LAS VEGAS (AP) Denny Hamlin has been NASCARs main character this season, from his lawsuit against NASCAR and his weekly, opinion-laden podcasts to the defining role he played in setting the final eight drivers in the playoff field.
He could be the busiest driver in the Cup Series; he also welcomed the birth of his third child in June, an occasion that caused him to skip NASCARs race in Mexico City.
Through it all, he has prevailed.
At Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, he became the first driver to lock up a berth in the championship-deciding season finale his first appearance in the winner-take-all race since 2021 with his series-best sixth win of the season. It was win No. 60 for Hamlin, which was always his career goal, and cemented him as not only the winningest driver in Joe Gibbs Racing history but also for Toyota.
It was the most emotional anyone has ever seen Hamlin in his two-plus decades racing in NASCAR. His 75-year-old father, a Virginia native who mortgaged his home multiple times, signed up for every credit card possible and nearly bankrupted the family trying to get his son to the top level of racing.
Hamlin wanted No. 60 for his father. A three-time Daytona 500 winner, he is considered the greatest driver to never win a championship and now wants to give a Cup title to his dad. He was in tears the final three laps, emotional on his radio on his cool-down lap and needed to compose himself on the frontstretch as he collected his checkered flag.
Im probably softer than what I put off. I maybe shed a tear during a love story on a movie or something if its a really emotional moment. Ill never let my kids see it. But I do have feelings. I know its hard to believe, Hamlin said. I just know how much work it took for this to happen. It didnt just happen. It wasnt just luck. It just was so gratifying because of all the things I talked about.
Maybe yall played recreational sports as a kid, had that game-winning moment, but its just so big for me personally because this is what I do, this is what Im paid to do, he continued. It will take a few days for it all to sink in. I knew there was no chance I was holding it back, no chance. Just let it go.
Its been a tough month for Hamlin alongside his fathers health woes:
He spun JGR teammate Ty Gibbs at New Hampshire in a playoff race when he believed Gibbs, a non-title contender and grandson of the team owner, should not have been racing him so hard.
He raced Bubba Wallace, who drives for Hamlin at 23XI Racing (the team co-owned by Michael Jordan that is suing NASCAR), too hard in the closing laps at Kansas in pursuit of No. 60. The battle cost Hamlin the win and Wallace a spot in the round of eight of the playoffs.
Last week at Charlotte, his last-lap pass of Ross Chastain prevented Chastain from eliminating Joey Logano from the round of eight. Logano is the reigning Cup champion and winner of two of the last three titles. Hamlin complained he didnt know the points picture and NASCAR is now eyeing all playoff drivers for possible race manipulation.
Hamlin has tuned it all out in a remarkable way.
Probably nobody has more going on in their life than Denny. But he has an amazing ability I think to kind of handle all of it, all the stuff thats going on in his life right now, Gibbs said. Most of us would say how does he handle that? Im probably one of those.
Chris Gayle, who is in his first season as crew chief for Hamlin and has never advanced to the championship race, says Hamlin has a remarkable ability to compartmentalize.
I dont care whats going on, whatever controversy last week, lawsuit related, hell walk in, OK, its time to go to work, Gayle said. Not once do we have conversations about all the other stuff going on in his life. Not once. I think he does a good job of focusing on the task at hand in front of him.
Hamlin likens all this to three-time NASCAR champion and Hall of Famer Tony Stewart, a former Gibbs driver who always thrived when his personal life was at its most disruptive points.
The cliche things Ive said is thriving in chaos. The record would show it, Hamlin said. Theres absolutely a correlation to the more stuff that goes on, the more that youre going to get out of me in those moments. Its really, really hard to do.
As for the win at Las Vegas that has him back into title contention? Im going to take a mental break from racing a little bit, he said.
It might just be what he needs to finally get that Cup title.
