CONCORD, North Carolina – Several factors played into NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) driver Denny Hamlin suffering from dehydration late in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.
Last weekend’s Sprint All-Star winner complained of not feeling well and suffering a severe headache. Immediately following his eighth place finish, the Martinsville (Va.) Speedway winner was taken to the infield care center for observation. He spent 45 minutes there before being released.
Hamlin proved just how well he was feeling after receiving an IV when he interrupted Carl Edwards’ post-race presser with a hug to his Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) teammate who stamped his way into this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup.
“A lot better now. I knew when my knee was sore afterwards that it was probably fluids,” said Hamlin. “My off-day (Friday) was 36 holes of golf and a full tennis match. Probably over did it a little bit this weekend. I think the dehydration led to a migraine and just felt nauseous the last 100 laps or so. Thank goodness, that didn’t cost us the win.”
In addition to playing golf, Hamlin finished second in Saturday’s XFINITY Series race at Charlotte driving the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota. In all, Hamlin raced 900 miles setting the tone for an extremely busy weekend at home.
And even with cheerleading-like encouragement from crew chief Dave Rogers, Hamlin admitted it wasn’t easy to stay focused inside the racecar.
“It’s tough, I was borderline throwing up trying to race for the lead. You just try to power through it and of course when you run well, you always feel a little bit better, but when the race is over and everything comes to a stop you realize how bad you feel. A lot better now with fluids and everything. It was directly related to hydration.”
To add insult to injury, Hamlin had to pit from the lead on Lap 363 after informing his team he had a loose wheel. With fuel strategy setting the tone for the outcome of the race, Hamlin had to settle for his fifth top-10 of the year instead of his second victory.
“That part of it stunk a little bit, but the 78 (Martin Truex Jr.) came back and passed us anyway,” Hamlin explained after leading 53 of 400 laps. “When he came back out, he had fresher air than what I did. I came out kind of middle of the pack and just couldn’t run the lap times I needed to. Those guys ended up on the bad end of the strategy anyway.
“Still proud of our FedEx Office team for really giving me a car that could contend for a win. This is a good sign and congrats to Carl (Edwards), this is an awesome two weeks really for our organization.”
The Chesterfield, Virginia native remains 15th in the championship standings after 12 races.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
