NASCAR: Who’s Hot And Who’s Not Heading Into Richmond

Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

NOT – Denny Hamlin

Bristol did not go the way that Denny Hamlin might have hoped for. The No. 11 machine ran the entire race but Hamlin was only behind the wheel for 22 of those laps.

After the first red flag Hamlin got out of the car and was experiencing some neck issues. Four hours later when the drivers went back to racing it was Erick Jones behind the wheel of the No. 11 machine. As it turns out, Hamlin was suffering from neck spasms and he was unable to get himself back into racing condition during the layoff.

Hamlin has already said this week that he is nearly 100 percent and will be running in Richmond, which is the good news. The bad news is that this came out of nowhere and there is always the possibility that it pops back up this weekend or in the future. Hopefully this was a one time deal but only time will tell for Hamlin.