Joe Gibbs Racing star Denny Hamlin claimed the $1 million check after winning Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway in a dominant fashion. His fiancée Jordan Fish later celebrated the victory on her Instagram, dropping a two-word reaction to his million-dollar payday.
Hamlin started on the pole and dominated the 200-lap final segment of the All-Star Race, part of the three-phase exhibition event held for the first time at Dover. He emerged victorious when he took the lead from his teammate Chase Briscoe with 29 laps to go and never looked back to take the checkered flag.
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Taking to her Instagram, Jordan Fish celebrated Hamlin’s win and wrote:
“Let’s goooooo!!!”
NASCAR veteran Hamlin and Fish have been together since 2007. They first met when Fish was a cheerleader for the Charlotte Bobcats and got engaged in January 2024. They have two daughters, Taylor James (born in 2013) and Molly Gold (born in 2017).
The #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver led a race-high 103 laps and crossed the finish line by a margin of 0.887 seconds ahead of Chase Briscoe to cross the finish line in P1. It marked his second career All-Star Race victory and his first since 2015. It marked his third straight win at “The Monster Mile.”
After the race, when ESPN’s Kelly Crandall asked about what he will do with the $1 million check, Hamlin revealed he plans to use the money to buy new furniture for his mother, whose house was destroyed in a fire in December last year.
“Hats off to this whole Progressive team”: Denny Hamlin reflects on his All-Star Race triumph
The win won’t count in the record books since it was an exhibition race, but it marked another strong performance from Denny Hamlin and the #11 JGR. It marked his second win of the season and included six top-five and seven top-10 finishes.
Reflecting on his win at Dover, the #11 driver said (via NASCAR.com):
“Makes it a lot easier when you have a car this fast. Hats off to this whole Progressive team. We strive to be No. 1, and we did it today. I just knew the game-changer for us was long runs and obviously the ability to pass when behind someone.”
At the age of 45, Denny Hamlin became the second-oldest driver to ever win the All-Star event, trailing only legend Mark Martin, who won at age 46 in 2005.
Edited by Yash Soni