“Crazy few weeks” before his surprise JGR ride in Mexico

There is quite the challenge — and opportunity — ahead for Ryan Truex. Denny Hamlin is choosing to stay with his family this weekend and miss the Cup race in Mexico City following the birth of his son. Hamlin’s absence means Truex will get to pilot the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

That car has three wins this year with Hamlin behind the wheel, including the most recent race at Michigan. However, the odds aren’t exactly in Truex’ favor. Truex has never raced the current generation of car and is making his first Cup start in over a decade on Sunday. And of course, he’s doing it at a road course that he (and most of the field) have never experienced before.

The good news is that he has about 90 minutes of practice to get acclimated, which is far more than what is provided on most weekends.

A rare opportunity for Truex 

“It’s been a crazy few weeks – especially since Charlotte, I’ve been on standby,” said Truex. “I’m glad it is at a track where I can practice and have time and know what to do to. I found out on Wednesday night, so it has been kind of chaotic getting here and putting all of that together, but I’m just grateful for the experience and grateful to be here. Really just want to enjoy it. I don’t really have any set goals or expectations – I just want to enjoy the weekend. I’m driving a Cup car for Joe Gibbs at an international race – this is not something I ever dreamed of doing, just want to take it all in and have a good time.”

Truex’s Cup experience is extremely limited and it was a struggle. He ran just 26 races between 2013 and 2014, never finishing higher than 20th. Since then, he appeared as a part-time driver in the Xfinity Series, winning three races with Joe Gibbs Racing. He told the media in Mexico City that he doesn’t have any set expectations for the event, just focusing on enjoying the experience.

“My last time in Cup was not a fun experience,” admitted Truex. “It didn’t go well for me. I didn’t enjoy it. That was probably not the right move for me, career-wise, and I’ve kind of been fighting back since then. I enjoy everything I do at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing). I’ve been able to race part time the last couple of years, and do all of this stuff away from the track. It has been nice. It has been fun to race part-time and have some Saturdays at home, but it is also fun to be at the track, so I feel like I’ve had a good balance the last few years and the Cup cars then are so different than what they are now.”

His only experience with the Gen-7 car is via the simulator or in testing, but never on a race weekend. But the Truex family has a pretty good track record at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Martin Truex Jr, the 2017 Cup Series champion and older brother to Ryan, actually won the first Xfinity race ever run there back in 2005.

“I texted him [Martin] this week when I found out and he said Truex’s are one-for-one in Mexico, so no pressure. I’m glad he could throw that at me (laughter), but he’s been good for advice,” said Truex.

Part of the preparation involves adjusting the car to fit Truex, instead of Hamlin. “I mean it is close. It is a little bit of a mismatch because the cars came straight from Michigan and we weren’t sure if this was going to happen. When the car got here, it was set up for Denny (Hamlin), so they are making adjustments after tech. Honestly, I fit pretty well – the pedals are a little far away, so they are going to have to move those.

“If it was an oval, I could have made deal with how the pedals were, but for a road course, you are going to be braking a lot and throttle modulation, so we need to move those, but for the most part, for all of the JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) guys, I feel like I fit close. Obviously, if it is a 600-mile race, you want to be perfect, because any little pinch point or tight point is going to drive you crazy, but for the most part we should be able to get it close.”