In a Tuesday interview on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Denny Hamlin said he would stay home and miss Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City if his fiancée hasn’t delivered their baby by the time he needs to leave.
Hamlin and fiancée Jordan Fish have been on baby watch for two weeks, with three-time Xfinity Series winner Ryan Truex waiting in the wings at both Nashville Superspeedway and Michigan International Speedway in case he needed to step into the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
MORE: Mexico City schedule | Watch NASCAR video highlights
Truex would be the reserve driver again for Sunday’s Viva Mexico 250 (3 p.m. ET, Prime Video, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) if Hamlin is unable to make the trip to the Cup Series’ first international points race since 1958.
“I said from the very beginning, if she hasn’t had it by the time I need to leave for Mexico, then I’m not going to go to Mexico,” Hamlin told SiriusXM. “I think that that’s the proper thing to do. But really, just letting her (Fish) call the shots. I think that’s the best thing. When her body and her mind says that it’s time, then that’s what we’ll do. And ultimately, I need to be there for her, during, post-(birth) and all those things. Just going to make sure I spend the proper time with her, and obviously the racing will come second this week.”
If he misses Sunday’s race, Hamlin would have to request a waiver to remain eligible for the Cup Series Playoffs and retain the 18 playoff points he has earned through three race wins and three stage wins this season. Ahead of the 2025 campaign, competition officials listed the birth of a child as one example of circumstances in which a driver could miss an event without forfeiting their playoff points or eligibility.
Entering Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Hamlin sits third in the regular-season standings, trailing points leader William Byron by 82 markers.