Caption:DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 21: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, takes the checkered flag ahead of Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Toyota, to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 21, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
Denny Hamlin pulled out the closest win in the history of the Daytona 500 on Sunday after beating Martin Truex Jr. by just a few inches.
Hamlin’s mother, Mary Lou Hamlin, proved that the driver had a lifelong dream of winning the big race when she tweeted a photo of a short essay her son wrote in elementary school about his hopes of one day winning the Daytona 500.
“If I won the Daytona 500 I would like it to come true on Feb 17, 1998. My car would be red, white, blue and gold just like (Bill Elliott’s) car,” he wrote.
Hamlin currently drives the No. 11 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Sprint Cup Series. He was in fourth place on the final lap of the Daytona 500 before making his move to win first place.
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DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 21: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, takes the checkered flag ahead of Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Toyota, to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 21, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
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