Denny Hamlin: 'I was borderline throwing up trying to race for the lead'

   It was quite an eventful final 150 miles or so for driver Denny Hamlin in Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He went from contending to the win to debating whether he should get out of his No. 11 Toyota. Oh, and he had to pit under green for a loose wheel as well.

   Hamlin ended up finishing eighth as several drivers - including his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate and race winner, Carl Edwards - stretched their fuel without making a final pit stop.

   Hamlin almost immediately was whisked away on a golf cart and taken to the track's infield care center. When he emerged, he was feeling much better and even stopped by Edwards' winner's press conference to congratulate him.

   “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," Hamlin said. "I'm a lot better now with fluids and everything. It was directly related to hydration.

   "I knew when my knee was sore afterwards that it was probably fluids. My off-day 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."