NASCAR’s Denny Hamlin Speaks for 1st Time Since Father’s Death in Fire, Reinjured Himself in Rubble

NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin spoke publicly for the first time since his father, Dennis, was killed in a house fire that also badly injured his mother, Mary Lou.

“She’s definitely getting better, physically and mentally,” Denny, 45, told reporters about his mom on Wednesday, February 4. “Certainly feels like she’s getting in a better place.”

Mary Lou is currently visiting family members in Florida after the devastating fire at their North Carolina home in December 2025, Denny said on Wednesday. 

Denny plans on competing in the 2026 NASCAR season despite aggravating an injury while searching through the remains of his parents’ home. 

“Took a little fall at my mom’s house, going through all the rubble and stuff and just didn’t feel right,” he explained.

Denny had surgery in the 2023-24 offseason to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. 

“I’m going to have to go the rest of the season the way I was before there,” he said. “I don’t think that it ever healed properly. Just noticed some issues, really kind of right after the season. It just was nagging me a little bit.”

Denny added, “Got it rescanned and retore it again.”

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series officially gets underway with the Daytona 500 on February 15. 

Mary Lou, 69, and Dennis, 75, were transported to a local hospital with “catastrophic injuries” following a fire at their home on December 28, 2025. They had both managed to escape and were found outside the house when emergency crews arrived. 

Dennis was later pronounced dead at the hospital. Mary Lou was transferred to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Burn Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

The residence was located in Stanley, North Carolina, about 30 minutes northwest of Charlotte. 

When fire crews arrived on scene, the home was already 40 to 45 percent engulfed in flames and took nearly two hours to extinguish. 

Lucia Riverbend Fire Department Chief David Toomey told The Athletic that 10 to 12 fire crews worked together to fight the fire because the heavily wooded area surrounding the home did not have fire hydrants, so all of the water had to be trucked in.

The cause of the fire remains unknown and is still under investigation. 

Denny broke his silence about the incident days after on social media. 

“Thank you to everyone who has reached out with condolences on my father’s passing,” Denny, 45, wrote via X on December 31, 2025. “My mother continues to improve, and our family truly appreciates the outpouring of support and the respect for our privacy during this time.”

Denny’s fiancée, Jordan Fish, addressed the tragedy for the first time last month. 

“I just wanna come on here and say hi. I know it’s been a minute,” Fish wrote via her Instagram Story on January 25. “I wanted to say thank you to everybody reaching out over the last month or so. I tried to get back to a lot of you. I know there were so many I did not reply to. I’ve seen everyone’s messages. I just wanna say thank you.”