Denny Hamlin walked into a Gainesville elementary classroom on Thursday morning and left behind a $10,000 check. Hamlin surprised fifth-grade teacher Ansley Smallwood and her students at Lanier School for Inquiry, Investigation, and Innovation, delivering supplies pulled straight from Smallwood's Amazon classroom wish list along with the check to fund future classroom resources.
The visit happened Thursday morning, Oct. 22. Smallwood has leaned into her love of racing since arriving at the school in 2023, theming her classroom around NASCAR.
A Viral Classroom Gets Noticed
Smallwood's NASCAR-themed classroom didn't catch Hamlin's attention by accident. The teacher said Hamlin's top sponsor, Progressive Insurance, reached out to her after a post about her classroom went viral, the same report notes. That connection eventually led to Thursday's surprise visit and the financial gift.
The gift could open up new possibilities for her students. Smallwood teaches fifth graders and has worked NASCAR into lessons on math, science, teamwork and resiliency, according to ajc.com.
Not the First NASCAR Star to Stop By
Hamlin isn't the first big NASCAR name to walk into this classroom. Kyle Busch visited Smallwood's classroom at Lanier Elementary in Gainesville on Feb. 27, 2026, and the AJC reported that twenty-six kids erupted when Busch walked into the room. During that visit, Busch spoke with the class, posed for photos, signed autographs and answered questions, per the same report.
Busch made the trip because Smallwood's room had become, in the words of one report, a shrine to NASCAR, according to wsbtv.com. The teacher is Ansley Smallwood, though that station's report refers to her as Ashley Smallwood.
Thursday's classroom visit came just days before Hamlin was set to compete in the YellaWood 500 at Talladega on Oct. 25. He entered that race fourth in the Cup Series Playoff standings, per accessnorthga.com's report.
