Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, visited the infield care center at Dover International Speedway after Monday's Gander RV 400 and received treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning.
“We knocked the right rear crush panel out, which is kind of the worst possible case scenario for carbon monoxide,” Hamlin said Tuesday. “I had some pretty high levels and felt nauseous and had double vision and whatnot. That kind of hampered the end of the race for us but certainly wasn’t a deciding factor in whether we raced good or bad. Just a tough break in general. That’s one of the more physically grueling race tracks we go to anyway. Then when you do something like that, you knock crush panels out, it’s going to make it even worse.”
After the race was postponed from Sunday to Monday because of racing, Hamlin started inside the top-10, but he fell outside the top-20 early. He wound up 21st, three laps down, at the end of the 400-lap race. He spun because of a tire problem on lap 265, bringing out the final caution of the race.
Hamlin didn't blame the illness for the poor finish.
“That kind of hampered the very end of the race for us but it certainly wasn’t a deciding factor if we raced good or bad,” Hamlin said. “It was just a tough race in general. It’s one of the more physically grueling race tracks we go to anyway. Then you do something like that, it makes it even worse.”
After finishing no worse than 11th in the first nine races of the season, including two wins, Hamlin has finished outside the top-20 in the two most recent races, including a 36th at Talladega Superspeedway on April 28.
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