LAS VEGAS — Fathers and sons tie past with present, providing the pivotal links in NASCAR through the Pettys, Allisons, Bakers, Jarretts, Earnhardts and Elliotts.

But such a relationship is just as strong for a son whose father didn’t compete in NASCAR but passed down a love of auto racing.

Denny Hamlin completed a dramatic comeback with tears, a quivering voice and a dedication to his ailing father Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“I want to say hi to my dad,” Hamlin said as his voice nearly cracked in his interview on USA Network.

It was his father who got Hamlin into motorsports and made the financial sacrifices to keep his son racing until it became too expensive, beginning Hamlin’s path to Sunday’s emotional moment.

After passing Kyle Larson and streaking past teammate Chase B

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