Safety workers attended to Denny Hamlin, subsequently an incident with Joey Logano on the final lap during the NASCAR Sprint cup serial publication political machine Club 400 Sunday in Fontana, Calif. Hamline will be come forth sestet weeks with a break away in his spinal column.(Photo: Jeff Gross, Getty Images)
Despite a compression fracture in his back, Denny Hamlin held out hope for some positive developments in his quest to stay on the racetrack.
But after he met with Charlotte physician Dr. Jerry Petty on Tuesday, those hopes chop-chop disappeared. After evaluating the driver, Petty ruled Hamlin out for approximately six weeks in order to permit the injury properly heal.
Joe Gibbs bucket along said Hamlin will not need surgery, but won't be back in the race automobile some(prenominal)time soon.
"I gaze I got some good news today," Hamlin tweeted. "I didn't."
Hamlin had been diagnosed with an L1 compression fracture Monday following a last-lap crash in Sunday's Auto Club 400, the result of contact with rival and former first mate Joey Logano.
The soonest Hamlin could likely return is the Darlington race on whitethorn 11. No decision has been made on a shift driver for Hamlin, the team said.
When Hamlin walked out of Loma Linda University Medical Center on Monday night, it was clear he had a long reco'ery forrad of him. Wearing a thick back brace, Hamlin told USA forthwith Sports and another reporter he was having trouble breathing and couldn't bending or twist in each way.
SAFETY REVIEW: SAFER barrier likely for Auto Club 400
Drivers must twist to run short into race motorcars, and it would nonplus been difficult for Hamlin to even get into the seat, let alone race. In addition, he expressed concern over NASCAR's substance abuse policy, which would have prevented him from being on any painkillers in the days leading up to the race.
Though Hamlin is expected to throw at least five races (the Sprint instill Series is off this weekend), his Chase hopes aren't completely finished – but it would be a longshot. Drivers can take one of ii " angered cards" by having the most wins outside of the natural elevation 10 in points – provided they remain in the top 20.
Hamlin won't get any points while he's out of the car, but if he's able to win seven-fold races upon his return and rally into the top 20, he could still adopt the Chase. Hamlin is currently 10th in the point standings and inside the top 20 by 27 points – a margin which capacity only hold up for a race or two.
The injury would mark the longest a NASCAR star has been out in recent years. Last season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. missed two races due to a concussion but serious injuries have been rare since NASCAR implemented safety improvements following the death of Dale Earnhardt in 2001.
The most likely candidates to replace Hamlin are Joe Gibbs Racing across the nation Series drivers Elliott Sadler and Brian Vickers. Sadler has made the Chase before as a Cup driver and was likely already going to be in a fourth car for the team in some races later this season. Vickers is running a partial Cup schedule for Michael Waltrip Racing – including at Martinsville, where the No. 11 car now has a void to fill.
Hamlin, who once tore his ACL playacting basketball but kept racing anyway, tweeted his absence had nix to do with pain.
"If me getting back in a car was based on pain tolerance then I would be in the car next week," he said. "There's in effect(p) more to it that I can't control."
Hamlin's mother, Mary Lou Hamlin, tweeted her son's recovery was more distinguished than the amount of races he'd miss.
"Denny may be out for several weeks but (the) important thing is to get his back healed," she tweeted. "Should heal on (its) own."
Crew chief Darian Grubb tweeted he was "praying and patiently waiting for driver and protagonist @dennyhamlin's recovery and return."
Materials taken from USA Today
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