamlin, from injuries sustained in a house fire.

“Thank you to everyone who has reached out with condolences on my father’s passing,” Denny, 45, wrote via X on Wednesday, December 31. “My mother continues to improve, and our family truly appreciates the outpouring of support and the respect for our privacy during this time.”

Reports began circulating on Monday, December 29, that a fire had broken out in a North Carolina home owned by the race car driver the previous evening.

According to reports, two individuals were outside the home by the time emergency personnel arrived at the scene.

Nearly half of the home was on fire by the time officials got to the site with flames “bursting from the roof and side of the building” at 9:30 p.m., according to The Athletic.

It was later confirmed that Hamlin’s parents, Dennis and Mary Lou Hamlin, resided in the house and were the individuals who had escaped.

Dennis, 75, later died from his injuries. Mary Lou was reportedly “critically injured” in the blaze, according to WCNC, but continues to recover.

The Gaston County home was deemed a total loss, though “some really expensive cars in the garage and some racing memorabilia” were saved, Chief David Toomey of the Lucia Riverbend Fire Department told The Athletic.