There are all kinds of reasons a driver might miss a race.
Sometimes it’s an injury. Sometimes it’s a sponsor issue. Occasionally, it’s because someone stuffed their car into a wall at 200 miles an hour and they’re busy trying to remember their name.
But this weekend, Denny Hamlin will miss the NASCAR Cup Series race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City for a much better reason: his son was born on Wednesday, June 11. And for once, the No. 11 won’t be chasing stage points. It’ll be chasing sleep, diapers, and the elusive art of swaddling.
“We are happy to announce the birth of our son,” Hamlin said in a statement. “Everyone is doing well. My main priority is to be here at home for Jordan and our family over the next few days when she is able to go home and we transition to life as a family of five.”
Now, in fairness, this isn’t the first time Hamlin’s missed a race. But the last time he did, it wasn’t quite so Hallmark-worthy.
In 2013, Hamlin suffered a nasty crash at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana that compressed his L1 vertebra—basically, he got launched into the wall by Joey Logano in a move that made chiropractors across America collectively wince. That time, he missed four races because he couldn’t stand up straight, let alone climb into a stock car. And there were no balloons or cigars involved.
This time, however, it’s all joy—and Joe Gibbs Racing is fully behind their veteran driver, announcing that Ryan Truex will pilot the No. 11 Yahoo Toyota Camry XSE in Hamlin’s absence. It’s not exactly a small stage, either: this is NASCAR’s first trip back to Mexico City since 2008, and the first ever for the Cup Series.
The team also said they’ll be applying for a waiver so that Hamlin, who currently sits third in the championship standings with three wins—including last Sunday’s victory at Michigan—remains eligible for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
It’s hard to imagine anyone at NASCAR HQ turning him down. Hamlin’s not skipping the race for a golf tournament or a yacht party. He’s at home doing the most important pit stop of his life: helping Jordan and their two daughters welcome the newest crew member into the family.
So, for now, the No. 11 is parked, the bassinet is on the pole, and Denny Hamlin is racing down an entirely different track—the kind with 3 a.m. wakeups, bibs, and a soundtrack of soft crying instead of V8 thunder.
And knowing Hamlin, he’ll still somehow find a way to win the restart.
Greg was a writer for DriveTribe supporting Amazon's The Grand Tour and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, and a Masters degree in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek and a regular contributor to Forbes.
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