Denny Hamlin had an emotional evening in Las Vegas on Sunday, with his family in town to see his 61st NASCAR Cup Series victory.
The Joe Gibbs Racing veteran was joined by his mother and one of his daughters during his post-race interview on the track, as he celebrated his first victory since the tragic death of his father late last year.
Hamlin admitted that it took a while to want to get back behind the wheel after his championship heartbreak at Phoenix in November, followed by his family tragedy the following month.
He admitted that he's started to get his love of the sport back in the last couple of weeks though, and paid tribute to the sacrifices his family made to sustain his racing career.
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Hamlin: I know Dad’s still saying 'that’s my boy'
"I mean, I knew it took a few weeks to feel like driving," he said after Sunday's win. "Over the last couple weeks, I definitely regained my love of it, got refocused. These are great opportunities for us.
"I mean, this is a family sport. My family obviously had so much sacrifice to help me get here. Now that I’ve grown, generations of Hamlins following me. It’s great Mom gets to see this. I know Dad’s still saying 'that’s my boy'. Hell of a day."
The victory also took Hamlin past Kevin Harvick to be alone as the tenth winningest driver in Cup Series history – something he credited to hard work, claiming that those around him in the history books are and were 'far more talented' than him.
"My name stands out amongst – there’s the legends of the sport," he said. "I feel very fortunate to be on the list. Those guys were far more talented than I have ever thought about being. I just work really hard. I still to this day work really hard at my craft to try to continue to get better.
"Days like today certainly make me feel happy about where I’m at in the sport still and what I can still do."
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