The best NASCAR driver never to win the championship. That’s a narrative that could finally change for Denny Hamlin. After his victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the veteran racer finally has a shot at the elusive Bill France Cup in his 20th season with Joe Gibbs Racing. For a driver known for his brash and outspoken style, the 44-year-old was uncharacteristically emotional when the checkered flag was waved, simply because this win meant much more.

It’s been a real journey for Joe Gibbs, too. Hamlin joined the No. 11 team as a 25-year-old, eager to impress in the final seven races of the 2005 campaign. He did exactly that, and two decades later, the Virginia-native has established himself as a leader on the team. But the story could have been very different.

Joe Gibbs reminisces about Hamlin’s breakthrough

60 wins. And what better way to reach that milestone than by securing a ticket to the Championship 4? Denny Hamlin has worked for it, and twenty years after making his debut, he is tied with Kevin Harvick for 10th on NASCAR’s all-time wins list. The only difference is that Hamlin is the only driver in that list who hasn’t won the championship. But that could change very soon.

However, it could very easily have been a very different scenario. Joe Gibbs took a gamble on the Virginia-native, who was plying his trade in the second tier in 2005. Taking a trip down memory lane, the team owner said in the post-race press conference, “If you remember that year, we actually were struggling with the car, the FedEx car. He only ran half a year in Xfinity, which is amazing. So we put him in there kind of as an experiment. I think the third race, he sat on a pole, he was gone. He deserves a lot of credit in that.”

Nobody expected Hamlin to hit the ground running in the Cup Series, but he surprised everybody. Three top-10 results in seven races is an impressive record, especially considering his inexperience at the highest level. The racer also went on to secure two wins at Pocono Raceway the following year, and ended up finishing 3rd in the championship standings in his very first full-time campaign at the highest level. From that point on, there was no looking back.

Fast forward to the present day, and Denny Hamlin could end up receiving the championship trophy from the very folks he and his 23XI Racing team are fighting against.

Meanwhile, among everyone at Joe Gibbs and team, Hamlin credited his crew chief, Chris Gayle, too, for his major contribution to his feats. “I can confidently say that Gibbs made the right decision in choosing him given him you know the opportunity with me and I think it’s been a very good mix of kind of our thoughts and that’s why I think we’ve gotten better as a team as a whole is it’s sometimes a fresh new perspective and ideas can teach you something. I think he has.”

He also credited Joe Gibbs deeply, whom he sees as his second dad, “I mean everything I got I owe to the Gibbs family and you know I’ve got two dads. One’s at home and one’s here…Not a lot of drivers have that kind of relationship with their team owner. The Gibbs family found me, took a chance, and my loyalty to them runs very, very deep.”

Almost 45, he’s at an age where many others are either retiring or past their prime, but the Virginia-native seems to have aged like fine wine and is looking stronger than ever. And to think it all came because of a gamble by Joe Gibbs.

Hamlin pays tribute to his parents after milestone win

Denny Hamlin will undoubtedly go down as one of NASCAR’s all-time greats, with or without a championship trophy. Looking back, he doesn’t just have Joe Gibbs to thank for the illustrious career he’s had.

His parents made plenty of sacrifices to make Hamlin’s dreams come true, and the racer hasn’t forgotten his roots despite his success at the sport’s highest level. Perhaps that’s why he said after the race, “I knew there was no chance I was holding it back.”

Visibly emotional after the checkered flag was waved, Hamlin couldn’t help but say, “My parents had no money. My parents had very normal jobs, but they found a way. Now that way is a path that I would never recommend anybody taking. It’s every credit card that comes through the mail. OK, we’ll use it. Asking people to help, and second and third mortgages on the house, and just all these things.’’

Denny Hamlin even recounted how his parents nearly lost the family’s home because they sacrificed so much to support his racing career. And now, the Virginia-native is giving back to the ones who deserve it all, saying, “It’s great that it’s all paid off, and certainly they’ve got the life now that they deserve before I decided to do this.”

With just one race separating the driver from the championship, it’s pretty evident that Hamlin will be racing like his life depends on it at Phoenix Raceway.