Denny Hamlin to Miss NASCAR Mexico City Event After Birth of Son

Denny Hamlin, who won last weekend's FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan, will not compete in the NASCAR Cup Series event at Mexico City following the birth of his third child. | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

For the first time in 407 races, Denny Hamlin will not compete in a NASCAR Cup Series event. The 44-year-old racer, who won last weekend's FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, will not travel to Mexico City for the inaugural NASCAR Cup event at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez following the birth of his third child on Wednesday.

Joe Gibbs Racing confirmed on Thursday afternoon that Hamlin would not compete in Sunday's race, and that Ryan Truex, the team's reserve driver, will fill in behind the wheel of the No. 11 Yahoo! Toyota Camry XSE this weekend. In a statement in its press release, the team said, "JGR supports Hamlin in his decision."

NEWS@dennyhamlin will miss Sunday’s @NASCAR Cup Series race in Mexico City. We will apply for a waiver to maintain his status for the 2025 Playoffs.

In Denny’s absence, @Ryan_Truex will pilot the No. 11 @Yahoo Toyota this weekend. pic.twitter.com/ilc5jNLaMG

— Joe Gibbs Racing (@JoeGibbsRacing) June 12, 2025

The team will apply for a Playoff Waiver for Hamlin, which is expected to be granted as the birth of a child is one of the reasons listed in the NASCAR Cup Series Rule Book pertaining to Playoff Waivers.

Hamlin issued a statement via his social media channels, where he announced the birth of his son, and expressed that he will remain with his family as his fiancée Jordan Fish is expected to be released from the hospital to go home in the coming days.

"We are happy to announce the birth of our son," Hamlin said in his 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."

See you guys in Pocono pic.twitter.com/ggLoheBPuU

— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) June 12, 2025

Heading into this weekend, Hamlin is third in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season championship standings, and sits 82 points behind William Byron, the series point leader. By not competing this weekend, Hamlin's deficit to Byron will grow, but the driver has stated all along that he is committed to doing right by his family, even if that means skipping a race to do his part as a father and husband.

Ironically, Hamlin's last missed event came in March 2014 when he had an object lodged in his eye. That was the same season that Truex, 33, last competed in a NASCAR Cup Series race. Truex, who made 26 starts for underdog organizations HScott Motorsports and BK Racing between the 2013 and 2014 seasons, has a career-best NASCAR Cup Series finish of 20th. He should have a chance to better that result this weekend.

Truex has scored three victories in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driving for the Joe Gibbs Racing organization in a part-time role since the 2023 season, and won back-to-back ARCA Menards Series East (then NASCAR K&N Pro Series East) championships in 2009 and 2010.