NASCAR officials are scrambling to solve a couple of potentially serious issues with the “Car of Tomorrow.”

Denny Hamlin and several other drivers complained about an unusual amount of carbon monoxide in their system after Sunday’s inaugural COT race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Some teams had issues with the protective foam in the right side of door overheating, melting and producing toxic fumes.

Some had springs that failed for no apparent reason, which may have been the reason for the No. 16 car of Greg Biffle being too low during post-race inspection.

NASCAR officials plan to talk with crew chiefs before they arrive in Martinsville on Friday to discuss solutions to these issues. They will look at adjusting the tolerances for minimum height until it is determined what makes the new car settle.

They will suggest that teams use a thicker exhaust pipe after determining those that had exhaust systems failures used a thinner pipe to conserve weight.

They already have talked to Roush Fenway Racing officials about putting a heat shield over the pipe near the right door and notching the foam higher around the pipe to keep heat from compromising it.

NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton and Nextel Cup series director John Darby have scheduled a Friday morning press conference to discuss the issues.

More at ESPN.com

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