Hamlin Hospitalized Overnight After Hard Crash

Julianna Harrell — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:57:01 -0400

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.

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.

Joey Logano's Truck Debut a Disappoinment at 'Dega

Julianna Harrell — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 23:35:58 -0400

The 18-year-old phenom, Joey "Sliced Bread" Logano, made his NASCAR Craftsman Trucks Series debut at Talladega Superspeedway in the No. 59 Toyota Tundra for HT Motorsports on Saturday.

Although Logano began the race from the sixth spot, his start quickly turned into a minor disaster.

On Lap 20, the second caution of the day flew when debris from Logano's truck landed on the track. The fallen debris caused his passenger-side window to become unfastened and fly off the Toyota, also landing on the track.

Logano lost three laps as his crew replaced the window with their only backup and promptly secured it with tape. NASCAR requires that the trucks at restrictor-plate tracks have a passenger-side window in place. With his window fixed, Logano made his way back onto the track just in front of the field, causing him to lose yet another lap.

But the young driver's troubles didn't end there.

Coming down the backstretch on the final lap, Logano was caught up in a multi-car crash at the back of the pack.

The No. 40 Chevrolet driven by Jeff Green collided with another truck at the bottom then swiftly shot up the racetrack, crushing Logano's Tundra and Jon Wood's Ford against the wall. No yellow flag flew and the race continued under green.

What started out as a hopeful learning experience and a highly anticipated race for both Logano and his fans ended as a slight catastrophe for the popular teenage rookie.

Then again, there's always next time for NASCAR's newest rising star as it will most likely not be his only attempt in the series.

Logano finished 26th, five laps down.

Todd "The Onion" Bodine won The Mountain Dew 250 in his No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota with a last-lap pass of leader Kyle "Rowdy" Busch in the No. 51 Tundra. Busch crossed the finish line in third.

This was not Logano's first start at Talladega. The previous night, Logano participated in the ARCA RE/MAX 250, driving the No. 15 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet for Venturini Motorsports.

In that race—his second ARCA start ever (he won his first at Rockingham earlier this year)—Logano passed leader Patrick Sheltra with one to go then lost the lead on the last lap to Justin Allgaier who went on to win the race.

Logano finished second, leading 15 of the 94 laps.

Bleacher Report - Articles by Julianna Harrell

Hamlin Hospitalized Overnight After Hard Crash

Joey Logano's Truck Debut a Disappoinment at 'Dega