After Getting “Used Up” Filling in for Denny Hamlin, Ryan Truex Reflects on Tough Lessons From Mexico

Ryan Truex, filling in for Denny Hamlin during NASCAR’s Mexico weekend, set his sights on echoing his brother Martin Truex Jr.’s winning performance in the Xfinity Series from two decades prior on the same circuit.

He leaned on Martin for advice and took to the grid from 36th, ultimately climbing to finish 23rd. While it marked a modest gain, a top-20 finish would have better honored the Truex legacy.

Reflecting on the outing, Truex believed his car came alive in the rain, allowing him to gain ground with wet-weather tires. He said, “We put slicks on and were still running decent.

“Just made a small mistake and got my right rear end in a puddle and immediately spun out. I don’t think I was the only one that spun out on his own today, so I don’t feel terrible about it.”

Truex added, “Now one restart on this middle for whatever, whoever was behind me just pushed me until I was wrecked basically. I definitely got used up today.

“Which, I mean, it’s to be expected. I don’t race every week. They don’t know me. They know I’m not gonna be here next week. I definitely got taken advantage of a lot, but I’m happy with the progress I made through the weekend.”

Ryan Truex wishes the race had stayed wet but also on acclimating to the Cup Series again

Also, when will we see him next? pic.twitter.com/6FVMvCSCP4

— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) June 16, 2025

Truex avoided the 13-car pileup that defined the race’s chaos and showed flashes of speed, even cracking the top 15 at one point. With more laps, he believed he could have turned that promise into results. He even stated that if he could go back to practice, he would know what his balance needs to be right away.

And he would have probably qualified 20 spots better because it just sets a driver off on the right foot. But he wished it would have rained because he felt really good in the rain, or the car was really good in the rain.

Grateful for the opportunity, Truex admitted he felt significantly better on race day than he did during Saturday’s qualifying, where he started from the back of the pack.

Meanwhile, Hamlin will return to the No. 11 seat for the upcoming Pocono weekend, a track where he has racked up seven career wins, including one in the Next Gen era (2023). The event will present a prime opportunity for the team to rebound and claw back the points lost during their Mexico absence.

About the author

Neha Dwivedi

Neha Dwivedi is an experienced NASCAR Journalist at The SportsRush, having penned over 5500 articles on the sport to date. She was a seasoned writer long before she got into the world of NASCAR. Although she loves to see Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch win the races, she equally supports the emerging talents in the CARS Late Model and ARCA Menards Series.. For her work in NASCAR she has earned accolades from journalists like Susan Wade of The Athletic, as well as NASCAR drivers including Thad Moffit and Corey Lajoie. Her favorite moment from NASCAR was witnessing Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. win the championship trophies. Outside the racetrack world, Neha immerses herself in the literary world, exploring both fiction and non-fiction.

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