It has been a crazy three weeks for Denny Hamlin, who entered the races at Nashville Superspeedway and Michigan International Speedway on baby watch but ended up competing in both as his third child with longtime partner Jordan Fish continued to wait to make his entry into the world.
For both races, Joe Gibbs Racing reserve driver Ryan Truex was confirmed as Hamlin's backup, but his services ended up not being needed. But as the baby watch continued into Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez race week, Hamlin made the decision not to travel for NASCAR's first ever Mexico Cup Series race.
As a result, he missed his first start since March 2014, ending a 406-race streak, and Truex got to make his own first Cup Series start since September 2014.
Truex did attempt to qualify for the 2019 season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, but he failed to do so for Tommy Baldwin Racing.
He qualified 36th in Mexico and finished a respectable 23rd, marking the second-best finish of his Cup Series career. He had not placed that high since his 20th place finish at Pocono Raceway for BK Racing in August 2014.
But after a chaotic three weeks, Truex is officially back on the sidelines at Pocono Raceway.
Hamlin, who was indeed granted a playoff waiver and allowed to retain the 18 playoff points he has already earned this season via his three race wins and three stage wins, is set to return to the No. 11 Toyota for this Sunday afternoon's race at Pocono Raceway.
With seven victories at the three-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) track in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, Hamlin is the most successful Cup Series driver in the history of the "Tricky Triangle", and he also won his most recent start at Michigan two weeks ago.
Hamlin's missed start did cost him two positions in the point standings, as he dropped from third to fifth place behind teammate Christopher Bell, another three-race winner this season, and Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliott, the highest-placed non-winner in the standings through the season's first 16 races.
As for Truex, he competed in the Xfinity Series on a part-time basis for Joe Gibbs Racing from 2022 to 2024, winning one race in 2023 and two in 2024. He has made one Xfinity Series start so far this season in the season opener at Daytona, but it came with Sam Hunt Racing. He does not currently have any others lined up.
Tune in to Amazon Prime Video at 2:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, June 22 for the live broadcast of the Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA from Pocono Raceway. This race is the final race of Prime's five-race portion of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series broadcast schedule.