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NASCAR superstar Denny Hamlin is a three-time winner of the legendary Daytona 500, and heading into the 2026 race, he’s either supremely confident, or he doesn’t care all that much about the result.
Hamlin, who finished as the runner-up in last year’s championship race in heartbreaking fashion, opted to skip Saturday’s final practice ahead of Sunday’s race, which has been moved up due to expected inclement weather.
Now, he wasn’t the only one to skip the practice session. In fact, only 19 cars in the 37-car field actually participated, with several teams opting not to risk wrecking their cars the day before the race.
However, not many were as bold as Hamlin to not even pay attention to the session, instead opting to fish on Daytona’s infield lake, Lake Lloyd.
Denny Hamlin Skipping Daytona 500 Allowed Him To Show Off A New Boat
Hamlin, 45, has had an extremely stressful few months.
First, he lost out on his first career championship after a late caution jumbled up the final race in Phoenix. Then, he “won” a landmark antitrust case against NASCAR in December after the series was forced to settle.
Finally, his father, Dennis, passed away following a house fire while both he and Hamlin’s mother were in the house.
But there was one bright spot of Hamlin’s offseason. He became the owner of a new $68K fishing boat from Bass Pro Shop.
“As you guys have seen over the last few months, I’ve gotten into fishing quite a bit. Of course, I had to go to Bass Pro for my brand new fishing boat. Ended up getting a Nitro Z20 XL here. It’s got pretty much everything on it that you could want,” Hamlin said in an Instagram reel showing off the new purchase.
“…It’s got the factory 12-inch Garmin screen here. Runs everything from side view, live scope. I’m a race car driver, of course. I’ve got to have a gas pedal,” he continued. “You see, down there, got the hot foot gas pedal, which is amazing. Can’t be running the throttle up here. You got to use your feet.”
So maybe Hamlin just wanted to show off his new investment? Either way, it was a bizarre sight to see him so detached from racing during a practice session for the season’s biggest event.