Denny Hamlin to miss NASCAR's Mexico City race following birth of son
MEXICO CITY — Denny Hamlin will not race at the inaugural Cup Series event this weekend in Mexico City after the birth of his son Wednesday.
Joe Gibbs Racing reserve driver Ryan Truex will drive the No. 11 Cup car at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
The son was the third child for Hamlin and fiancée Jordan Fish.
"We are happy to announce the birth of our son," Hamlin said in a statement. "Everyone is doing well. My main priority is to be here at home for Jordan and our family over the next few days when she is able to go home and we transition to life as a family of five.
"I appreciate everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing, our partners, and our fans for the support over the last few weeks and I look forward to being back at the track next weekend in Pocono."
JGR will have to ask for a waiver from NASCAR for Hamlin to remain playoff eligible despite missing a race. NASCAR implemented a policy earlier this year that only a waiver granted for medical reasons would allow a driver to retain all playoff points earned during the regular season. The birth of a child is expected to be included in that.
"JGR supports Hamlin in his decision," the team said in its news release announcing Truex would race the car.
Truex, the younger brother of former JGR driver Martin Truex Jr., spends several hours each week in a racing simulator to help JGR with its baseline setups and has been on standby the last couple of weeks as Fish's due date was last week.
Hamlin won last Sunday at Michigan, his third win of the year.
"If [the birth] causes me to miss a race, it's one of 701 races that I missed and it's just not that big of a deal," Hamlin said at the time.
Hamlin has made 406 consecutive starts, having last missed a race in 2014 when he missed the race at California Speedway because of an object in his eye. It will be Truex's first Cup start since 2014, when he competed in 23 races for BK Racing.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and IndyCar for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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