What happened to Denny Hamlin? Joe Gibbs Racing's No. 11 Toyota catches fire, withdraws from NASCAR race

Denny Hamlin had a short but memorable outing at the 2025 Wurth 400 in Texas. His No. 11 Toyota could not finish the first stage after entering with the fourth-best odds of winning the race and starting in eighth place. 

Hamlin entered race day in third place in the 2025 NASCAR playoff standings. He won the Cook Out 400 to end March, and then the Goodyear 400 the following week to begin April. After finishing second at the Food City 500, it looked like he was driving with momentum. Unfortunately, that luck ran out at the Texas Motor Speedway on May 4.

Here's what happened to Hamlin that caused him to exit early from the 2025 Wurth 400. 

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Denny Hamlin fire

Hamlin was running well before he got knocked out of the Wurth 400. He had started in eighth place after qualifying and had risen to a top five spot. After a caution, he chose not to pit. He said that he heard something pop, but didn't know if it was his car or someone else's. It turns out it was likely his after his car caught fire.

The flames shot out the sides like he was hitting the turbo button in an old school racing video game. When he finally came to a stop, smoke was pouring out of the car. Hamlin wasn't injured and was able to get out of the vehicle safely, but he was forced to withdraw before the end of the first stage. 

Denny Hamlin taunts Texas fans

Hamlin is already a pretty polarizing driver. He is a track veteran and doesn't take kindly to aggressive drivers, while being aggressive himself. Despite not going to the University of Oklahoma, or any college for that matter, Hamlin decided to get under the local Texas fans' collective skin during his intro. 

While walking out during his driver introduction, he threw the 'Horns Down' to the crowd. The University of Texas is known for extending their pointer and pinky fingers, while curling the others to resemble a set of bull horns. This is to support the school's athletic programs as the Longhorns. Their rivals, namely Oklahoma, have turned the horns upside down as a dig at Texas. 

My man @dennyhamlin knows what’s up #HornsDown 🤘🏼⬇️ #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/6O9cVj73Ao

The local fans ended up with the last laugh after Hamlin was out of the race by the end of the first stage, having to turn his attention to the 2025 AdventHealth 400 on Sunday, May 11. 

NASCAR points standings

Here were the top-20 NASCAR points standings heading into the 2025 Wurth 400. Denny Hamlin was in third place prior to Sunday's race. 

Denny Hamlin net worth

CelebrityNetWorth has Hamlin's net worth at $65 million as of the end of 2024. That likely has increased from a new race season of sponsorships and eight top-10 finishes so far this race season.