Officially out.
Joe Gibbs Racing announced this afternoon that Denny Hamlin will miss this Sunday’s race at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City.
The NASCAR Cup Series driver and 23XI Racing team owner has been on baby watch for a couple of weeks now as he’s preparing to welcome his third child, and his first son, with fiancée Jordan Fish.
Hamlin has previously revealed that Fish’s due date was on June 1, which would have been the day of the Cracker Barrel 400 here in Nashville. (He also joked that she couldn’t have it on the 1st because he didn’t want a “Ross Chastain baby”). And for the past two weeks, at both Nashville and Michigan, Joe Gibbs Racing reserve driver Ryan Truex has been on standby, ready to fill in for Hamlin in the event that Fish went into labor and he had to miss the race.
But the baby decided to take its time.
This week, of course, presented a unique challenge for Denny. NASCAR is heading south of the border to Mexico City, the first points-paying international race for the Cup Series since 1958 when Lee Petty won in Toronto. (The Xfinity Series has held races in both Mexico and Canada in recent years, and the Cup Series has also traveled internationally for exhibition races, but there haven’t been any points races internationally in nearly 70 years).
Obviously traveling internationally presents logistical challenges for drivers and teams that they don’t have to deal with when they’re racing in places like Nashville or Michigan. And it means Hamlin would have a much harder time getting back from Mexico City if Fish went into labor while he was traveling, forcing him to choose between racing at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez or missing the birth of his child.
Well earlier this week Hamlin told us what his choice would be, revealing that he would skip the race if Fish hadn’t gone into labor by the time the teams had to leave for Mexico City.
And this afternoon, the team and Hamlin made it official, with Hamlin announcing the birth of his son along while confirming that he would be staying behind to be with Fish and their children:
“We are happy to announce the birth of our son. 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.”
Hamlin sitting out this weekend will put an end to his streak of 406 consecutive starts, dating back to 2014 when he was forced to miss the race at Auto Club Speedway due to eye irritation that was discovered to be from a small piece of metal.
Sam Hornish Jr. is the last driver other than Hamlin to pilot the #11 car in the Cup Series, but this weekend JGR reserve driver Ryan Truex, brother of retired Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr., will step behind the wheel and fill in for Denny. Truex also does simulator work for the team, and his familiar with the setups and how JGR cars drive, so it should be a seamless process to fill in for the weekend.
The team also announced that they will seek a waiver from NASCAR for Hamlin to maintain his eligibility for the playoffs. Under NASCAR rules, a driver is not eligible for the playoffs unless they start every regular season race, though NASCAR does grant waivers for medical reasons and has said in the past that the birth of a child is considered a valid medical reason.
There’s no doubt it makes it easier on Hamlin to already have three wins under his belt this season, locking himself firmly in the playoffs. But missing a race – and missing out on the points that come with it – will obviously make Hamlin’s chase for his elusive first championship that much harder.
Seems like he doesn’t really care though. Family comes first, and Hamlin’s family just got even bigger.
