American professional stock car racing driver Denny Hamlin is a legitimate superstar on the race track. He is considered to be one of the greatest NASCAR drivers in the world and is one of the highest paid drivers in the world. As soon as he started his NASCAR career, he has always been among the top contenders to win the Cup Series championship each season.
Denny earns millions from his racing career and even earned $14 million from June 2018 to June 2019 alone. He has since accumulated massive wealth and has a current net worth of $65 million. Throughout his career, he has won 48 times, 312 times finishing among the top ten with about 36 poles.
Ever since he rose to prominence, he’s always had great career and standing. However he finally becomes the superstar on the race track, he also had his own struggles. Take a look at how his career flourished to where he is today.
RELATED: 10 Richest NASCAR Drivers Of All Time
The Support From His Parents
A post shared by Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin)
Denny Hamlin, whose real name is James Dennis Alan Hamlin, was born on November 18, 1980 in Tampa, Florida. He grew up and spent most of his childhood in Chesterfield, Virginia. He is the youngest of the three siblings in a loving family. At a young age of three, Denny Hamlin has already gained interest in racing. He can already identify NASCAR drivers and has been fascinated about it.
Denny’s father saw his potential however aspiring to be a race car driver is not cheap and requires a large amount of money. Denny’s father worked hard to help him achieve his dreams by working as a service manager. The salary of his father is not enough, not even for their family’s basic needs. With the goal of supporting Denny to achieve his dream, the father mortgaged their house twice.
As if mortgaging the house twice is not enough, Denny’s parents sold their antique possessions like their cars, dipped into their 401(k) and used their savings all for Denny’s dream to become a reality. They did this knowing that there’s only a little chance that Denny will make it to NASCAR’s top series.
A Promising Young Star
A post shared by Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin)
Thanks to his parents’ sacrifices, Denny was able to begin his career as early as seven years old in racing go-karts in 1988. By the time he reached the age of 15, he has won his first WKA manufacturers cup. The following year he was already racing mini stocks at 16. The very first time he entered the stock car race at the Langley Speedway, he has already earned the pole position and won the race.
Soon, he was able to advance to Grand Stock division in 1998 and eventually moved to the Late Model Stock Cars two years after. In 2002 alone, he has won 10 Late Model races and bested himself the following year with 30 poles and 25 wins out of 36 races in 2003. Despite winning several races, money is still tight with Denny’s family.
This is when well-respected Curtis Markham entered to save the day. Markham has seen Denny’s potential since he has raced against the young racer. At the time, NASCAR Championship team owner Joe Gibbs’ sons JD and Coy wanted to find another addition to Joe Gibbs Racing and Markham had a different idea in mind. Markham hired Denny during that time to provide and prepare his Late Models. Denny complied and exemplary did the job as he tested each car.
Markham was impressed with the way Denny drives cars and he believes that he has great car control. He then insists that Coy and JD forget about the other applicants and sign Denny instead. With extreme talent and luck on his side, Denny signed a driver development contract with the Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) in 2004.
Climbing Up The Ladder And Becoming One Of The Best NASCAR Drivers
A post shared by Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin)
As soon as he signed up with JGR, Denny Hamlin has immediately competed in five NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2004 and became one of the most valuable NASCAR drivers immediately. Although he did not win them, he was among the top ten for these races. The following year, he ran full season in 2005 after replacing Mike Bliss for the Busch Series wherein he finished on the 5th place, which is not bad considering he’s a rookie. He earned about $1 million from the said race.
In 2006 he finally ran his first full season at the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. Starting that year, he has started driving for the Nextel Cup and Busch Series full-time. Denny is starting to make a name for himself and people are starting to see his potential. The following year, he started the Cup season by finishing at 28th place at the Daytona 500. He has won his third Cup race at this point.
He continued to persevere in his races through the years until he finally reached the top. He has dominated the race track ever since and went on to win numerous championships. At the moment, he is the longest tenured driver at the Joe Gibbs Racing and over five hundred NASCAR Cup series career starts.
READ NEXT: Here’s How Dan Schneider Built His $40 Million Fortune
Sources: Auto Week, Childhood Biography, Celebrity Net Worth
Source: Read Full Article
