Denny Hamlin says one hit like the one Riley Herbst took at Talladega Superspeedway Sunday would end his driving career on the spot.
Herbst walked away from Sunday’s wreck with a wrapped left wrist, leaving open the question of whether the 23XI Racing driver is ready for Martinsville Speedway next weekend.
The crash erupted in the tri-oval with five laps remaining in the YellaWood 500. Joey Logano’s No. 22 Ford spun off a bump from Carson Hocevar, slammed the outside wall and flipped when Chase Briscoe’s car arrived, then slid on its roof for nearly 20 seconds, according to RACER reporter Kelly Crandall.
Herbst, collected in the chain reaction, hit the outside wall with the right side of his No. 35 Toyota. The car then bounced across the track and struck the inside wall nearly head-on at high speed, apparently with no brakes. Kyle Larson went on to win the race.
Hamlin: ‘My Retirement Would Become Effective Immediately’
Hamlin, who co-owns 23XI Racing and finished eighth Sunday, broke down the wreck with co-host Jared Allen on his weekly podcast.
“I can see where Joey would be the highlight, but the Riley Herbst hit was just brutal. Two of them,” Hamlin said on the Actions Detrimental podcast.
“I can hardly move today because I freaking pulled my back yesterday before the race, but I cannot imagine hitting the wall like Riley did,” Hamlin said. “My retirement would become effective immediately if I took that hit.”
Hamlin hurt his back before the green flag while lifting his son, Dru, out of a gap between a doorway and the steps. “When I pulled him up, I just felt my back instantly go,” he said.
Hamlin viewed the Logano flip as a more routine superspeedway occurrence.
“It just seemed like there was a push from the 77, which is not out of the ordinary at that track,” he said. “The tri-oval is a touchy spot to be push-drafting, but it is possible.”
The No. 77 car is driven by Carson Hocevar. Hamlin relayed that Hocevar was checking his mirrors for runs when he looked up and made contact with Logano’s No. 22.
“It’s just kind of one of those racing deals that happen,” Hamlin said.
Riley Herbst Injury Update Before Martinsville
Hamlin offered an early read on Herbst’s condition.
“He’s got some bumps and bruises; we’ll see how that goes. Obviously, his wrist is not great, so he’ll get checked out this week,” he said. “He took one of the biggest hits you can possibly take in this car.”
Herbst left the infield care center with his left wrist wrapped.
“Yeah, I’m okay. Thank you. It was a big one,” Herbst told USA Sports, as quoted by Racing News. “My dad always said, ‘If you’re going to be dumb, you better be tough.’ So, cheers.”
No public diagnosis has emerged beyond the wrapping. Herbst missed the Daytona race due to injury earlier this season.
Hamlin also addressed social media questions about how quickly crews reached Herbst’s No. 35.
“Ninety-nine point nine percent of the time, the medical staff is doing all they can,” he said. “I don’t know how long it took or whether it was the right time or too long.”
The Cup Series heads to Martinsville Speedway for the Xfinity 500 on Nov. 1. Herbst is entered in the No. 35 Toyota, according to Jayski‘s posted entry list, which shows 37 cars for 40 spots. 23XI Racing has announced no replacement.
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