Martin Truex Jr.’s Brother Potentially Set to Get First Cup Start in Five Years as Denny Hamlin is on Baby Watch

Joe Gibbs Racing veteran and No:11 Toyota racer Denny Hamlin’s backup driver for the Nashville Superspeedway Cup race revealed.

Martin Truex Jr.’s Brother Potentially Set to Get First Cup Start in Five Years as Denny Hamlin is on Baby Watch

Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. (Via IMAGO)

Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin is set to make his 700th NASCAR Cup Series start on this Sunday at Nashville. But there is a big chance that he might decide to skip the race, as his finance Jordan Fish is in the hospital waiting for the delivery of their third child. This might open the door for 2017 Cup champion Martin Truex Jr.’s brother to make cup return.

Ryan Truex, who has been the reserve driver/part-take driver for Joe Gibbs Racing since 2022, is the backup racer if Denny Hamlin has to go to the hospital. The veteran is already completed his seat fitting and is ready to take over whenever he gets the call. It’s good replacement for the No:11 Toyota team considering the Truex’s experience and relationship with the team.  

It’s obviously any minute. I think Ryan [Truex] has been fitted in there, and if I get a call, I’ve got to go.

Denny Hamlin told RACER.

It’s been over five years since Ryan Truex has raced in the Cup series. His last outing came in 2019 with Tommy Baldwin Racing, where he failed to qualify for the Daytona 500. His last proper race start in the elite division was at Chicagoland in 2018, with BK Racing.  Since then, he has raced for JR Motorsports, JGR and Sam Hunt Racing in the Xfinity Series, winning three races.

Denny Hamlin has no plans to miss his child birth and he is determined to be with his long-time partner at the hospital, which is biggest priority. He admitted that he is hopping the delivery will be delayed enough for him to make his 700th start and race for his third Cup race win of the 2025 NASCAR season.  

Oh, yeah. I can’t miss it. I certainly have to be there for her, and that’s the biggest priority. I wish she would hang on a little bit longer.

Denny Hamlin said.

Denny Hamlin shared his feelings about making it to 700 career races

Only a handful of drivers have ever made it into the elite list of racers with more than 700 career starts. Denny Hamlin is set to join that elite list, that already features active racer such as his ex-teammate Kyle Busch and seven times champion Jimmie Johnson, who made it to the list last week with his Coca-Cola 600 start.

Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin (Via newsminimalist.com)

Talking about the feeling about his career longevity, he admitted it feels special to have the opportunity to be competitive from his very first race and all those starts coming with JGR is nothing short of racing history. He is hoping to cap off the weekend with winning the race, making him the first to win on 700th start.

It honestly feels good to still be as competitive as I was in [the first start]. What I’m most grateful for in all this is that, 700 starts later, I still can go out here and win this weekend. I don’t know if anyone has won it in their 700th, but I’d like to.

Denny Hamlin said.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s investments and Denny Hamlin’s capability to evolve as a racer in different scenarios made him the champion driver he is now. It would be interesting to see how the whole scenario is going to playout for the veteran and his No:11 team.

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