NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Denny Hamlin was taken to the infield care center, then to the University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital following a hard crash at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday.
On lap 99, Hamlin was leading the Amp Energy 500 when the right front tire on his No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota violently exploded, sending his car up the racetrack and into the outside wall.
Crew Chief Mike Ford said it was unclear if the tire failure was caused by debris or a deficiency in the Goodyear product.
When Hamlin said nothing over his in-car radio after the impact, his spotter, Curtis Markham, was heard asking if he was okay then telling him to just catch his breath.
Hamlin climbed from the car slowly under his own power, but was then assisted to a stretcher by emergency personnel.
- B/R Ticket Guide
He was complaining of a headache and was thought to possibly have a concussion. He was also favoring his right foot as he limped away from his severely damaged car.
Hamlin was described as "alert and awake" as he was transported to the hospital by ambulance. As a precaution, Hamlin was kept overnight for further observation.
J.D. Gibbs, President of Joe Gibbs Racing, issued a comment after the incident:
"Denny's alert and doing well. He's got a little headache so they're going to take him to Birmingham just to keep an eye on him. The tire went down and it was quite a shot he took when he hit the wall. The good news is that he feels pretty good, but we're just going to take every precaution to make sure he's okay."
On Monday, Hamlin was released from the hospital with no reports of any serious injuries.
JGR spokesman Jon Mason said Hamlin returned to his home where he is expected to rest a sore foot.
Mason stated that doctors are likely to give Hamlin the go-ahead to compete in both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races this weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.
Mason added, "as it stands, [Hamlin] is likely to be in the car on Thursday" for practice.
Hamlin was scored in the 39th position after the race and fell two spots to the 12th and final slot amongst the Chasers in the point standings, 335 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.
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about 1 month ago
Thanks Julianna for the update on Hamlin. Looked like it could have been worse, if not for the soft wall and glad to here other than a headache has a sore foot.
about 1 month ago
Welcome.
I was glad to find out he was okay. I tried writing an article that he'd been hospitalized last night but my nerves were so shot, I couldn't concentrate enough to put together a few comprehensible sentences.
about 1 month ago
Thanks for the update Julianna - he took a hard hit for sure.
from about 1 month ago
Welcome.
I would have been very misty-eyed if I had saw that happen when they aired the race the first time. Luckily, I learned about it before I watched the race, so I was expecting it to happen and I already knew it wasn't too serious.
from about 1 month ago
Also, thank you for the comment. :)
about 1 month ago
another great news article. very clear and concise.
keep up the good work.
about 1 month ago
Great work with this one! It was a hard lick, thank God he just got banged up a little, those hits are horrific to see. It is so amazing that they can walk away from them in this day & age, bless those soft walls! I can't wait to read the next one!
from about 1 month ago
Thank you.
I'm so glad that he's okay.
about 1 month ago
Very nice work, Julianna. I was afraid he'd have a concussion when he complained of a headache... glad nothing serious happened.
from about 1 month ago
Thank you, Jen.
Although, I'm not exactly convinced nothing "serious" happened. When asked if he suffered a concussion, Denny didn't give a direct answer to the question. According to the NASCAR.com article, he simply stated, "Either way, a head injury is a head injury." Hm. Weird.
Then again, maybe he just doesn't want to talk about it. I don't know; I'm glad that he is out of the hospital though.
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