Denny Hamlin NASCAR career and championship status

NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin has been honored at Richmond Raceway with a permanent tribute to his family, specifically his parents, Mary Lou and the late Dennis Hamlin. This follows the death of Dennis Hamlin, who passed away at age 75 from injuries sustained in a house fire in late 2025. Richmond Raceway installed a commemorative bench and plaque in Section H, Row 11, titled ‘In Honor of the Hamlin Family. Forever Rooted in Virginia.’

As Hamlin approaches his planned retirement at the end of 2027, he has expressed goals to win in all three of NASCAR’s top series. Having already achieved a win in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, he intends to secure a victory in a Truck Series race and a final win in the Cup Series before exiting the sport.

In the current 2026 season, Hamlin secured the pole position for the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, marking his sixth pole of the season. William Byron secured his first Cup Series victory of the season at the event, leading 362 of 500 laps for Hendrick Motorsports. Byron’s teammate Chase Elliott finished second, while Ty Gibbs took third. The race was characterized by long green-flag runs, including the longest stretch without a caution at Martinsville since 1987.

Championship leader Kyle Larson finished ninth after a difficult race involving pit strategy. Despite this, Larson maintains a 67-point lead over Christopher Bell and a 70-point lead over Denny Hamlin heading into the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Larson requires only nine points in the final race to clinch his third career Cup Series title. The Martinsville race also involved controversy, as Carson Hocevar allegedly performed multiple brake checks on Austin Cindric, causing heavy nose damage to Cindric’s car and forcing an early exit for the Team Penske driver.