Denny Hamlin to Miss Mexico Race for Birth of His Child
Pilot Denny Hamlin will miss the first international NASCAR race in the modern era, to stay in North Carolina after the birth of his son. Ryan Truex will be the one to replace him this Sunday in Mexico City. Hamlin shared the news on social media:Hamlin and his fiancée Jordan Fish now have three children, two daughters and a son born on Wednesday. Hamlin was on “baby watch” for the last 12 days, as Fish went almost two weeks over her due date. I had planned to get out of the car in Michigan last Sunday if she went into labor at the beginning of the race, but when the first stage passed without news, he continued and achieved his third victory of the season. The victory was the 57th of his career and made him the driver with the most victories at Joe Gibbs Racing. After 15 races this season, Hamlin is in third place in the overall Cup standings. Truex, younger brother of former full-time JGR driver Martin Truex Jr., is Gibbs’ reserve driver. His last Cup appearance was in 2014 and he has 26 starts at NASCAR’s top level. Hamlin will need NASCAR to grant him a waiver to be eligible to compete in the Cup championship playoffs. NASCAR, during the offseason, tightened the rules for granting waivers, but said it would allow a driver to skip one event for the birth of a child. The 44-year-old driver, Hamlin, will break his streak of 406 consecutive starts. The last time Hamlin missed a race was in 2014 at California Speedway due to eye irritation.“See you at Pocono. We are pleased to announce the birth of our son. Everyone is fine. My main priority is to be here at home for Jordan and our family over the next few days, when she can come home and we transition to life as a family of five.”
Denny Hamlin
