NASCAR NNCS (DOVER) - STREMME OKAY

David Stremme had to reluctantly climb out of the No. 40 Coors Light Dodge a little more than 125 laps short of the finish line Monday after realizing he was too sick to continue racing in the Autism Speaks 400. The 29-year-old driver was immediately taken to the Dover International Speedway infield care center where he was diagnosed with the flu. He received oxygen and intravenous fluids before being released. Ginn Racing driver Regan Smith stepped in to help the No. 40 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) team finish the day in 36th place.

In addition to Stremme being under the weather this weekend, Mother Nature wasn’t shining on the Dover, Del., area either. In fact, a tropical depression rained out Sunday’s race, and forced NASCAR to reschedule for Monday.

The No. 40 CGRFS Dodge lined up in 35th place to take the green. Battling flu-like conditions, Stremme did all he could to keep the car on the track in the early running of the 400-lap competition. In addition to feeling sick, the No. 40 Dodge was keeping him busy as it was severely loose on restarts and seemed to tighten up on long runs.

Stremme threw in the towel as the fourth yellow flag of the race waved on lap 271. His crew members helped him out of the Coors Light Dodge. Then, Smith quickly climbed in to help the team finish the race. Stremme’s teammates Reed Sorenson and Juan Pablo Montoya finished 27th and 31st respectively.

The No. 40 team maintained its 21st-place position in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup points standings. The team is just 202 points away from the 12th position – the final transfer spot for the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup.

Up next for Stremme and the Coors Light team is the Pocono 500. The race will be broadcast Sunday, June 10, on TNT and MRN radio (1:00 p.m. ET).

CGRFS Driver Quoteboard

DAVID STREMME: “I just felt horrible. I knew I needed to either get out of the car or I was going to lose it. I didn’t feel well yesterday and started feeling worse just before the race started. I probably should’ve stopped by the infield care center before we started racing today, but I thought I could shake it off. Thankfully, Regan Smith was available and willing to help us out today, so I can’t thank him enough for that. I know the guys on the Coors Light team really appreciated his help and he did a great job for us. He kept the car clean and we couldn’t ask for more than that.”