Teams use thinner metal on exhaust at Bristol, causes problems:

#11-Denny Hamlin said the first race with the Car of Tomorrow, last week at Bristol, wasn’t that much different. How he felt afterward sure was. Hamlin said yesterday during Busch Series testing at Richmond International Raceway that he and several other drivers had “extremely bad headaches” along with aches throughout the body. “I had to get blood tested yesterday to see what was wrong with me because I felt terrible,” Hamlin said. “I talked to my physical trainer who talked to other physical trainers who said their guys took the day off because they couldn’t do anything yesterday.” Hamlin said he wondered whether it had anything to do with a carbon monoxide problem. Kerry Tharp, the director of communications for NASCAR competition, said yesterday by phone that several teams, including Hamlin’s #11, had exhaust system failures. A number of teams, in trying to conserve weight on the new car, opted for a thinner metal piping for their exhaust systems. That led to failures. The problem is not expected to repeat this weekend at Martinsville.(Richmond Times Dispatch)(3-28-2007)