The house fire happened on Blacksnake Road near Stanley.
GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — The father of NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin died after a house fire, Gaston County officials said on Monday.
The fire happened at a home on Blacksnake Road, northeast of Stanley and about 30 miles northwest of Charlotte, around 6 p.m. on Sunday. Officials initially said one person was trapped in the home.
On Monday, Gaston County EMS confirmed that one person died from injuries suffered in the fire. The victim was later identified as Dennis Hamlin, 75. Denny Hamlin’s mother, Mary Lou Hamlin, 69, was critically injured in the fire.
Authorities said both victims escaped the fire but suffered catastrophic injuries. Dennis Hamlin died at the hospital. Mary Lou Hamlin is being treated in Winston-Salem.
The fire resulted in the complete loss of the home, according to the Lucia-Riverbend Fire Department. It took around two hours to put out the fire due to a lack of water in the area.
Gaston County officials said the investigation is ongoing. The fire’s cause has not been determined.
Hamlin has not commented on the situation. He has 60 wins in the NASCAR Cup Series, tying him for 10th on the series’ all-time win list. After hitting the 60-win milestone at Las Vegas in October, he noted how special it felt to win for his father, who was in poor health at the time. He told the Associated Press later that month that he believed 2025 was his last opportunity to win a championship while his father was alive. Hamlin ultimately finished second in the championship standings.
Multiple Gaston County fire departments responded to the area to assist the Lucia-Riverbend Fire Department.
Neighbors described a chaotic scene as sirens cut through the quiet community.
“We were eating dinner and we heard fire trucks go by,” said Brent Hager, who lives nearby. “There were five or six fire trucks from here to there… volunteer crews parked in the driveway.”
Another neighbor said seeing the fire in person was overwhelming.
“It’s devastating. I was horrified last night for them,” the neighbor said. “To see it in person, the whole house going down.”
Firefighters faced added challenges because there are no fire hydrants in the area. Crews had to truck in water, a process that slowed efforts to control the fire.
“It took roughly two hours to bring the fire under control,” Toomey said. “Due to the lack of water, we had to truck all of the water in.”
Neighbors said the lack of hydrants is a reality of living in a rural area.
The home was a total loss, officials said. Despite the damage, firefighters were able to save some racing memorabilia and collectibles from inside the home.