MARTINSVILLE, Va. - Being told he couldnt race last weekend because of an eye and vision problem will not make Denny Hamlin less likely to seek the help of medical staffs available at NASCAR tracks every weekend, he said Friday. Hamlin let Sam Hornish Jr. drive his car last weekend at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., after he sought the assistance of the on-site medical team when his face swelled up and his vision blurred. Initially thought to be a sinus infection, it turned out to be a small piece of metal in his eye, Hamlin said at Martinsville Speedway. Hamlin said he doesnt blame the two doctors who examined him for failing to see the rusting metal, and it wasnt until he saw an optometrist that it was discovered, removed, and he started feeling better. "It took someone who was in the business of eyes to find it," he said. Hamlin has been cleared to return this weekend at Martinsville Speedway, where he has won four times, and he took umbrage at the notion that his reputation might have been tarnished when he missed the race. "People who think negatively of me or think that we side-stepped some sort of drug test or something is ridiculous," he said, adding that he was making an effort not to get angry at the suggestion that something untoward was afoot. "Im in one of the top-three cars in NASCAR. I would have to be an absolute moron — moron — to risk that." Dale Earnhardt Jr., who originally said he was concerned about Hamlins point of view about how he wound up being told he couldnt race, said his concern wasnt for the medical teams competency, but for his fellow driver. "I feel great about the process and what NASCAR has had in place for years," Earnhardt said. NASCAR travels with two registered nurses who have access to each drivers medical records each week, and tracks work with local doctors and hospitals to staff a full trauma unit when cars are on the track. Hamlin, 34, said hes frustrated by spending so much time answering medical questions. The Fontana race was where he sustained a broken back a year ago, and he rushed back into competition hoping to make the playoffs, but came up short. "I feel better than I ever have," he said. "Pilates has changed my life as far as my back is concerned. My back is no longer an issue — knock on wood. Everything — you hate getting attention for those reasons, but a lot of it is because we havent won a whole lot over these last year and a half. "Were going to change that this weekend." ___ Follow Hank on twitter at: http://twitter.com/hankkurzjrCheap Dallas Stars Jerseys . 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Roark (7-5) allowed four runs on 10 hits and one walk over six innings in a 7-2 setback in front of several friends and family members, as the Cubs snapped his personal streak of four consecutive victories on Friday.Liverpool could bid to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games after mayor Joe Anderson announced he plans to explore the possibility should he win re-election next month. In a letter written to Culture Secretary John Whittingdale, Anderson revealed he wanted the Merseyside city to follow recent British hosts Manchester and Glasgow in staging the event in 10 years time.The Games were held in Glasgow two years ago and will take place in Gold Coast in Australia in 2018 and in Durban in 2022, and mayor Anderson has made it one of his election ambitions to look into the possibility of Liverpool as a host city. In his letter to Mr Whittingdale, he said: Given our highly-successful year as European Capital of Culture in 2008, the city has an acute sense of how culture and sport can be catalysed for their regenerative potential, as well as a track record in rising to the occasion in delivering a high-profile, largescale programme of events. The mayor has set his sights on bringing the Commonwealth Games to Merseyside With that in mind, it is my strong conviction that Liverpool, as a multi-ethnic city with strong connections to so many Commonwealth nations, is a fitting host for the Games.dddddddddddd Also, as a cornerstone of the Northern Powerhouse initiative, the potential benefits of hosting the Games would disperse widely around the Liverpool City-Region as well as the wider North West of England.Mayor Anderson is seeking a second term in office next month and stressed that, should he keep his post, he will begin assessing the cost around staging the 2026 Games in Liverpool. 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