Denny Hamlin’s fiancée Jordan drops 3-word shoutout for Bubba Wallace’s Lion King celebration at Daytona

NASCAR driver and team owner Denny Hamlin's fiancée Jordan Fish shared congratulatory words after 23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace won the first duel race at Daytona International Speedway.

Wallace led 20 laps during Thursday's duel race and crossed the finish line just 0.082 seconds ahead of Hendrick Motorsport's William Byron. The No. 23 team earned 10 points and will start in third place for the Daytona 500 on Sunday.

In an Instagram stories post, Jordan shared a video of Wallace holding his four-year-old son above his head with the iconic Lion King music in the background.

"Let's go Bubba," Jordan wrote.

Fish's story on February 13. Source: @xojordanfish on Instagram

Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin will compete for his fourth Daytona 500 win this week. He started the first practice session on Wednesday with the highest speed among 45 entries and will start the race in eighth position.

The Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) driver has won the Daytona 500 in 2016, 2019, and 2020.

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"I certainly want my career to end here" - Denny Hamlin on retiring at JGR

Denny Hamlin co-owns 23XI Racing with NBA star Michael Jordan. The team, which debuted in 2021, fields three Cup Series cars for Wallace, Tyler Reddick, and Riley Herbst. It is also in the middle of a legal battle along with Front Row Motorsports against NASCAR. The antitrust lawsuit accuses the sanctioning body of engaging in monopolistic practices that are unfair to teams and drivers.

Hamlin started his 20th full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series this week. The 44-year-old joined JGR at the start of his career in 2005 and wants it to end with the team.

"I certainly want my career to end here (at JGR). I'd like for it to be on my own terms, but I'm not oblivious enough to say it's going to be. If it's looking like it's not on my own terms, if Michael (Jordan) wants to write a check and have me go over there, then I would do that. But this is where my home started, and it’s where I'd like to finish," Denny Hamlin said (via The Athletic).

"I've been with the company longer than anyone has from a driver perspective. They’ve done so much for my career that it's hard to put into words. I think conversations probably need to happen to figure out, 'Where is the end of the runway?' so everyone can prepare accordingly," Hamlin added.

Hamlin lost his long-time sponsor FedEx this year and also got a crew chief change after Chris Gabehart was promoted to competition director at JGR and Chris Gayle took his position. The No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE driver will partner with King’s Hawaiian and National Debt Relief for select races this year.