Denny Hamlin announced Thursday that he will not compete in this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race in Mexico City, as he will focus on tending to his fiancee Jordan after the birth of their son on June 11. Hamlin will take a week off from driving the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing after earning three wins this season, the most recent of which came just one week ago at Michigan.
Ryan Truex, the younger brother of 2017 Cup champion Martin Truex Jr. and the reserve driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, will drive Hamlin’s No. 11 in his place this weekend at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, while Hamlin’s team will apply for a waiver from NASCAR to maintain their playoff eligibility. Per NASCAR rules, full-time drivers who miss a race are permitted to apply for a waiver to maintain their playoff eligibility in the event of an injury, or for accepted personal reasons such as the birth of a child.
“We are happy to announce the birth of our son. Everyone is doing well,” Hamlin said in a statement. “My main priority is to be here at home for Jordan and our family for the next few days when she is able to go home and we transition to life as a family of five.”
Hamlin, who had been on baby watch over the past two weeks, said earlier this week on his podcast Actions Detrimental that it would be very difficult for him to travel to Mexico if his son was not born by a certain point, citing the logistics and complications that come with international travel that would make it more difficult for him to go back and forth between home and the racetrack.
“It’s one thing when you’re in Michigan, you’re an hour-and-a-half flight away, there’s no customs, I fly right into the airport. It’s not that in Mexico,” Hamlin said. “So I certainly can’t leave until we have a baby.”
NASCAR at Michigan results: Denny Hamlin prevails in fuel mileage duel for his third win of the season
Steven Taranto
Mexico City will mark the first Cup race that Hamlin has missed since March 2014, when a sinus infection that compromised Hamlin’s vision sidelined him for a race at Fontana. Hamlin had made 406 consecutive starts after that point, a streak which will end on Sunday just after Hamlin made his 700th career Cup start at Nashville two weeks ago.
As for Truex, Sunday’s race in Mexico City will mark his first Cup start since 2014, when he ran most of the season driving for BK Racing with a best finish of 20th at Pocono. Truex, who has three career wins in the Xfinity Series, last attempted a Cup race when he failed to qualify for the 2019 Daytona 500 driving for car owner Tommy Baldwin.
Hamlin currently sits third in the Cup Series regular season standings, having wins at Martinsville, Darlington and Michigan to go with seven top fives and eight top 10s in 15 races. This season has seen Hamlin move to 11th on NASCAR’s all-time wins list, with his 57th career win at Michigan putting him just three victories away from tying Kevin Harvick for the 10th-most Cup wins all-time as he continues to pursue his first Cup championship.
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