NASCAR Star Treated for Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Mid-Race

By Ross Kelly May 7, 2019 at 2:38pm

As if his lowest finish in six years at Dover weren’t enough, Denny Hamlin also had to deal with a terrifying medical episode Monday.

Hamlin suffered from nausea and double vision while racing at the Gander RV 400 after carbon monoxide seeped into his Toyota, The Associated Press reported.

Immediately after the race, Hamlin seemed to be out of it a bit as an oxygen mask was given to him.

.@dennyhamlin was being attended to by medical staff on pit road once he exited his car. Looked exhausted.

He was seen on a golf cart being wheeled away for further treatment. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/2pEIA6Ac1s

— Davey Segal (@DaveyCenter) May 6, 2019

Medical personnel then attended to him on pit road, and he was later treated at the NASCAR medical care center.

During the race, debris struck Hamlin’s vehicle, knocking out the right rear crush panel and allowing fumes to get into the car.

“That kind of hampered the very end of the race for us, but it certainly wasn’t the deciding factor if we raced good or bad,” Hamlin said Tuesday. “It was just a tough race in general.

“It’s one of the more physically grueling racetracks we go to anyway. Then you do something like that, it makes it even worse.”

He also had a mid-race collision with Jimmie Johnson that both were able to escape.

Contact early!

Watch as @dennyhamlin and @JimmieJohnson collide at the @MonsterMile! #GanderRV400 pic.twitter.com/9LSybhsSlD

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 6, 2019

Hamlin said he felt fine Tuesday and expects to race at Kansas Speedway this weekend.

The 21st-place finish was the second straight disappointing result for Hamlin, who started out the year doing so well.

He won the Daytona 500 for the second time in his career to kick off the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series.

After finishing 11th and 10th in his next two races, Hamlin then had a string of six consecutive top-seven finishes before finishing 36th at Talladega.

With 397 points, he sits in fourth place in the Cup Series standings, and he is tied for first among drivers with six top-five finishes.

Hamlin is still seeking his first Cup Series championship. He’s finished as high as second place back in 2010, his third year driving Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.

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