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AP auto racing:
拉斯维加斯（美联社）——丹尼·哈姆林（Denny Hamlin）无疑是本赛季NASCAR赛事中最引人注目的人物。从他对NASCAR提起的诉讼、每周发布观点犀利的播客节目，到他在季后赛中为确定最终八强车手所起的关键作用，无不彰显其核心地位。
他堪称杯赛系列中最忙碌的车手；六月他还迎来了第三个孩子的诞生，为此他缺席了在墨西哥城举行的NASCAR赛事。
历经一切，他最终胜出。
周日在拉斯维加斯赛车场，他以本赛季第六场系列赛胜利（这也是他自2021年以来首次跻身这场赢家通吃的决战），成为首位锁定赛季收官战冠军争夺席位的车手。这场胜利是汉密尔顿职业生涯的第60冠——这始终是他的职业目标，不仅巩固了他作为乔·吉布斯车队史上获胜次数最多的车手地位，同时也为丰田车队创下纪录。
这是人们二十多年来在纳斯卡赛场上所见到的哈姆林（Hamlin）最动情的一刻。他75岁的父亲是弗吉尼亚本地人，曾多次抵押房产、申请所有能办的信用卡，几乎让家庭破产，只为将儿子送上顶级赛车舞台。
哈姆林选择60号赛车是为了致敬父亲。这位三届戴托纳500大赛冠军虽被公认为无冕之王，如今却渴望为父亲赢下一座冠军奖杯。最后三圈他泪洒赛场，冷静圈时通过无线电传来的声音哽咽难抑，直至冲线挥动方格旗时，仍需在前直道上平复情绪。
哈姆林表示："我可能比外表看起来更感性。看到电影里动人的爱情故事或类似情节时，如果情感特别强烈，我可能会落泪——当然绝不会让孩子们发现。但我确实有柔软的一面，尽管这听起来难以置信。"他补充道，"我深知这一切成就背后的艰辛付出。这不是偶然，也不靠运气。正因为经历过那些我谈过的种种，此刻才倍感欣慰。"
“也许你们小时候参加过休闲运动，有过决胜时刻，但对我来说意义非凡，因为这是我的职业，是我的工作，”他继续说道。“我需要几天时间才能完全消化这一切。我知道自己根本无法抑制情绪，根本不可能。那就尽情释放吧。”
对哈姆林而言，这一个月异常艰难——父亲的健康问题更是雪上加霜：
在新罕布什尔州的一场季后赛中，他认为队友泰·吉布斯（车队老板的孙子且非冠军争夺者）本不该对他如此穷追不舍，于是导致后者失控打转。
在堪萨斯站最后几圈争夺第60名时，他与23XI车队的巴布·华莱士（该车队由迈克尔·乔丹共同拥有，目前正起诉纳斯卡）展开激烈缠斗。这次较量不仅让汉密尔顿错失冠军，也导致华莱士无缘季后赛八强席位。
上周在夏洛特站，他（指代前文未提及的某车手）最后一圈超越罗斯·查斯坦的举动，使得查斯坦未能将乔伊·洛加诺淘汰出八强赛。洛加诺是现任杯赛总冠军，也是过去三届赛事中两度夺冠的得主。哈姆林抱怨称自己不了解积分形势，而NASCAR目前正对所有季后赛车手进行监控，以防可能存在的比赛操控行为。
哈姆林以一种非凡的方式屏蔽了所有干扰。
吉布斯表示："可能没人比丹尼的生活更忙碌了。但我认为他有一种惊人的能力，能够从容应对当前生活中的一切事务。我们大多数人都会问他是怎么做到的？我大概也是其中之一。"
克里斯·盖尔（Chris Gayle）本赛季首次担任哈姆林的赛事总监，此前从未晋级过冠军争夺战。他表示，哈姆林具备非凡的专注力，能够将不同事务清晰划分。
盖尔表示："无论发生什么，无论上周有什么争议或诉讼相关的事情，他都会走进来说‘好了，该开始工作了’。我们从未讨论过他生活中的其他事情，一次都没有。我认为他在专注于眼前任务这方面做得很好。"
哈姆林将这一切比作三届NASCAR冠军及名人堂成员托尼·斯图尔特——这位吉布斯车队前车手总能在个人生活最动荡的时期迸发出最佳状态。
我曾说过一句老套的话——在混乱中茁壮成长。比赛记录会证明这一点，”哈姆林说道，“事情越多，我在关键时刻的爆发力就越强，这绝对存在关联。但这真的非常非常难做到。”
谈及拉斯维加斯站的胜利让他重回冠军争夺行列时，他表示：我会暂时从比赛中抽离，给自己一段心理调整期。
这或许正是他最终捧起冠军奖杯所需的关键契机。
美联社赛车新闻：
