Kyle Petty Sounds Alarm on Denny Hamlin After Tragic Off-Season

Denny Hamlin has suffered from many disappointing situations in both his personal and professional life in the final stages of the 2025 season. The JGR veteran lost the Cup Series championship the previous year despite being the winningest driver. Moreover, he lost his father in a tragic house fire accident a couple of weeks ago. Now, former NASCAR star Kyle Petty opens up on how Hamlin is going through a very difficult phase in his life.

While helping clear the debris and his mother following the house fire accident, Denny Hamlin injured his shoulder and reopened a previous injury. This caused him trouble while racing at the exhibition match at the Bowman Gray clash. Now, Kyle Petty couldn’t help but feel sympathy for the 45-year-old as he steers through a very difficult time.

Kyle Petty pointed out how Denny Hamlin was not feeling 100%, especially in terms of physical health. Moreover, Hamlin couldn’t be at the top of his game emotionally until and unless he pulled out his brain and set it aside. Petty recalled the massive blows that Hamlin took in his life, from the championship loss at Phoenix to everything that happened with his parents.

Though his mother is now healing and on the path to making a full recovery. Denny Hamlin isn’t begging for anyone’s sympathy and is continuing to give it his all on the track. Still, Kyle Petty accepted that it would certainly be tough to recover from all the issues in such a short span of time. Regardless, Hamlin is looking forward to the challenge.

He’s not 100% physical. He said it. There’s no way, and unless he can just pull that brain out and set it somewhere that he can be at the top of his game emotionally. He has taken massive blows over the winter. From the time we left Phoenix, that was an emotional blow… to not win that championship for him. And then everything that happened with his parents… it is tough to recover from that in a short period of time.

Kyle Petty said on Inside the Race podcast.

Kyle Petty reveals ‘concerns’ regarding Denny Hamlin

Denny Hamlin was in a much better headspace comparatively during the beginning of the 2025 season. Hamlin got off to a great start and was able to keep up with the winning momentum. He was even the favorite to win the Cup Series title, which he couldn’t achieve because of the flawed playoff format. Now, Kyle Petty reckons that it might not be as easy for the 45-year-old to repeat his performances of the previous year.

Kyle Petty accepted that it would be unthinkable to imagine that Denny Hamlin repeated his success from the 2025 season. Petty asserted that the JGR veteran was at the top of the game the previous year because everything he went through was much less than what he did recently. As such, this concerned Petty because he worried that Hamlin wasn’t in the right headspace to perform as well as he did last year.

Listen, to match what he did last year would be unthinkable. Because I’m that year was where his head was, what he went through, everything that went on last year on the racetrack, he was at the top of his game at the very top. And that’s what concerns me coming into this year.

Kyle Petty noted.

The 2026 season has just begun, and Denny Hamlin has still achieved stunning results. The 45-year-old finished in P4 at the Bowman Gray Clash. Moreover, Hamlin picked up a P10 finish at the Daytona Duels. For now, Hamlin will set his sights on the Daytona 500 and performing well in the iconic race.

Read More: Jeff Gordon Confesses He is “Glad” About Not Racing in Modern Era of NASCAR

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