Denny Hamlin’s father dies after fire at NASCAR star’s home

NASCAR driver/owner Denny Hamlin’s father, Dennis, died from injuries suffered in a fire at his son’s house, Gaston County Office of Emergency Management and Fire Services announced Monday.

The fire in Stanley, N.C., which was reported at 6:19 p.m. ET on Sunday, led to Dennis Hamlin, 75, and his wife, Mary Lou Hamlin, 69, being hospitalized. Per local officials, Mary Lou remains in critical condition.

“Both suffered catastrophic injuries while escaping the flames,” the Gaston County Office of Emergency Management and Fire Services said in a statement.

Neighbors confirmed to WSOC-TV that Hamlin’s parents lived at the four-bedroom home located in Gaston County. The house is owned by Hamlin’s real estate company, Won One Real Estate.

The home was nearly halfway consumed by the time first responders arrived. The fire took about two hours to extinguish.

“Well, this house was about 40-45 percent involved when we got here. Of course, where we are located there are no hydrants, so all the water had to be trucked in and there were times we would run out of water and we had to wait for more water to get here,” Chief David Toomey of the Lucia Riverbend Fire Department told WSOC. “We had to call for more, additional tankers throughout the county.”

Toomey told The Athletic that firefighters were able to save racing memorabilia and “some really expensive cars” from the flames.

Hamlin, 45, co-owns 23XI Racing with basketball legend Michael Jordan. He finished second in the NASCAR Cup Series standings in 2025 after winning six races, bringing his career total to 60 wins at the sport’s top level.

Earlier this month, Hamlin’s team and Front Row Motorsports settled a multimillion-dollar antitrust lawsuit with NASCAR.

–Field Level Media