Denny Hamlin sets deadline for whether he will run in NASCAR Mexico City Cup Race

Denny Hamlin has finalized his plans as NASCAR heads to Mexico City this weekend while his fiancée Jordan Fish is due to give birth to the couple’s third child and first son. Hamlin said Tuesday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that if Fish doesn’t deliver their son by the time he has to leave for Mexico City, he will not make the trip.

Hamlin’s priority is to be alongside Fish for the delivery of their third child. Drivers are set to depart Thursday for Mexico City for Sunday’s Viva Mexico 250 at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

“I said from the very beginning that if she hasn’t had it by the time I need to leave for Mexico, then I’m not going to go to Mexico. I think that’s the proper thing to do,” Hamlin told Danielle Trotta and Larry McReynolds. “But really, I’m just letting her call the shots. I think that’s the best thing and when her body and her mind says it’s the best time, then that’s what we’ll do.

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

Denny Hamlin on baby watch as NASCAR heads to Mexico City

Hamlin and Fish have been anticipating their son’s arrival for the past couple weeks. Hamlin made it through the last two races without getting a phone call. While it’s late in the ballgame, Hamlin and Fish might have something to reconsider when it comes to picking a name after Hamlin’s victory in Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

Right now, the couple have a list of about “13-15 names” they agree on. But could something from the win at Michigan influence the final decision on a name? It’s a “good thought” Hamlin said. Michigan Hamlin, anyone?

“We have this app that is essentially swipe left, swipe right on names and then you match names that you both like. … And so, right now we have like 13-15 names that we matched. I have one that I was hung up on right from the beginning,” Hamlin told Dustin Long of NBC Sports. “It’s interesting, she did give me option, she said, ‘If you had to pick one or the other, you either get to schedule this or you get to have the name. Which one? You can’t have both.’ I said, ‘I’ll take the name.’

“So, she’s getting it her way and then hopefully, I have things my way when it’s all said and done. But it’s a great point that does something from today get in there somewhere. That’s a good thought.”