The Better Half Dash is a fan-favorite in NASCAR, eagerly awaited every year by both fans and the racers’ better halves. Last year, Zane Smith’s girlfriend topped the speed charts during practice, but this time around, she’s up against Denny Hamlin’s fiancée, Jordan Fish. However, Denny Hamlin seemed less than thrilled while coaching his soon-to-be wife. In fact, he looked like he couldn’t wait to get out of there. But why the rush, Hamlin?

Did Denny Hamlin really not want to coach his soon-to-be-wife?

Speedway Motorsports is gearing up to host the MRO Better Half Dash at Trackhouse Motorplex in Mooresville, North Carolina. This event, packed with adrenaline and goodwill, is set for May 29, 2024, from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM. It’s a day full of high-speed excitement for racing buffs and their families. Plus, it’ll hit the small screen on Fox Sports 1 on June 5. The Better Half Dash spices up go-kart racing by letting the wives and girlfriends of pro racers show what they can do behind the wheel in some nail-biting races.

After her 2014 appearance, Denny Hamlin’s fiancée, Jordan Fish, will join the fray this year, too! She’s been training hard to add to Hamlin’s 74 trophies across all 3 NASCAR series, practicing through rain or shine. The #11 JGR driver himself spilled the beans on his podcast. When Jared Allen asked how Jordan was doing with her track training the other day, Hamlin beamed, “She did great!” Even when the conditions weren’t ideal, or as Hamlin put it, “the worst conditions possible.”

“We were in the partial wet and dry. She’s on me the entire week like, ‘We’ve gotta go.’ And I’m like, ‘Jordan, it’s pouring rain. I’m not going out there in the rain.’ She’s like, ‘Well, these other girls have already gotten practice, and look! There’s a window. It’s not gonna rain from 5 to 8.’” Despite Hamlin’s reluctance, Fish convinced him, and he thought, “God dang it!” But when they reached the track – with its partial wet and dry conditions – Hamlin told his fiancée, “Jordan, these are the worst possible conditions for you to learn to drive.” Fish wasn’t one to budge, though.

Hamlin explained, “I said, ‘Alright, I’m gonna drive in front of you. When my hand is up, you’re off the gas on the brake; when my hand is down, you’re on the gas.’ So, I let her ride behind me and I’m doing all these hand signals.” But Hamlin was distracted by something – or rather, a few someones’ presence. He recalled, “TRD had frickin’ all their young drivers there… Corey Heim. And all I want to do is go out there and race and compete against Corey and these other people. And I’m like driving around there, going really slow doing these things. It’s just so painful because I’m like, ‘I just wanna go. I wanna go.’”

Jordan Fish may have won the battle against Denny Hamlin to get him to the track to help her practice, but the 54-time Cup race winner’s mind was elsewhere. But the bottom line is that she managed to convince him, which may be something she’ll have to do again before the race in light of Hamlin’s comments from a few weeks ago.

Just as Hamlin drives the #11 in the Cup Series, Fish will pilot the #11 cart at the Better Half Dash. Interestingly, her profile on the race’s official website read, “My Spotter Denny Hamlin.” Hamlin may not be a stranger to being a spotter, but it sure seemed like he didn’t want to be his fiancée’s crew chief. In an earlier episode of Actions Detrimental, Jaren Allen asked him about the Dash, and Hamlin said, “Jordan signed up for the Better Half Dash, so I don’t think I have to spot. That’s good news. I think I saw a thing like, ‘Spotter Denny Hamlin.’ I ain’t spotting no go-kart race. They don’t listen, anyway.”

Well, when the time comes for the green flag to fly at the Better Half Dash, we’ll know if Jordan Fish will have Denny Hamlin as her crew chief. That said, the JGR driver may have helped her practice for the Dash, but he believed she didn’t really need it.

Hamlin shared his thoughts on his fiancée’s racing chops

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Denny Hamlin can’t wait to see Jordan Fish hit the track at Mooresville. He’s pretty proud of her, noting that she’s already shown some serious skills at other go-kart tracks, holding her own like a pro. The #11 driver feels pretty confident about her chances, mentioning that she doesn’t really need his help.

Around two weeks ago, Hamlin said, “I think she’s not going to need my help. We’ll go out there and we’re going to try and practice sometime this week, just generally show her the line around. But then you almost just gotta throw the baby in the water, just let him figure out how to swim, you know what I mean?”

And it’s not just her racing that’s got him pumped—Hamlin admits he’s also pretty excited to see Jordan suited up in a firesuit.