Denny Hamlin’s Father Dead, Mother Critically Injured After Fire At Their Home

NASCAR star Denny Hamlin’s father Dennis is dead and his mother Mary Lou is in critical condition due after a fire tore through their home in Gaston County, N.C., on Sunday evening.

Officials said they were found outside the structure with “catastrophic injuries” sustained while escaping the fire.

Dennis, 75, had been facing an undisclosed terminal illness that kept him from attending the NASCAR Championship Race, where Denny dominated the event, but finished second to Kyle Larson in the championship after an overtime finish.

The nature and full extent of their injuries has not been disclosed and the cause of the fire remains unknown. Mary Lou, 69, was transferred to the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Burn Center in Winston-Salem for further treatment.

Hamlin often talked about his parents had modest means and put everything they and toward helping him start a racing career.

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“My parents had no money,” he said after getting his 60th career win at Las Vegas in October. “My parents had very normal jobs, but they found a way. That way is a path I would never recommend anybody taking. Every credit card that comes to the mail, okay, we’ll use it.”

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“Asking people to help. Second and third mortgaging the house. All these things,” Hamlin continued. “The arguments I had to listen to … I’m in my room, and my mom and dad are going at it. One is saying, ‘I can’t do it anymore.’ The other one saying, ‘Please, just one more week.’ It’s great it’s all paid off.”

The home was owned by Denny Hamlin’s Won One Real Estate company and was built in 2015. Denny Hamlin has not yet publicly commented on the tragedy.

Along with driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, Denny Hamlin co-owns 23XI Racing, which recently reached a landmark settlement with NASCAR that resulted in sweeping changes regarding the relationship between the teams and the governing body.

It was the second disaster to touch the NASCAR community in as many weeks, following an airplane crash on Dec. 18 that claimed the life of retired driver Greg Biffle, his wife and two children.