Denny Hamlin has been on baby watch for the last week and a half, with longtime partner Jordan Fish expecting the couple's third child. He was willing to leave both Nashville Superspeedway and Michigan International Speedway, as his priority was the birth of his first son, but the child is now more than a week overdue.
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, however, is a different story, given just how far Mexico is from his North Carolina home. This time, there is a deadline for the driver of the No. 11 Toyota. If the baby hasn't arrived by Thursday, he is planning on staying in the United States and thus not competing in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race.
Hamlin has ironically had incredible success on baby watch, placing third at Nashville after winning a stage and then earning his third race win of the season at Michigan. But with the birth of the baby being his priority, it is not worth it for him to make the trip to the 15-turn, 2.429-mile (3.909-kilometer) road course in Mexico City, Mexico.
And so for the third weekend in a row, Joe Gibbs Racing reserve driver Ryan Truex is Hamlin's backup.
It has already been confirmed that Hamlin would receive a playoff waiver if he were to miss the Viva Mexico 250, given the fact that the birth of a child is considered a medical reason for an absence. It would not count against his playoff eligibility, and despite an offseason rule change, he would retain all 18 playoff points that he has earned so far this season via his three race wins and three stage wins.
He would also remain eligible to score more.
The only downside is the fact that, if he does miss his first start since 2014, he would score zero points, which could be detrimental since drivers score more playoff points the higher up they finish in the regular season standings. Hamlin is currently third, which would pay eight playoff points.
As for Truex, the younger brother of former Cup Series champion and former Hamlin teammate Martin Truex Jr., he has not competed in a Cup Series race since 2014. His only Cup Series appearance since came in 2019, when he unsuccessfully attempted to qualify for the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
Truex has competed for Joe Gibbs Racing before, but only in the Xfinity Series. He ran part-time from 2022 to 2024 and collected one win in 2023 and another two in 2024. His lone Xfinity Series start so far in 2025 came at Daytona in the season opener for Sam Hunt Racing.
The Viva Mexico 250 is set to be shown live on Amazon Prime Video from Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, June 15.