Carlos Gonzalez Attends Daytona 500

Colorado Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez attended the Daytona 500 before reporting to spring training this year. Looks like CarGo made a new pal in Denny Hamlin, this year’s winner of The Great American Race. Hamlin stopped by Salt River Fields last week to visit Gonzales and swap some memorabilia.

During the off-season Carlos Gonzalez resides in Orlando, Florida, where late last month he and his son attended the biggest race on the NASCAR schedule, the Daytona 500. CarGo has always been a fan of racing and wanted to share with his son one of the most unique experiences in the world. Before the race, the two were able to go down on pit road for driver introductions and meet Denny Hamlin. Little did they both know that Hamlin was about to make Daytona history.

Denny Hamlin, who drives the number 11 FedEx Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, began the day with another chance to capture his boyhood dream of winning the Daytona 500. After 500 grueling laps around the 2.5-mile super-speedway, Denny edged out Martin Truex Jr. by 0.010 seconds to capture the checkered flag. Not only was it Hamlin’s first Daytona 500 victory, but the first for his boss Joe Gibbs as well as car manufacturer Toyota.

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A few weeks later in Scottsdale, Arizona, Hamlin was out promoting the upcoming races in Las Vegas and Phoenix when he ran into Carlos Gonzalez again. However, this time they were at the Rockies spring training facility trading jerseys for fire suits. Hamlin received a personalized Colorado Rockies jersey from CarGo and in return handed back some his gear from the Daytona 500 win a few weeks earlier. Carlos Gonzalez gave most of the items he received from Hamlin to his son who both enjoyed the Daytona 500 immensely. With NASCAR rolling into Phoenix this weekend, maybe the two will get to enjoy a race together once again.

Next: Colorado Rockies First Base Competition: Week One