Ricky Stenhouse Jr reflects on NASCAR’s latest tragedies

The NASCAR world suffered two tragedies simply earlier than the calendar change, with the stunning deaths of Greg Biffle and Dennis Hamlin, the daddy of present driver Denny Hamlin.

Biffle, alongside along with his spouse and two kids, have been among the many seven folks killed when his airplane crashed close to a North Carolina airport runway in early December. Lower than two weeks later, the state’s eldest Hamlin died in a home fireplace that additionally injured Hamlin’s mom.

The Daytona 500 might be run subsequent month to kick off the 2026 NASCAR season, however it’ll actually be with a heavy coronary heart.

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Ricky Stenhouse Jr. waits throughout follow for the NASCAR Cup Sequence Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on Might 31, 2025 in Lebanon, Tennessee. (Sean Gardner/Getty Photos)

“Sure, NASCAR and motorsports usually are, you may say, massive, however it’s a small household,” mentioned 2023 Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in a current interview with Fox Information Digital. ‘It is an enormous footprint, however everybody is basically built-in, very shut, and everybody feels that it doesn’t matter what.

“You recognize, Greg and his household, tremendous unhappy, tremendous tragic, after which you’ve gotten Denny, who, it is very public that he tried to win that championship for his dad, did not suppose his dad would make it that lengthy. However who is aware of, possibly he gained the championship this 12 months and his dad may have made it. However the tragic fireplace that put his dad and his mother within the hospital, it is simply been a loopy, devastating offseason.

“And I feel we’re all able to get again on observe, to kind these issues out, let’s have a look at if it calms down a bit bit. It is a robust offseason for certain. However I feel everybody has rallied behind one another, rallied round these affected and the households, and we’re choosing one another up.”

Dennis Hamlin and Mary Lou Hamlin, 69, have been discovered outdoors their two-story house close to Stanley affected by what officers known as catastrophic accidents. Dennis Hamlin later died of his accidents at a hospital, whereas his spouse was taken to a specialty hospital in Winston-Salem for therapy of her burns.

Denny Hamlin previous to a NASCAR Cup Sequence race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, in Harmony, North Carolina. (AP Photograph/Matt Kelley, File)

EX-NASCAR STAR GREG BIFFLE, FAMILY MEMBERS KILLED IN PLANE CRASH IN NORTH CAROLINA

Final month, Denny Hamlin spoke about his father and the monetary sacrifices he made to assist him obtain his dream of turning into certainly one of NASCAR’s nice drivers. In an interview with The Related Press, Hamlin revealed that his father was dying of a severe sickness.

“I am certain that is my final probability for my dad to see it. I do not need him to go away and by no means get to see the second,” Hamlin mentioned of his father watching him win a championship, a aim he later failed to attain after the season’s last race in Arizona.

Based on the AP, Dennis Hamlin took out a number of mortgages on his Virginia house, maxed out each bank card and practically ruined himself financially to present his son the chance to turn out to be a NASCAR driver. His sacrifice paid off as Hamlin constructed a legendary profession with 60 wins, together with three Daytona 500s.

Biffle has 19 victories within the NASCAR Cup Sequence, together with six in 2005, when he completed second within the Cup standings. He gained three consecutive Ford 400s at Homestead from 2004 to 2006. He additionally has 20 wins within the Xfinity Sequence, the place he captured the 2002 title, and 17 wins within the Craftsman Truck Sequence, the place he gained the championship in 2000.

Greg Biffle celebrates in victory lane after successful the NASCAR Dash Cup Sequence race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas Metropolis, Kansas, on October 3, 2010. (Orlin Wagner, File/AP Photograph)

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After his racing days, Biffle put his flying expertise to good use. In 2024, he helped the victims of Hurricane Helene by offering items and web providers to these in want. He even discovered a household stranded whereas flying after they’d a mirror in opposition to the solar.

Paulina Dedaj of Fox Information and the Related Press contributed to this report.

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