Copyright sportskeeda
Former NASCAR driver and reporter Kenny Wallace has recently opened up about his own pain from his racing career while relating to Denny Hamlin’s recent NASCAR Cup Series championship heartbreak. As Hamlin continues to process the sting of falling just short of his long-awaited NASCAR title at Phoenix, Wallace revealed that he once faced a similarly crushing moment that left him seeking help through sports therapy.Kenny Wallace lost the 1991 NASCAR Busch Grand National championship (now known as Xfinity Series) to Bobby Labonte. The title chase was very close heading into the final race at Martinsville Speedway, where Wallace had mechanical issues that effectively ended his title bid, allowing Labonte to secure the title with a fifth-place finish.In his “Coffee with Kenny” episode, the 62-year-old Kenny Wallace shared his instance of losing the 1991 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship and how he recovered from it to make Hamlin feel better. Wallace understands that it’s not going to be easy for him to get over the defeat.Here’s what Wallace said:“I can relate. In 1991, I lost the Bush Grand National championship on the very last race at Martinsville to Bobby Labonte. It crushed me. I took sports therapy. There, I admit it. I hope you feel better. I made myself feel bad to make you feel better. You can see my face getting serious right now.”“So, Denny Hamlin getting over the heartbreak of the championship right there. He had it won. As he said, 40 seconds and he was going to be the NASCAR Cup champion and his dream was going to be realized. He will get over it. The same way I got over. But I do feel bad for him to have that championship snatched away, literally snatched away.”Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin’s pursuit of a Cup Series title has been one of the most emotionally charged storylines in modern NASCAR, with multiple close calls over his career. He lost the 2025 championship to Kyle Larson after leading the race-high 208 laps.“She's gonna be famous”: Kenny Wallace on Denny Hamlin’s daughterIn the aforementioned interview, Kenny Wallace further affectionately praised Denny Hamlin’s daughter, Taylor, whom he nicknames “Taylor TV” because he believes she has the charisma and talent to become famous one day.“Taylor, his daughter—I call her Taylor TV because she's gonna be famous. Denny Hamlin and Jordan, uh they raised some good kids. At Taylor, she's gonna be famous. She would do some recording in the NASCAR day some three years ago. “She’s a great actress and a good singer,” Wallace said.Denny Hamlin and his fiancée, Jordan Fish has two daughters Taylor James, who born in 2013 and Molly Gold, who born in 2017, and their newborn son, Jameson Drew, who born in June 11, 2025. The couple got engaged on January 1, 2024, after dating since 2007.
