One week after it was believed that Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin may be sidelined from the NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway due to the birth of his third child, the baby still hasn't been born.
As a result, there is once again a chance that Hamlin will miss his first Cup Series race in 11 years this Sunday afternoon at Michigan International Speedway.
Hamlin qualified on the second row in third place for this 200-lap FireKeepers Casino 400 around the four-turn, 2.0-mile (3.219-kilometer) Brooklyn, Michigan oval, but for the second weekend in a row, Joe Gibbs Racing reserve driver Ryan Truex is waiting and ready to get behind the wheel of the No. 11 Toyota, should the need arise.
Denny Hamlin out of the playoffs with missed start?
Because the birth of a driver's child is considered a medical situation, Hamlin's missed start (if he actually misses a race) would not count against his playoff eligibility, as he would be granted a medical playoff waiver. He would not score any points in the race, though he would not be removed from the postseason field.
Over the offseason, NASCAR made the rules regarding playoff waivers stricter after Kyle Larson's Indy 500-Coca-Cola 600 debacle last year. In the event that a driver misses a race for something other than a medical reason, they can be granted a waiver, but only by first abandoning all playoff points they have already scored.
Additionally, they become no longer eligible to score any more playoff points throughout the remainder of the regular season, meaning that they are guaranteed to start the playoffs, provided they do indeed qualify, in last place in the standings with no bonuses.
Hamlin does not have to worry about this if he misses a race for the birth of his first son. He has scored 13 playoff points so far this season, 10 due to his two race wins at Martinsville Speedway and Darlington Raceway and three due to his three stage wins, including one last weekend at Nashville when his status was also in question.
He is third among all drivers in playoff points and is locked into the playoffs thanks to his two race wins.
Hamlin is also currently positioned in fourth place in the point standings. A fourth place finish in the regular season standings is worth an additional seven playoff points. He ranks fourth among all drivers in projected playoff points with 20.
Amazon Prime Video is set to provide live coverage of the FireKeepers Casino 400 from Michigan International Speedway starting at 2:00 p.m. ET this afternoon.