Three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin’s father and mother were both recently involved in a house fire on Sunday. Hamlin faced a devastating loss as his father, Dennis Hamlin, unfortunately passed away, while his mother was hospitalized with “life-threatening” injuries. When the firefighters arrived, the house, located in the town of Stanley in Gaston County, was mostly engulfed before it ultimately collapsed from the flames. Among others, Kyle Larson, his 2025 championship rival, sent his thoughts and prayers to the entire Hamlin family.

For the second year, Larson went down to Perth Motorplex to win in the High Limit International event in Australia. Before his race, he posted a tribute to Hamilton’s family on his social media accounts.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Hamlin family and their loved ones,” he wrote.

The interviewer asked Larson during his post-race interview to say a few words about the post. Larson responded by mentioning how good a friend Hamlin is to him and how he knows how much family means to Hamlin.

“That was terrible news. It’s been a rough, troublesome year for him, with a lot of stress and pressure, and to end the year like that is terrible, but he’s a strong human and has a great support behind him, so he’ll be just fine. We’ll be battling against the racetrack soon,” said Larson.

Indeed, it’s been an unbelievably tough year for Hamlin. This year was his best shot at that title, which he desperately wanted to win not for anyone else but for his ailing father. He had dedicated his 60th career win at Las Vegas to him. And now, the fire tragedy is a permanent scar on Hamlin’s heart that will never truly heal.

Speaking of Larson and Hamlin, the competitive pair have shared many great moments on the track, where they are often not friends with each other. This year, the two fought for the NASCAR Cup Championship, which ultimately ended with Larson taking it in the final overtime restart.

NASCAR releases statement after house fire

After the tragic house fire on Sunday at Denny Hamlin’s parents’ house, NASCAR released a statement.

“NASCAR extends its deepest condolences to Denny Hamlin and the entire Hamlin family. Dennis Hamlin instilled a love of racing in his son and sacrificed greatly to develop Denny into a world-class talent in the sport. We also continue to offer our thoughts and prayers to Denny’s mother, Mary Lou, and hope for her full recovery,” the sanctioning body said.

In the Netflix docuseries Full Speed, the Hamlin family was a major focal point, where the show showcased all of the sacrifices they made for Denny. Dennis and Mary Lou got to portray their story once again.

The couple mortgaged their house multiple times, sold off cars and other valuables to make their son’s accolades and dreams come true. Everything they did was to make sure Denny had the chance to succeed, and they did just that.

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Larson keeps going

Meanwhile, Kyle Larson went on to win the High Limit Racing International on Tuesday. He claimed the win after holding off the charge of Corey Day, Dayne Kingshott, and Michael Kofoid in an intense battle on the speedway. “Yung Money” took home $110,000 from the highest-paying sprint car event in Australian history.

“Just Proud of Trevor, Jason Pride, everybody on this car for, you know, giving me great equipment and never quitting to work on it. Just had to execute there and feel like I did that,” said Larson.

Post-win in Australia, for the second time in a row, Larson will fly to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the Shootout. Heat races started this morning for many divisions. He won’t even be the only NASCAR driver on the field. Both Kyle Busch and Ty Gibbs are competing themselves. Busch and his son are competing in a division against each other, and Brexton will even race against Kyle Larson’s son, Owen, too.

Joining the recent High Limit champ and her brother will be his daughter, Audrey, 7. Larson says he’s most excited to see the kids race and participate in a big event.