A winner last weekend at Michigan Int’l Speedway, Denny Hamlin did not make the trip to Mexico City for Sunday’s inaugural Cup Series race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
Hamlin’s fiancée Jordan Fish gave birth to a baby boy on Thursday, and Hamlin will tend to his family this weekend, while Ryan Truex takes the reigns of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
“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.”
It will be the first race Hamlin has missed since March 2014 at California’s Auto Club Speedway.
JGR confirmed Truex, who does much of the team’s simulator work, as the replacement driver. It will be his first Cup Series start since 2014.
• Alex Bowman, who experienced some back soreness after a hard crash at Michigan last Sunday, made the trip to Mexico and plans to drive the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. However, Anthony Alfredo will be on standby as a replacement.
• Travel issues for several teams leaving Charlotte on Thursday have forced NASCAR officials to tweak the on-track schedule for Friday and Saturday at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
On Friday morning, many competitors and crew members were still in the process of making their way to Mexico.
The significant schedule adjustment is a delay for the Xfinity Series, which will shift from two Friday practices to one 50-minute practice Saturday, which will split the field into two groups.
The pair of NASCAR Mexico Series events were rescheduled, with one race on Friday and one on Saturday.
