Hamlin Won't Go to Mexico City if Still Awaiting Birth of Third Child

“Not yet,” Hamlin responded when asked if the baby had arrived. “He’s quite like his father, very hard-headed and stubborn it appears.”

However, the 57-time NASCAR Cup Series race-winner has confirmed that should the baby not come prior to his scheduled departure to Mexico City (drivers are expected to be leaving on Thursday), then Hamlin will not make the trip for this weekend’s Viva Mexico 250.

“If she hasn’t had [the baby] by the time I need to leave or Mexico, I’m not going to go to Mexico,” Hamlin explained. “I think that’s the proper thing to do, but really just letting her call the shots. I think that’s the best thing, when her body and her mind says it’s time, then that’s what we’ll do.”

“Ultimately, I need to be there for her during, post, and all those things. So, just going to make sure I spend the proper time with her, and the racing will come second this week.”

Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has confirmed to Racing America On SI that should Hamlin be absent from this weekend’s events at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, that it would be the team’s official reserve driver, Ryan Truex, that would pilot the No. 11 Yahoo! Toyota Camry XSE.

Truex is the younger brother of 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion and former Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex, Jr., and has spent the last couple of seasons intertwined in the championship-winning organization’s NAASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series programs.

The Mayetta, New Jersey-native has spent the last two weekends at the racetrack, standing by in the event that Hamlin needed to leave to be with his fiancée for the birth of their son. Truex, 33, has made 26 starts in the NASCAR Cup Series, but none since his tenure with BK Racing at the end of 2014.

Throughout his career in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, where Truex is a three-time winner, the 33-year-old driver has made seven road course starts, netting a single top five at Mid-Ohio in 2018, and a total of two top 10s.

In the event that Hamlin does not travel to Mexico City for this weekend’s events, it is likely that he will be granted a waiver for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, as “childbirth” has been one of the reasons approved by NASCAR to dictate a no consequences waiver.

Following his third NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season last weekend at Michigan International Speedway, Hamlin sits third place in series point standings, 82 markers behind leader William Byron. Missing an event would significantly his chances at a regular-season championship.

The Viva Mexico 250 is set to take place on Sunday, June 15 at 3:00 PM ET on Prime Video, Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

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