Denny Hamlin
Driver

Just four years ago, Denny Hamlin was racing Late Model stock cars at short tracks throughout his home state of Virginia.  Now, he’s in his third year as a full-time driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), while also moonlighting in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Hamlin has enjoyed mammoth success in both divisions despite his youth.  The 27-year-old from Chesterfield, Va., comes into 2008 with three wins in Sprint Cup and five in the Nationwide Series. 

In his two years in Sprint Cup, Hamlin has qualified for the Chase for the Championship each season, finishing a career-best third in points in 2006 en route to rookie of the year honors.  Hamlin was the first rookie to ever qualify for the Chase, and he gave a glimpse of his promise when he won the non-points Budweiser Shootout at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway to kick-off his freshman campaign.  A season sweep of the two races at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway followed – both of which were won from the pole – along with a third pole in September in front of his hometown fans at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

Hamlin showed no signs of a sophomore jinx in 2007, as he began the season with a string of strong finishes that put him into the top-five in points.  He scored his third career Sprint Cup win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July, and with 12 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes, Hamlin was assured of a coveted Chase spot for the second straight year.

Hamlin’s abilities have been on display in the Nationwide Series too.  He finished fifth in points during his rookie year in 2005 thanks to 11 top-10 finishes and his ability to bring home a clean race car week in and week out.  The impressive learning curve led JGR officials to run him in seven Sprint Cup races at the end of 2005.  Hamlin wasted no time in making the most of the opportunity, as he posted three top-10s in seven starts and won the pole at Phoenix International Raceway.  The audition was a successful one, for JGR named Hamlin to pilot the No. 11 car in Sprint Cup full-time in 2006.

While Hamlin had reached the pinnacle of NASCAR, he continued to run a full slate of Nationwide Series races.  The immersion paid off, as Hamlin scored two wins and six poles in 2006, with his 12 top-fives and 23 top-10s placing him fourth in the Nationwide Series’ season-ending point standings.

The regimen of Cup Series races kept Hamlin from running a full Nationwide Series schedule in 2007, but one would hardly know it by glancing through his stats.  In 22 races, Hamlin won three times, nabbed five poles and picked up 11 top-fives and 16 top-10s to allow JGR’s No. 20 car to finish a company-best second in the season-ending owner standings.

While Hamlin is now racing at the highest levels of NASCAR, he has been winning races since the early age of seven when he began his career in go-karts.

By age 12, he was dominating in the Junior Restricted League, and over time, earned the titles Amelia Motor Raceway Track Champion (Junior Restricted), Virginia Dirt Karting Association State Champion (Junior Champ) and World Karting Association Virginia Dirt Series State Champion (Junior Champ).  Hamlin finished his karting career at age 15 with 127 feature wins and five championships in three classes. 

In 1997, a 16-year-old Hamlin hit the track for his first season competing in Mini Stocks at Langley (Va.) Speedway.  It was a resounding success, as Hamlin became the youngest driver to win a Mini Stock track championship at Langley, an effort that earned him the rookie of the year title.  He still holds the Mini Stock track record at Langley with a time of 18.025. 

By 2000, Hamlin was again a rookie of the year, this time at Richmond’s Southside Speedway in the Late Model division.  He notched 11 top-fives and 18 top-10s that season, ranking him among the top-five in the final point standings.  Just three years later in 2003, Hamlin celebrated his finest season, posting 25 wins, 30 poles and 33 top-five finishes en route to the track championship at Southern National Raceway Park in Kenly, N.C. 

From 2002 to 2004, Hamlin won nearly 50 races in Late Model competition.  The prowess he displayed in the grassroots NASCAR Weekly Series is what caught the attention of JGR.

On Aug. 6, 2004, Hamlin made a double debut by making his first start for JGR and his first start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis.  A strong 10th-place finish led JGR to place him in a Nationwide Series car at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway three months later.  In that debut on Nov. 13, Hamlin finished an impressive eighth.

From the karting tracks of Virginia to the elite Sprint Cup division, Hamlin has proven he can succeed at any level.

Currently single, Hamlin resides in Cornelius, N.C.

from the JGR Press Kit

Page last updated: February 26, 2008.