LEBANON, Tenn. – Denny Hamlin hopes to add his name to the record book Sunday evening at Nashville Superspeedway by becoming the 22nd driver in NASCAR history to reach 700 career Cup Series starts. There’s a real possibility, however, that he misses his first NASCAR Cup Series race since 2014.
Hamlin’s longtime partner Jordan Fish is expecting to give birth to the couple’s third child – their first boy – at any moment. Her due date is June 1, the same date as Sunday’s Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville.
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The No. 11 team planned for Hamlin to get through practice and qualifying on Saturday with driver Ryan Truex on standby. The New Jersey native hasn’t started a race at the Cup level since a 23-race stint in 2014. He has just a single national series start this year, finishing 17th with Sam Hunt Racing at Daytona International Speedway.
“Oh yeah,” Hamlin said on if it’s a real possibility that he misses the Nashville race. “[Fish is] due tomorrow. I can’t miss it. I’ve got to be there for her, and that’s the biggest priority. I just wish she could hang on a little bit longer.
“I didn’t put a time on it. I think that there’s probably an eight-hour window that I don’t think it would be possible for me to do both.”
Hamlin isn’t intending to make the trip back to North Carolina following practice and qualifying and will remain in Nashville on Saturday evening.
The two-time 2025 winner put it simply that, should he get the call, he’s gone. Truex was fitted into the No. 11 Toyota, as the two drivers are similar in stature.
In four starts at Nashville, Hamlin has a pair of top 10 finishes with an average finish of 10.5. The No. 11 car has led at least 70 laps in the last three races. He’s aiming to be the first driver to win in their 700th start.
“It feels good to still be as competitive as I was in start one,” he added. “That’s what I’m most grateful in all of this is, 700 starts later, I can still go out and win this weekend.”
Truex has just one national series start at Nashville, finishing 16th in an Xfinity Series race with Michael Waltrip Racing in 2011.