Denny Hamlin OUT For Mexico City; Truex to Drive No. 11
What’s Happening? Denny Hamlin will miss this weekend’s race in Mexico City following the birth of his third child. In his…
It’s a big weekend for Ryan Truex, who is making his first NASCAR Cup Series start since 2014. As the younger brother of NASCAR Champion Martin Truex Jr, the 33-year-old revealed he did reach out to his brother for some advice ahead of this weekend.
What’s Happening? Denny Hamlin will miss this weekend’s race in Mexico City following the birth of his third child. In his…
With the birth of his son, Denny Hamlin is taking the week off. As a result, Joe Gibbs Racing is turning to their full-time reserve driver, Ryan Truex, who has not been behind the wheel of a Cup Series car since 2014 and in the NASCAR Next Gen era. For advice, the 33-year-old reached out to a former champion, his brother, Martin Truex Jr.
Long-time NASCAR fans know the elder of the two brothers as quiet yet dominant. After floundering early on, after age 35, the former Xfinity Series Champion turned on the jets, winning 32 races and a Cup Series championship.
In fact, during Martin’s time in the Xfinity Series, he won a race at Mexico City, the first NASCAR Race in the track’s history. Much like any younger brother, ahead of his Cup Series return, Ryan reached out to his elder brother on what to expect at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
Per usual, the future Hall of Famer’s response was short and to the point. Martin told Ryan, “‘Truex’s are one for one at Mexico.” The younger of the two brothers played these words off, telling the media, “So, no pressure. I’m glad he could throw that at me.”
He did clarify that Martin is a good resource for advice, though he noted, “I don’t know how much it’ll translate from 2005.”
Last week, with the Hamlin family still on baby watch, Ryan was on standby for the No. 11 at Michigan. Truex revealed that he also reached out for advice for Michigan, getting yet another short and to-the-point response from his brother. “I did ask him at Michigan what I needed to do, and he just said a lot of throttle. That was his full debrief with me.”
Truex went on to joke about his brother, “What you guys see here and what you guys see on TV, that’s him. That’s how he is. Short [and] to the point.”
Despite his brother’s success in the Xfinity Series and long tenure in the Cup Series, Ryan Truex found the early years in NASCAR rather difficult.
After his National Series debut in 2010, the New Jersey native floated around teams across all three NASCAR National Series, not earning a full-time ride until the 2014 season. This job was behind the wheel of backmarker BK Racing’s No. 83 in the Cup Series, with the then 22-year-old failing to qualify for four races, leaving the team before the end of the season.
After this season, Truex continued to float around until he scored a second full-time ride with Kaulig Racing for the 2018 Xfinity Series season. Truex would finish 12th in points during this season. As of press time, Kaulig is his most recent full-time ride, as despite winning three races on part-time status with JGR and Sam Hunt Racing, Truex has failed to find something consistent.
Earlier this season, the now fan-favorite underdog announced that he had signed on as JGR’s full-time reserve driver for both their Xfinity and Cup Series programs.
What’s Happening? Fan favorite Xfinity Series driver Ryan Truex does not have any plans for 2025. However, a recent interview with…
What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
On February 17, Ubisoft released a trailer that confirmed that NASCAR would be included in The Crew Motorfest’s next season update. Details were limited at the time, but in a press release issued today, Ubisoft revealed the full details of the update ahead of its March 4 launch.
Ubisoft says drafting will affect car speed and help save fuel, implying that drafting will be a huge factor in the game, at least with these cars. You can check out this and much more on Ubisoft’s official post linked below
Earlier this Tuesday, the official The Crew Motorfest account clarified confusion around the NASCAR bundles. The Crew Credit (CC) bundles only include cosmetic team liveries, not additional cars. The 3 base Next Gen cars (Ford Mustang Dark Horse, Toyota Camry XSE, and Chevrolet ZL1) are part of the free Season 9 update and can be purchased separately.
Mitch Rasmussen, NASCAR’s Senior Director of Interactive, said in the press release:
We’re excited to bring our iconic brand to life in The Crew Motorfest. This collaboration represents another important step in our strategy to bring NASCAR into the digital spaces and places where next generation fans spend their time, giving players new ways to interact with the culture and communities they love.
The content arrives as part of Year 3 Season 9 and is officially licensed by NASCAR. You can watch the first trailer and learn more in the article linked below
What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
Four road courses on the schedule, and somehow that’s enough to spark one of the biggest debates in the garage. After recent comments from Brad Keselowski questioning the business value of road racing, the conversation has picked up serious steam. Is NASCAR leaning too far into it, or is the current balance about right?
There are valid points on both sides, from sponsorship realities to fan traditions to competitive diversity. Some tracks have gained traction. Others have struggled. The question isn’t just whether road courses belong, but how many make sense within a 36-race season. It’s less about extremes and more about direction. And with future schedule changes always looming, this debate probably isn’t settled anytime soon.
Watch Also:
Corey Day’s run-in with Connor Zilisch at Circuit of the Americas became one of the most discussed incidents from Saturday’s race, even drawing a response from Denny Hamlin as well, who this week talked about his support for Zilisch.
During the race, Zilisch dealt with brake trouble on his No. 1 Chevrolet but worked his way forward from the rear of the field, advancing from P29 to P4 in the closing laps. With five laps remaining, he engaged in a battle with Hendrick Motorsports driver Corey Day as they exited Turn 2, holding the outside line. But as they contested the position, Day moved up behind him, contact occurred, and Zilisch spun off course to finish the race in P21.
After the contact, frustrated, Connor Zilisch initially referred to Day as an “absolute hack” on his radio, describing the clash as part of the latter’s racing pattern. But the JR Motorsports driver later tempered his comments, simply saying he expects an apology from the young Hendrick Motorsports driver.
Given that Zilisch declined to escalate the situation, on the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin credited him for calmly managing his response after the race, saying,
“Zillich was smart about this. He in his interview, he’s like, “I looked over at him thinking, come on over here. Come apologize.” And he said he just looked at him with a stare like, I don’t know what it is with these guys. Why, Why can’t they… youth?”
However, he questioned Day’s failure to issue an immediate apology. In fact, he said he was “floored” by Corey Day’s reaction, which involved staring at a frustrated Zilisch rather than apologizing.
The No. 11 JGR driver also raised questions about how Hendrick Motorsports evaluates developing drivers. Organizations invest with the expectation of returns measured in wins and titles, but when a driver continues to make visible mistakes, fans and especially other drivers will start to scrutinize. Hamlin pointed to the balance between development and production, asking how long it would hold.
The COTA incident was not the first time Day’s racing antics were questioned. Last week, during the Atlanta race, Day was involved in a multi-car crash on lap five after attempting a three-wide move that resulted in contact with Ryan Sieg. The move triggered a chain reaction that collected several cars.
Sieg responded over team radio, questioning both the decision and Day’s presence in the series.
Hamlin argued that drivers are allowed to make mistakes as part of growth. At teams with front-running equipment and title ambitions, time frames are shorter. But he questioned whether Day faces a deadline by season’s end or whether the assessment extends into the following year.
In Day’s case, results have not offset the incidents that have drawn attention. Hamlin referenced Kyle Larson as an example, noting that aggressive driving can lead to contact as well as wins.
Do you agree with Hamlin’s take? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
