NASCAR's Denny Hamlin surprises Georgia teacher by making a pit stop at her classroom

Ansley Smallwood thought it was just another school day with her fifth graders at Lanier Elementary. But she and her class were shocked when Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin made a left turn into her classroom with two carts full of classroom supplies and a $10,000 check.  

Hamlin and Progressive Insurance teamed up with the school to recognize Smallwood for using stock car racing to teach students about STEM.

"I had no clue that they were going to do all that for us," Smallwood said. "I mean, it is an absolute blessing."

Smallwood started getting attention for her NASCAR-inspired teaching approach when she started posting about it on social media last year. That prompted teams to reach out and express interest in sending things to her students. Then Progressive connected with her, wanting to help.

"There is so much science and math involved in racing," Smallwood said. "So really, any chance that something happens at a race, we talk about it. We actually do NASCAR days where the kids will build race cars, and they play with the aerodynamics."

"What I think is so unique is that what the kids or even adults see on Sundays is us driving around in circles. And what she does is educate what goes into that," Hamlin said. "Engineering is what our sport is all about, and so maybe one of these young kids will be a race team engineer one day."

Smallwood's students say the donations will take their projects to a whole new level.

"Now we have so much more supplies that we can, like, do real-life learning, not just in a book," Elliot Chaffin said.

Hamlin is the driver who fueled Smallwood's love for the sport. She says she started following NASCAR after watching Hamlin race another legend, Chase Elliott. When she became a teacher four years ago, she decided to make her classroom NASCAR-themed to stand out. She says the donations from Hamlin were a full-circle moment, and she hopes to inspire more young people to go into motorsports.

"Kids are not--they don't want to go work behind a desk," Smallwood said. "There's so many pathways in motorsports that's even right here in Georgia that they can do these science and math things and build things with their hands. So, it's really opening up a lot of doors for kids in our community."

Hamlin is not the first NASCAR driver to visit Smallwood's classroom. In February, the late Kyle Busch stopped by her classroom and invited them to the race at Echopark Speedway. Busch went on to win the race.