NASCAR's Denny Hamlin - From boy to Superstar

By Chris Dicicco

James Dennis Hamlin Jr. or better known as Denny Hamlin, was born on November 18, 1980 was born in Tampa, Florida but spent most of his childhood in Chesterfield, Virginia. He started racing go karts when he was 7 years old in 1988. He was burning up the go karting tracks in Richmond, Virginia. By the time he was 16, Hamlin had switched to sturdier racing cars. He was racing stock cars and at his first race at Langley Speedway, saw him winning the pole position and the race. From then on, Hamlin raced in the Grand Stock division in 1998 which then spurred him on to Late Model Stock Cars in the year 2000.

Hamlin’s lucky break came when he was 24 and racing in the Late Model Stock Cars full time. It was there that Hamlin garnered the attention of Joe Gibbs Racing who then decided to sign him up for a driver development program. The same year, Hamlin joined the major-league NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races and the NASCAR Busch Series at Darlington Speedway. He managed to secure an 8th place finish and with that, a stable footing in Joe Gibbs Racing. Even though he started at 27th after an unfortunate qualifying session, Hamlin’s skills took over during the actual race and showed Joe Gibbs Racing that he was indeed a good investment.

Hamlin ended up replacing Mike Bliss in 2005 for the Busch Series and he ended the race with a steady 5th spot in the final championship. He also was able to compete in his first NEXTEL Cup Series after which he made his Cup debut after replacing Jason Leffler. He went on to finish the Cup season with 3 top 10 finishes in seven starts and one pole at Phoenix International Raceway. Hamlin had his first full season in the NASCAR Nextel Cup series in 2006 and he also drover the Busch Series. During the NEXTEL Cup, he managed to beat the previous season’s pole winners in the 2006 Budweiser Shootout and in doing such, he made history as being the first Rookie of the year candidate to win such an honor.

While during a break at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Hamlin injured his left hand between the pinkie and wrist which brought about 19 stitches as a result from goofing around with some of his crew members. However, despite the serious injury, he still managed to bag the second spot at the Crown Royal 400. He then went on to win his first career Cup Series at the Pocono 500 and he also managed to bring home his second career pole. His second career win was achieved in the same year in the Pennsylvania 500, Pocono Raceway and again made history for being only the 2nd rookie in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup history to get both trophies during the same season.

During the same Cup series, Hamlin scored the Raybestos Rookie of the year with a third finish in the final cup standings. He was in the NASCAR record books once again for being able to score the highest ever points finish for a rookie which then led to him being the first rookie to qualify for the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup. He has made many important figures in the NASCAR world to sit up and take notice. His excellent performance is also bringing on the heat on his other rival drivers.

Hamlin now lives in Cornelius, North Carolina to be close to the tracks. When he is off track, he spends time with his friends, plays online games and the occasional game of golf.

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